Aleksej Pokuševski – power forward – Olympiacos B
Coyne: In some ways, Boston’s window of contention is merely opening but who knows how the roster may look in two years? While they have a chance of making noise and seeing seven years of front office witchcraft pay off, they will look to seize the moment. Drafting Pokuševski may be the opposite of that. The Serbian center has upside, but scouting reports agree that he has a ways to go before he’s ready to help a contending NBA team and would almost certainly be stashed. His slight frame, lack of experience, aversion to contact and defensive lapses may put off an organization that has seen too much substandard effort from reserve centers in recent years.
Rath: With the Celtics having Tatum, Brown, Kemba Walker and Marcus Smart ready to win now I do not think Poku would develop fast enough or get the right minutes to reach whatever ceiling people think he has. If he is there at 30 then I would pull the trigger, but with their 17th pick I would draft someone who could contribute early on.