Nico Mannion – point guard – Arizona
Coyne: Mannion falls into the roll-of-the-dice category. I’ve tracked the Italian-American guard for a few years now, after notable performances with Italy’s youth setup in various FIBA tournaments. He’s enjoyed ups and downs in productivity at Arizona but showed excellent change of speed, unselfishness and aggression on the defensive end at times. Unfortunately – and I wish this wasn’t so – my issue with Mannion is cosmetic. I’m not shaming anybody here, I just feel his look would be a little on-the-nose with the Gaelic aesthetic of the team. That, and his lack of size and length on defence that would make it difficult for him to crack Brad Stevens rotation.
Rath: I have seen Nico mocked in the first round in a few places and I don’t see him there. I like several other point guards a lot more in round one.
Tabatabaie: I think he’s probably a little over-hyped. I fear he doesn’t really have the chops to make it in the NBA.
Taylor: There are other guards in the league who would suit the Celtics system far better, there’s also questions surround Mannion’s strength and shooting ability from deep as he enters the league.
[lawrence-related id=37626,36417,36411,36284]