Boston Celtics came 'really, really close' to drafting Portland Trail Blazers rookie Pat Connaughton
Portland Trail Blazers rookie guard Pat Connaughton is from Arlington, Massachusetts, a suburb of Boston. He grew up a fan of the Boston Celtics, and his hometown team was apparently extremely close to selecting the former Notre Dame shooter on draft night.
Here's what Celtics general manager Danny Ainge had to say about Connaughton, per NBA.com's Ian Thomsen:
"He is a good vertical athlete off one leg, but he is not a good two-legged jumper, he's not a great athlete laterally, and he doesn't handle the ball very well because he played forward for Notre Dame. But he is very tough and I love him. We were really, really close to drafting him. I think he is an NBA player, he is a good kid, and I am a big fan.''
Here's more detail into what Boston was thinking on draft night, according to MassLive's Jay King:
"...the Celtics were considering selecting a big man, maybe Larry Nance, with their first-round pick. But after the Los Angeles Lakers surprised everyone by picking Nance at No. 27, Boston opted to go for the best player available—in this case, R.J. Hunter. Had they picked a frontcourt player at the end of the first round, the Celtics would have felt comfortable adding Connaughton at No. 33. But after picking two perimeter players, Hunter and Terry Rozier, they did not consider acquiring a third one wise and opted to choose Jordan Mickey instead."
The Brooklyn Nets took Connaughton with the 41st overall pick, then immediately shipped him and Mason Plumlee to Portland for Rondae Hollis-Jefferson and Steve Blake. Connaughton can really stroke it from deep, but it remains to be seen if he can stay in front of opponents on the perimeter.
(h/t: NBA)
