Boston Team by Team

The Boston Celtics are arguably have arguably the biggest basketball fan base in the East and now they have the biggest biceps in the East. That’s right, GM Toby (Tony) McMillan has arrived and he’s looking swol. In a media frenzy, GM Toby made his way through the Boston crowd and sideways through the TD Garden’s front doors, to prepare for the inaugural draft. Toby, the youngest of three boys, is an incredibly nice guy with a smile that melts hearts and genuine competitive streak. It’s believed that his competitive streak evolved through a childhood of backyard lessons taught one the basketball court with neighbours, friends and brothers, including fellow GM Joel McMillan. These lessons have extended to his adult life and were clearly evident in his build of the ‘new look’ Boston Celtics.

The Draft

Lesson 1 ‘Patience in a virtue’ 

Being the youngest of three, you have to be patient if you want to be successful. Physically, you’re years behind your opponent so you have to give yourself develop. Mentally, you’re in a different stage of development so you have to work it out in your own time. GM Toby’s patient approach to life was on display in the draft as he targeted youth and upside at almost every pick. 

From memory, and I could be wrong, but was GM Toby looking to trade down? I can’t remember. But what was clear in Boston’s approach was a need to go young and seek long term prospects with high upside. To the most patient bee, goes the most beautiful flower. 

With his first pick of the draft Toby selects… Jayson Tatum! A young, talented and versatile wing with a decade of high end/elite basketball in front of him. Smart pick. Other similar type prospects on the board at the time were Donovan Mitchell, Bradley Beal and Deandre Ayton, I imagine it would’ve been a coin flip between Tatum and Mitchell but Toby’s pick wins with a higher ceiling. 

At 42, Toby brought in a sophomore stud with a game built for the 2k engine in John Collins. Collins completes a terrific young pair that will share the same timeline and possible stardom with Boston’s first pick Tatum. 

Pick 79 saw GM McMillan look to the rookie draft as he removed pick 4 from the board. Pick 4 brought in Darius Garland, a talented scoring guard whose draft stock could’ve been higher had he not been struck down by injury in his only college season. So far Garland hasn’t made the jump in the pros but he will take time to develop alongside Colin Sexton in Cleveland. If he reaches his ceiling, Boston will have a genuine big three in 2-3 years. 

Pick 102 was a savvy one from this buff GM. Upcoming big man Mitchell Robinson was selected, and he is another one of those bouncy 2k big men. In the NBA he’s beginning to get opportunity and appears to be the Knicks Centre of the future. He has all the physical tools to become a defensive beast and will likely make his leap in the next year or so as he works out how to stay on the court and out of foul trouble. Clever pick.

The middle stages of the draft saw the Celtics target youthful role players who will fit well around their key pieces. Players like Cedi Osman, Malik Monk, Cheick Diallo and draft sleeper Anfernee Simons. Simons started the season showing plenty of promise on a depleted Blazers roster and looks to be a surprise breakout candidate for 2019-20. Cedi Osman has a sizeable role in Cleveland and should be given every opportunity to up his 2k ratings. 

During the later stages of the draft, Toby threw caution into the wind and drafted big contracts with possible ‘return-to-form’ upside. Guys like Chandler Parsons, Ryan Anderson and Allen Crabbe all boasted respectable ratings but would eventually end up on waivers due to their lack of production and price tag. 

Full draft review:

Pick 19-Jayson Tatum

Pick 42- John Collins

Pick 79- Pick 4 in NSL Rookie Draft

Pick 102- Mitchell Robinson

Pick 139- Cedi Osman

Pick 162- Malik Monk

Pick 199- Elfrid Payton

Pick 222- Furkan Korkmaz

Pick 259- Cheick Diallo

Pick 282- Anfernee Simons

Pick 319- Keita Bates-Diop

Pick 342- Kostas Antetokounmpo

Pick 379- Ike Anigbogu

Pick 402- Chandler Parsons

Pick 439- Ryan Anderson

Pick 462- Allen Crabbe

Trading Pieces

Lesson 2 ‘Play to your strengths’ 

‘If you’re gonna beat the big boys, you’ve gotta play to your strengths. You don’t beat Joel by crashing in the post, you can’t be Josh by running in the open court. Get the game on your terms, play to your strengths.’- 15 year old Toby after a 7 hour driveway session. 

Following the inaugural draft, it was time to cut the fat, focus on the vision and shred. It was time to play the trade game and heavily invest in the 2019 draft. 

Trade 1-

Boston trade pick 13 (Brandon Clarke) to Toronto

Boston receive Pick 21 (Nassir Little), Pick 25 (Kevin Porter Jr) and pick 40 (Carsen Edwards)

I believe Toronto went on to move this pick and Clarke has turned into one of the darlings from the 2019 draft. He’s bouncy, competitive, passionate and has a nice all round game. Clarke has been an immediate contributor in the league. 

We will see what the return is like for Toby as Porter Jr and Little both are long-term type prospects. It has been promising to see both show flashes in the NBA in the early season and Carsen Edwards has lit it up on a couple occasions with a Curry-esque type jump shot. Remarkably, Edwards could be the brightest pick of the bunch at this point although his upside is possibly peaked at 6^th man potential?

Trade 2

Somehow Pick 13 (Brandon Clarke) was back in Toby’s grasp as the Bulls reached out for greater depth in the draft. 

Boston trade- pick 22 (Tyler Herro) and 39 (Daniel Gafford) and Malik Monk To Toronto

Boston receive- pick 13 (Brandon Clarke) and Jamal Crawford

All picks in this trade would once again be traded in a flurry of action prior to the draft so further analysis isn’t really required here. 

Trade 3

Boston trade- Elfrid Payton to Portland

Boston receive- Justin Anderson, Kenrich Williams, pick 22 (Tyler Herro) and pick 39 (Daniel Gafford).

This trade set made opposing GMs nervous at the time due to Joel adding another quality player to his roster, however as time went on this deal now looks incredible for the Celts. Though pick 22 and 39 were moved on for additional picks, Toby was able to add quality picks for a player whose rankings plummeted and has suffered numerous injury setbacks to start the season. 

So, after all this pre-draft chaos, what did Toby end up entering the draft with? 

Picks for the 2019 draft- 4, 21, 25, 40 and 57 

The Draft

Lesson 3- ‘Don’t hesitate’

‘When you’re playing out of your weight class, you have to take your chances when you get them. If you hesitate, you lose.’  

 After blanketing the draft from the lottery to the late second round, it’s rumoured Toby spent two and a half days locked in his office watching Youtube highlight reels and conducting scouting reports on all his targets. His strategy in the draft was clearly to acquire a future Shooting Guard/ Point Guard to fill the 5^thspot in his promising starting unit. 

Pick 4- Darius Garland (Point Guard)

Pick 21- Nassir Little (Small Forward)

Pick 25- Kevin Porter Jr (Shooting Guard)

Pick 40- Carsen Edwards (Point Guard/ Shooting Guard)

Pick 57- Luguentz Dort (Shooting Guard)

After wheeling and dealing, it may have been best to secure the 13^th pick and take potential star Brandon Clarke but what GM Toby managed to do was build a roster full of high upside guys in good situations. If two to three of these players develop into starters/ role players the Celtics will be content knowing that the top 8 players on this squad are all on the same timeline and locked into long-term deals. 

Outlook for Boston

Lesson 4- ‘Wait until you’re bigger than Joel before you fuck with him’

‘Even if you beat your big brother, you never really win because they have the trump card… They can kick you’re ass. You’ve got to bide your time, get bigger and better every day and then when you’re in your 40s and your older bro is approaching 50, put him in a headlock and get your revenge.’ 

Boston’s long term prospects are very promising. Toby has accumulated a deep, young team and kept all picks. He’s shown patience as he builds but will probably want to get to the lottery once or twice in the next couple of years to consolidate his build. After this, watch out. This team will be a juggernaut and will be in a position to package multiple stars to bring in multiple stars. The question is, will Joel’s team still be cracking skulls when little bro catches up? Could the Boston-Portland rivalry become one to keep an eye on in the future? Is there a McMillan Dynasty coming to the NSL? Conspiracy?

Predictions:

Record- 30-52

Position- 13th in the East

MVP- Jayson Tatum

Best value pick- Anfernee Simons

Best career from a rookie- Darius Garland

Year they make playoffs- 2021-22

Where will Boston’s pick for 2020 fall? Pick 5.