Our 2012 draft has to be better than last year's, right?

Last year, the Celtics finished the draft adding two players to their roster: JaJuan Johnson and E’twaun Moore. The morning after the draft, I wrote this article saying that even though I wouldn’t have picked either of these players, I was pleasantly pleased with the choices. In the article, I stated that instead of trading our original selection away to New Jersey to select Johnson, I would have kept it and stuck with MarShon Brooks. Looking back, I think 100% of Celtics fans would have done the same thing. E’twaun Moore, the 55th pick of the draft, most definitely had a bigger impact on the team this year. Maybe with an entire offseason with the team under their belts, they will contribute something next year.

Looking forward to next Thursday, everyone wants to know who we are going to take. There are a ton of mock drafts out there, so I decided to take a few that I frequent and see who they think we are getting. Some of them have factored in the rumor that the Celtics have a promise to Royce White while others haven’t just yet. Either way, it’s nice to see who people think we will be taking.

From RealGM.com:

21. Boston Celtics: Royce White  

Danny Ainge’s draft M.O. has always been to swing big and it doesn’t get bigger than White in the bottom third of the draft. He was far from efficient as a scorer, but his degree of difficulty in creating his own offense on nearly every attempt has to be factored in. There is little doubt that White can be the best individual scorer in this class and his basement is as a team’s bench scorer.

22. Boston Celtics (from Clippers via Oklahoma City): Arnett Moultrie  

Moultrie is another higher ceiling player and would represent great value for Boston as they rebuild their frontcourt.

RealGM.com has updated their mock for the Royce White promise, so he’s our pick at No. 21. Arnett Moultrie at No. 22 would be a great pick in my honest opinion. He has great upside and is a terrific athlete and scorer at 6-11. He could play both power forward and center at the next level.

Now what does Chad Ford think in his Mock Draft: Version 8.2:

 

PICK	TEAM	PLAYER	VITALS
	Boston	Royce White	Position: SF Height: 6-foot-8 Weight: 261 pounds Age: 21 School: Iowa State

Analysis: According to sources, White pulled out of all his remaining workouts Thursday and has gone silent. He’s not injured, and sources claim he’s received a coveted first-round promise from a team. Promises are notoriously hard to pin down, but two sources are pointing in the direction of the Celtics. As long as coach Doc Rivers can buy into what White is (a ballhandling power forward) and figure out how to play him, he could be a steal at this point in the draft.

 

PICK	TEAM	PLAYER	VITALS
	Boston (via Clippers)	Andrew Nicholson	Position: PF Height: 6-foot-10 Weight: 234 pounds Age: 22 School: St. Bonaventure

Analysis: Nicholson is another draft sleeper who might really rise with workouts. He’s a big stretch 4 who has drawn some comparisons to David West. He would be another welcome addition to the Celtics’ summer makeover.