Why Jalen Rose Believes Celtics Should Draft Josh Jackson With No. 3 Pick

If the Boston Celtics keep the No. 3 pick in the 2017 NBA Draft — a big “if” given how C’s president of basketball operations Danny Ainge tends to operate — who should they take?

It’s the question on everyone’s mind since Boston swapped picks with the Philadelphia 76ers in a trade completed Monday. Markelle Fultz is expected to go No. 1 overall — now to the Sixers rather than the Celtics — and there’s still a widespread belief that Lonzo Ball will go to the Los Angeles Lakers with the No. 2 pick. But the Celtics’ pending selection is anyone’s guess.

Former NBA player and current ESPN basketball analyst Jalen Rose believes the Celtics should take Josh Jackson from Kansas with the No. 3 pick. Jackson, a 6-foot-8 swingman, has a skill set that isn’t all that different than Jaylen Brown’s, but Rose believes the Kansas product could really help the Celtics in their quest to topple the Cleveland Cavaliers in the Eastern Conference.

Jackson is a freak athlete who would give the Celtics another player who plays with a ton of energy. While one could argue whether Boston should spend such a high draft pick on a player who’s similar to Brown, whom the C’s selected third overall last year, the former Jayhawks star certainly has a high ceiling.

Either way, this is shaping up to be a very intriguing draft. Perhaps Ainge and Co. have something else up their sleeves before Thursday night.