Celtics reach for Terry Rozier with No. 16 pick
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Holding multiple picks affords teams the opportunity to take some risks.
The Boston Celtics selected Louisville point guard Terry Rozier with the No. 16 overall pick in the 2015 NBA Draft on Thursday night.
A lesson in looking past height when evaluating size, Rozier is effectively much bigger than his 6-foot-2.25 height. With a 6-foot-8.25 wingspan, an 8-foot-0.25 standing reach, next to no body fat, and solid athleticism, Rozier shouldn't have any issues transitioning to the NBA. He'll get inside a defense, he'll score through contact, he'll rebound well for a guard, and he'll defend capably.
A team can't really hope for more from their backup guard, but this seems a bit of a reach, thanks to some perceived limitations that had Rozier pegged as a pick in the 20s-to-30s.
He isn't a particularly deft shooter - he hit 30.6 percent on threes this year, a big drop-off from his freshman season - and he didn't do a terrific job of running the Cardinals' offense, which ranked 64th in the country on an adjusted basis.
Boston fans are free to hope Rozier's outside shooting returns to form and pushes his ceiling a little higher, and he should prove capable playing alongside Marcus Smart and Avery Bradley, if not Isaiah Thomas. Fans just need to figure out who he is first.
There's nothing wrong with landing a quality backup in the draft, but at No. 16, the Celtics obviously see him as a bit more.
Grousbeck on 16th pick: "We've targeted Rozier. He worked out for us twice. He's an athletic freak, a skilled two-way player." #CelticsDraft
— Boston Celtics (@celtics) June 26, 2015
The Celtics love toughness, and it seems like head coach Brad Stevens will now have a stable of gutty guards to mix-and-match. Taking him over Jerian Grant and Delon Wright will be an interesting choice to look back on a few years.