Celtics Select South Carolina Leading Scorer In ESPN Mock Draft

The Celtics won’t have a busy draft night as things stand Thursday.

Boston only has one second-round pick in the 2023 NBA Draft, and the Green aren’t expected to trade into the first round.

But that doesn’t mean the Celtics can’t acquire a low-risk, high-reward prospect. It gets pointed out every year that players like Nikola Jokic, Draymond Green and Manu Ginóbili were selected in the second round.

For the Celtics, ESPN had them taking South Carolina forward Gregory “G.G.” Jackson II with the 35th pick in their latest mock draft Wednesday.

Jackson averaged 15.4 points and 5.9 rebounds in 32 games in his freshman season with the Gamecocks. South Carolina lost to Ole Miss in the first round of the 2023 SEC Men’s Basketball Tournament, after which the 18-year-old declared for the NBA draft.

Sports Illustrated said after the NBA draft combine in May that the SEC All-Freshman had the highest upside in his class due to his age and projected that he would start out in the G League.

Again, as things stand heading into next Thursday, it should be a relatively quiet draft for the Celtics, unless president of basketball operations Brad Stevens decides to make an aggressive play.