Could the Celtics hit it big in this year's NBA Draft? Mike Gorman thinks the opportunity is there

It's been quite a while, but earlier in Ainge's drafting tenure he snagged these two outside the lottery

As people try to look for silver linings to the hiatus, Mike Gorman wasn't as keen to give the Celtics an advantage due to their players getting healthier. Every teams' players have had the time to rest and recuperate from injuries. The key Gorman says is did players stay in shape or not. My guess is that any injuries that occur when things pick back up will be blamed on the hiatus.

What Gorman was more intrigued about was the chance for the Celtics to snag someone very good with their multiple first rounders. His hypothesis is that without the NCAA postseason tournaments and with everything but down, it will be more of a guessing game. So that player that might have moved up from let's say 20 to the top 7 based on his March Madness showing, you may be able to snag at 20. The Celtics first rounders currently stand at 17, 26, and 30.

There's potential for that #17 pick to move up to the late lottery if the Grizzlies go on a slide to end the season. But what it will come down to is will Danny Ainge be the GM that identifies the high lottery talent that falls in this draft due to the unique circumstances of this year.

The Celtics for the almost two decades that Ainge has been calling the shots haven't exactly been Spurs-like in finding stars later in the draft. Ainge best picks out of the top of the draft have been Al Jefferson at #15 in 2004 and Rajon Rondo at #21 in 2007. Since then there hasn't been much to show, but some role players and misses outside the top of the draft. But maybe this will be the year Ainge gets his mid to late first round groove back? Maybe Ainge will make his first successful international pick as Gorman mentions? The opportunity is there for sure with more unknowns.

Gorman talks the format for the remainder of the season/playoffs and the quick turnaround to the 2020-21 season in the video below.

Current Draft standings via Tankathon