2022 NBA Mock Draft: 5 forwards with Boston Celtics written all over them

Gabe Brown, Michigan State, 6-7 210
11.6 Pts .382 3P percent 3.8 Reb 1.1 Ast 0.3 Blk

One prospect the Boston Celtics have shown confirmed interest in is Michigan State’s Gabe Brown. He’s one of 20 prospects that’s been confirmed Boston worked out. After doing a little research into the player, why Boston checked him out makes a lot of sense.

What first stands out about Brown is his athleticism. There isn’t a lot of explosiveness on Boston’s roster, so adding this former Spartan would add juice to the team. Brown gets up and down the court with ease and has the bounce to go get it on lobs.

Offensively, Brown can knock down threes as a spot-up shooter, but he’s more than that. This four-year veteran has the ability to dribble-drive for better looks and will use the whole floor, if needed. He looks very comfortable dribbling in from behind the arc for a midrange jumper, or even getting all the way to the rim to finish. The only knock is the southpaw rarely finishes with his right hand, if at all.

Thankfully Brown isn’t one-handed on defense. This shouldn’t be a surprise, as a Tom Izzo-coached product. Brown has long limbs, so he can play robber on passing lanes or pickpocket ball handlers that let their guard down. Those long arms also enable Brown to block shots, which he does with either hand.

According to Brown, he can guard 1-4. Maybe he could at the college level, but weighing only 210 pounds puts him at a significant disadvantage against bigger players. Otherwise Brown looks like an offensively versatile 3-and-D player that could help the Boston Celtics immediately after four years as a Spartan.