Two big men the Boston Celtics could target in 2nd round of NBA Draft
While the front office likely isn't done making trades, as of right now, they don't have much big man depth. Kristaps Porzingis is gone after getting traded to the Hawks. It's also unclear where Al Horford and Luke Kornet could end up in free agency, though C's president Brad Stevens said it was a priority to re-sign their bigs.
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Some big men were taken late in the first round who could have made sense like Danny Wolf (Nets at 27th overall) or Yanic Konan Niederhauser (Clippers at 30th). But there are still at least a couple bigs who could make sense for the Celtics at the top of the second round.
Here's a look at those two of those big men:
Maxime Raynaud, Stanford
Raynaud has perhaps the most polished offensive game of the bigs still left as he averaged 20.2 points and 10.6 rebounds in his final year at Stanford. He also has the best outside shot after knocking down 34.7% of his 3-pointers on 5.5 attempts per game. The defense needs to be developed, but he's a legit 7-footer with a capable offensive game. He's considered one of the best players still available to start the second round.
Ryan Kalkbrenner, Creighton
Kalkbrenner is a four-time Big East Defensive Player of the Year and would fit a need on the roster. He was measured in at 7-foot-1 without shoes and could fill a backup center role should the Celtics be unable to re-sign one of their free agent bigs. He's a more-than-capable defensive big man who possesses a whopping 7-foot-6 wingspan and one of the most experienced players in the draft as he's already 23. The Creighton product would also reunite with last year's first-round pick in Baylor Scheierman. While he's an older prospect, perhaps he can continue adding to his offensive game to become a longtime NBA player.
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