Re-Grading the Celtics' Last 5 Drafts Ahead of 2024 Event

The Boston Celtics have drafted 11 players over the past five years, but only one of those picks was part of the rotation for this year’s team that captured banner No. 18.
Jun 20, 2019; Brooklyn, NY, USA; Matisse Thybulle (Washington) greets NBA commissioner Adam Silver after being selected as the number twenty overall pick to the Boston Celtics in the first round of the 2019 NBA Draft at Barclays Center. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports
Jun 20, 2019; Brooklyn, NY, USA; Matisse Thybulle (Washington) greets NBA commissioner Adam Silver after being selected as the number twenty overall pick to the Boston Celtics in the first round of the 2019 NBA Draft at Barclays Center. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports / Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports
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Grant Williams
2018 NBA Draft Combine - Day 2 / Michael Hickey/GettyImages

2019 - Romeo Langford (14), Matisse Thybulle (20), Grant Williams (22), Tremont Waters (51)

The most significant piece of this draft was Grant Williams, who was a lightning rod over his four years in Boston. Williams was a 3-and-D specialist who was nearly automatic on triples from the corner.

He played with a cockiness that was often maligned by Celtics fans who considered him a “fake tough guy” who thought he was a bigger part of the team than he was. Eventually, his act got tired and the Celtics had almost no choice but to move him during the 2023 offseason as they reset the culture in the locker room.

Williams was traded to the Dallas Maverick in a sign-and-trade, but never got the chance to face his old team in the Finals. Halfway through his first season, the Mavs traded him to Charlotte for P.J. Washington, who became a big part of their own run at a championship.

Langford was a rotational piece for Boston during the 2021-22 season after recovering from wrist surgery that derailed his rookie year. He played for Boston for three seasons but never averaged more than 4.7 points and a handful of rebounds in 15ish minutes a night. HIs biggest impact on the current Celtics roster was his inclusion in the February 2022 trade that brought Derrick White to Boston. 

Waters played on a two-way contract with the Maine Red Claws and was named 2020 G League Rookie of the Year, but his time with the big club is mostly forgettable. Thybulle was drafted by the Celtics but his rights were traded to the Philadelphia 76ers where he spent the first four years of his career.

Draft Grade: C

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