NBA Draft Grades Are Out, And The Celtics Received Some Mixed Results
By Michael Hurley, CBS Boston
BOSTON (CBS) -- NBA Draft grades can often prove to be quite embarrassing, regardless of whether those evaluations come from media members or basketball executives. The whole process is an inexact science at best.
That much is understood, but with many sports fans unable to watch every college basketball game every year, the day-after grades do provide some perspective on how those "in the know" -- or at least those who like to think they're in the know -- view a team's draft class. Individually, the grades may miss the mark, but taken together, the composite can help to craft at least a somewhat reliable story.
With that, here's how the internet red pens have come out for the C's after Thursday night's draft.
CBS Sports' Gary Parish and Kyle Boone
Romeo Langford at No. 14
Grade: C
"It's a bit of a surprise, but I think it's an OK pick. ... This is a long-term play. He won't be very impactful in Year 1."
Grant Williams at No. 22
Grade: B
"What is he exceptional at? He's exceptional at playing basketball."
Carsen Edwards at No. 33
Grade: A
"He's a microwave scorer who can fill it up off the dribble, off the catch and running off screens."
Tremont Waters at No. 51
Grade: A
"Waters brings great value as a steady-handed ball-handler capable of doing everything an NBA starting point guard can do. At the very least, a great insurance piece at an important position."
The Ringer's Jonathan Tjarks (first round only)
Romeo Langford at No. 14
Grade: B
"The Celtics are gambling on upside with Langford. ... Boston is hoping that a healthy version of Langford is closer to the player he was in high school."
Grant Williams at No. 22
Grade: A
"The junior big man was one of the most dominant players in the NCAA last season, but concerns about his athleticism and lack of an NBA position caused him to slide to the end of the first round. The key for Williams, who played out of the post in college, is to become more of a 3-point shooter. He could certainly make the transition."
SBNation's Ricky O'Donnell (first round only)
Romeo Langford at No. 14
Grade: B
"Langford's 27 percent mark from three-point range is a giant red flag. It's hard to imagine him having a successful pro career if he can't fix his jumper. If there is a mechanical change Langford can make as a shooter, he could look like a steal."
Grant Williams at No. 22
Grade: A
"Williams has been compared to P.J. Tucker by Rick Barnes, who coached both at the college level. That would be a great outcome for the No. 22 pick in the draft."
Overall Grade: A-
Sports Illustrated's Jeremy Woo (first round only)
Romeo Langford at No. 14
Grade: C
"It's certainly possible he returns lottery value if he gets healthy and puts it together, but my own evaluation of Langford was much lower than this. Time will tell."
Grant Williams at No. 22
Grade: B+
"Williams is a really nice fit in Boston, where he can play to his strengths alongside its array of scorers and focus on doing the dirty work and making other players better. ... Williams lands in a pretty ideal situation here, and it should position him well for long-term success in the correct sort of role."
Sporting News' Chris Stone (first round only)
Romeo Langford at No. 14
Grade: B
"He has the potential to be a productive NBA player. ... Boston has always been willing to bet on its ability to improve shooters. ... The thing to like about Langford is his ability to create offense going downhill. He controls the pace of the game when he's on the ball and is crafty around the basket, even flashing touch on floaters. If he can develop an efficient jumper, he has the potential to be the total package as a scorer. I like this risk for the Celtics."
Grant Williams at No. 22
Grade: A
"Williams isn't much of an athlete, but he is one of the smartest players in the draft. Despite being just 20 years old, Williams is a two-time SEC Player of the Year. He excels as a help defender, uses his strength to outmuscle opponents and is capable of making plays with the ball in his hands offensively."
Yahoo Sports' Jason Owens - Winners And Losers Of NBA Draft
Celtics: Loser
"It's becoming increasingly clear that general manager Danny Ainge's stockpile of assets and draft picks isn't going to pay off with immediate returns. ... Instead of using their first-round draft pick in a trade to acquire win-now talent, the Celtics took 6-6 Indiana shooting guard Romeo Langford. He's a good athlete and an inefficient scorer with room to develop. He could turn out to be a fine NBA player. But adding a young player with upside is not the vision the Celtics had in mind for 2019 and beyond."
Sports Illustrated's Andrew Sharp - Winners And Losers Of NBA Draft
Celtics: Winner
"They added another handful of decent-but-not-great prospects. So maybe they belong in the losers category. Having said that: I like Grant Williams in the mid-first, I love Carsen Edwards in the early-second, and I respect the late-lottery gamble on Langford's upside, if only as a tribute to James Young. Trading Aron Baynes to Phoenix gives Boston $25.8 million in cap space, and they also picked up a 2020 first from the Suns. If the Celtics renounce Terry Rozier, that number jumps to $34 million. It's been a catastrophic month in Boston, but the next few weeks will be interesting."
Sportsnaut's Vincent Frank - Winners And Losers Of NBA Draft
Celtics: Loser
"Danny Ainge botched the draft in a big way. He went with a limited Romeo Langford at 14th overall when much higher-rated players were in the board. Ainge then selected Tennessee power forward Grant Williams at 22. That was also a reach. We're not sure what's going on Boston. But it's not great."
NJ.com's Joe Giglio - Winners And Losers Of NBA Draft
Celtics: Winner
"A rough offseason turned positive when Ainge and the Celtics fleeced the Sixers out two draft picks—then finagled a way to keep the better of Philadelphia's back-to-back selections and grabbed the guard Sixers fans wanted."
COMPOSITE
For the top two picks, the average grades were:
Romeo Langford: B-
Grant Williams: A-
In the winners/losers evaluations, the Celtics got two of each.
The consensus on the top two picks is somewhat reminiscent of the 2015 draft, when Ainge took a lot of heat for drafting Terry Rozier at No. 16 overall and R.J. Hunter at 28th overall. Most armchair evaluators agreed that had Ainge selected Hunter at 16th and picked Rozier late in the first round, he would have done a good job. But as we've seen in the years since, Rozier has proven to be a much better NBA player than Hunter.
Might Ainge have utilized some of that vision once again by selecting a player whose collegiate shooting was affected by a torn thumb ligament? And will the praise prove to be misguided for a player considered to be a steal of sorts at the end of the first round?
That much surely cannot be known at this time. But, in a perfect picture of the imperfect art of drafting, the evaluations at this time are mixed.
