With the NBA draft nearing, the Boston Celtics have been busy scouting prospects and hosting private workouts. A recent player who worked out for them is forward Alex Karaban, according to Hoopshype.
Karaban is someone that Celtics fans may be familiar with, given his ties locally, growing up in Southborough, Massachusetts, and his four-season career with the UConn Huskies. During his time at UConn, Karaban played in 151 games, starting in 150 of them and winning back-to-back National Championships. In his final season, Karaban helped lead the Huskies back to the title game, but came up short against the Michigan Wolverines.
Now with his time at UConn in the past, Karaban will be entering the NBA draft, so let's take a look at him.
Alex Karaban would bring some shooting to the Celtics
The biggest strength of Karaban's game is easily his shooting. During his time at UConn, the Massachusetts native shot 37.4% from three for his career, and he backed up his shooting at the NBA draft combine. At the combine, Karaban finished as the best shooter out of all the prospects in attendance, shooting 74.8% when combining all the drills he went through, per DraftExpress founder Jonathon Givony.
His offensive skills are showcased when on the move, making him an even bigger threat from outside. He's also shown the ability to make smart decisions with the ball, with a 2.3-to-1.1 assist-to-turnover ratio. For his size, Karaban is a solid rebounder, averaging 5 rebounds per game for his career.
While at the combine, Karaban measured a height of 6'6.75 barefoot, while recording a 6'11 wingspan and 8'8.5 standing reach. These are good measurements for Karaban, showing he has the size to play in the league.
For as good a shooter as the 23-year-old is, he does have some question marks that could lower his overall draft stock.
The biggest question for Karaban at the NBA level is how he can hold up defensively. Athleticism isn't a strength for him at the college level and will only get worse in the NBA. When on the court, he will get targeted by other teams. Not only can it hurt him defensively, but his lack of athleticism also hurts his offensive game as well. Due to his lack of vertical leaping, Karaban's finishing will be something that could suffer at the next level.
Offensively, Karaban won't be a player who can consistently win matchups one-on-one. This will relegate him to mostly being used as an off-ball player, limiting his overall upside.
Finally, his college production never really jumped, given the talent he played with. Even when he became one of the top players on the team, his numbers never really changed, projecting a lack of upside.
Should Boston target Alex Karaban in the draft?
Picking at pick 27, when the Boston Celtics are on the clock, Karaban will most likely be available for them to select. As fun as it would be to have a local player on the team, at pick 27, the Celtics should look to target someone else.
While Karaban has potential upside at the NBA level, Boston has more pressing needs. Looking at the current roster, the last thing Boston needs is to add another forward to the roster, given needs in the frontcourt and some depth in the backcourt.
Boston does hold pick 40 in the second round. If Karaban were to fall to them at 40, I wouldn't be opposed to that.
Add us as a preferred source on Google