Celtics Draft Rumors: Boston won’t take Dario Saric No. 6 overall
By Josh Hill
The NBA Draft is just around the corner and teams are starting to hammer down their prospect lists and their wish lists to try and seperate who they want, who they need and who falls under both categories. The Boston Celtics hold two first-round picks and have a number of top prospects on their radar.
More from Boston Celtics
- Predicting NBA’s Christmas Day Schedule: Lakers, Warriors highlight slate of postseason rematches
- Jaylen Brown signs richest contract in NBA history without a left hand
- Boston Celtics projected lineup and rotations heading into 2023-24 season
- David Griffin thanks rival Celtics for leverage in Anthony Davis trade talks
- NBA rumors: Damian Lillard trade becoming more trouble than it’s worth for Celtics
But while they have some big names on their board, it’s where some of those names are that is tthe attention grabbing aspect of the strategy being pieced together.
According to Mark Murphy of the Boston Herald, the Celtics like Dario Saric and he likes he Celtics but Boston won’t be taking him with the No. 6 overall pick in the draft and prefer to take him with the No. 17 overall pick.
"Though they are also interested in Croatian power forward Dario Saric as a candidate for the 17th pick, his team (KK Cibona Zagreb) is still playing. As such, Saric probably won’t work out for any NBA team this spring, though he also intrigues the Celtics for another reason: He has reportedly said he will definitely come to the NBA next season if he is drafted by either the Celtics or Lakers."
This doesn’t mean that the Celtics wouldn’t take him at No. 6 overall, but they are far more likely to grab someone like Noah Vonleh or Aaron Gordon should they fall there. It’s looking like Julius Randle might be available as well or possibly Dante Exum, meaning Saric is quickly sliding out of the lottery.
He won’t tumble past No. 14 overall as the Suns would gladly take him and the Timberwolves might grab him before that if the Nuggets don’t take him at No. 11. Either way, the Celtics are starting to prioritize their draft which means their strategy should be nailed down in the coming weeks.