National writers and analysts have given the Celtics less than stellar grades for the Draft


NBA Draft night was one of the crazier nights of the year for Celtics fans as we ended up making what seemed like a million picks, contrary to many rumors that the Cs were looking to move some of their picks. In the end, the Celtics drafted six players including: Jaylen Brown, Guerschon Yabusele, Ante Zizic, Demetrius Jackson, Ben Bentil, and Abdel Nader. National writers and analysts have not been kind in grading the Celtics' draft. Chad Ford of ESPN.com gave the Celtics an overall C grade:

Based on pure talent, I really like five of the six players the Celtics netted Thursday. Boston probably gets an A- to B+ in that category.
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The other way to grade the draft is on what we expected from the Celtics.

Here, they earn an F. The plan for all of these picks, as the Celtics have talked about on multiple occasions, was to package them (and players) to land a young All-Star.

Michael Lee of The Vertical from Yahoo Sports labeled the Celtics as being a "loser" on Draft night:

Celtics fans are still waiting. Armed with three first-round picks, Ainge was unable to make a deal, either because he wanted too much or was unwilling to surrender enough. Instead of getting Jimmy Butler or any other All-Star talent, the Celtics selected California swingman Jaylen Brown third overall, French power forward Guerschon Yabusele and Croatian center Ante Zizic – fine selections, but not the type of players who will have the kind of immediate impact Boston needs to move up in the Eastern Conference.

Coach Brad Stevens has proven that he can put a highly competitive team on the court, regardless of the names on the back of those storied uniforms, but the Celtics need stars to be anything more than a first-round flirtation.

Jeff Goodman of ESPN.com served to act as the "glass half full" perspective for Celtics fans after the draft:





Ultimate Celtics fan Bill Simmons also chimed in with his thoughts, which pretty much summarize how Celtics fans felt throughout the night:





While it's too early to tell whether or not the Celtics made out well in the Draft, the initial reaction has been lukewarm. Given that there were rumors of the Celtics possibly acquiring a star player like Jimmy Butler, Celtics fans had their hearts set and ready for something big. Unfortunately, things didn't pan out and Danny Ainge took a different approach. Time will tell whether or not it was the right choice but for now, there are more questions than answers with the way Draft night unfolded.

Image Credit: AP Photo/Frank Franklin II
Follow Kevin Yazhari on Twitter @KevKevYazhari
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