ESPN's Jeff Goodman has the Celtics taking Dante Exum with the fifth pick
5 Dante Exum Boston Celtics (25 - 57) COLLEGE: Australia HT: 6-6 WT: 188 POS: PG
Analysis: The Aussie is a mystery to some degree, but he has the size and athleticism that will blow teams away. Could he wind up becoming the point guard that would allow Danny Ainge to pull the trigger on a deal involving Rajon Rondo? Exum is a combo guard right now, but the Celtics just need talent -- and Exum has all the upside.
The Celtics will pick again at 17 and while Goodman has high hopes that the Celtics will take T.J. Warren, he believes Doug McDermott will still be on the board and the C’s should take a long hard look in his direction. McDermott has been compared to Atlanta’s Kyle Korver. To paraphrase Bill Simmons’ read on McDermott, any time you can draft a guy with one elite skill, you have to do it.
From DraftExpress:
McDermott was born to score, as its something he simply has an unbelievable knack for. He is the fifth best all-time leading scorer in NCAA history, and indeed led the nation in that category in each of the past two seasons. McDermott's scoring rate is impressive not just in the context of the past few years, as his exploits this season ranks him as the best per-40 minute pace-adjusted major-conference scorer in the DraftExpress database, which dates back to 2001.
What's perhaps most impressive about McDermott is that he's not just a volume scorer, he's also tremendously efficient—his percentages: 57% 2P%, 45% 3P%, along with just 1.8 turnovers per game, are sparkling. Its virtually unprecedented to see a player score at the rate he does, and still remain that efficient. His true shooting percentage was 65% this season, third best among draft prospects (behind Stauskas and Embiid), but he carried a significantly heavier usage role than either, which makes his efficiency all the more impressive.
