The Celtics Threw A Curveball And Made International Forward Hugo Gonzalez The Highest Pick Of The Brad Stevens Era

Borja B. Hojas. Getty Images.

Draft Night started with nothing but nerves, given the fact that this entire day has consisted of nothing but annoying as hell Shams updates that are not actually updates about all these "crazy offers" the Celtics kept getting for Jaylen Brown and Derrick White. So many insane phone calls that Brad Stevens couldn't even keep his head on straight. Just so many crazy calls and offers. Totally. 

So once we got to the start of the draft, things were already on high alert. Will a Spurs deal go through? What about that sonofabitch over in Utah and his very intentional leaking bullshit all day leading into the Draft. For all we know, anything is possible, so it took until around pick #5 for most of us to exhale. You'll remember, the Celts really had 3 options for draft night, and Option #1 was moving a core piece for a high lottery pick. Thankfully, we crossed that option out.

With more rumors that the Celts were trying to get into the Lottery, once we got to around #13, the same nerves were back again. This was "potentially trade Sam Hauser" territory. Teams that picked #13-15 all had the ability to take on his $10M and could use his skillset, so you combine that with the early smoke, and my heart jumped with every Shams notification. 

Once that didn't happen and we got into the low 20s, it felt more and more like the Celts were staying put. No sense giving up anything to trade up a few slots, especially since it was clear whoever they wanted was falling into their range. Who that player was, nobody had any idea. Most considered a big in their spot as the obvious answer, given the positional need and the talent available. Maybe some other guys who fell into their range that weren't expected to last that long. Something like that.

The answer?

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Listen. I'm not going to pretend I had any fucking idea who this player is. I'm not going to go crazy and say this is an incredible homerun steal and Brad is a certified genius (even though let's be honest, he is). But I'm also not going to lose my shit and declare this a bust pick and that Brad has no fucking idea what he's doing as a drafter. A young player with potential who has been with Real Madrid since he was 9? What if he's just another Luka-esq prodigy?

Instead, let's look at this through positional need. Those two centers? Ryan Kalkbrenner and Maxime Raynaud, two names that most had as players that made sense for the Celts at either #28 or #32 are both still available as they approach their second round pick. They are guaranteed to get one of them if they decide to go that route, there was no need to trade up into the low 20s to do it, and for all we know, this 19 year old wing can turn into a servicable player. 

So really, until we know how the night goes, it's impossible to really evaluate this draft. If they walk away with no young center? That's a bit of a problem on the surface. Surely Brad Stevens knows his only big men at the moment are George Niang, Xavier Tillman, and Neemias Queta. Their best rebounder (Tatum), is most likely out for the year. Kind of an important area of need, unless he knows he's keeping both Al and Kornet (or at the very least one of them). Personally, I'd still like to walk away with a center prospect.

As things stand, Hugo Gonzalez is now the highest pick of the Brad Stevens Era. In a Draft he really has to hit on at least one of his two picks, they've decided that Hugo was the way to go with one of them. OK, works for me. We'll see how he looks, and what gives me hope is the fact that they are immediately bringing him over. I think we all have PTSD from the Yam Madar and Juhann Begarin Experiences, so the fact that he's actually coming over right away is nice. At the very least, hopefully I'll be seeing him up close in Summer League, so I'll hold off on judgment until I see how things look with my own eyes. If you can win my Summer League heart, we might be onto something.

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Some are saying it's a steal, others are saying disaster, it's all a little dramatic. Nobody has any idea. The point is, if you think they're moving off Hauser, then wing becomes a positional need pretty quickly. Baylor slides into Hauser's role, Walsh gets some consistent wing minutes, and this guy becomes the developmental wing. As long as you get the center in Round 2, that's fine by me.

If you're keeping Hauser, this pick makes a little less sense to me, unless this is a player who replaces Walsh if the Celts cut him next year ($200k guarantee), but I'm just an idiot. Brad hasn't given us a reason to doubt him yet, but he definitely has to come through in round 1.