The Boston Celtics have been a juggernaut in the recent NBA past. Boston has won at least 51 games in four consecutive seasons, including a combined 125 regular season victories over the past two years. Within that run, the Celtics hoisted the Larry O'Brien Trophy in 2024, made two more Eastern Conference Finals appearances, and generally operated at an elite level.
However, the 2025-26 season projects to be a retooling year for the Celtics. That shift began with the Achilles injury suffered by Jayson Tatum during the 2025 NBA Playoffs, and it continued with offseason trades that sent Kristaps Porzingis to Atlanta and Jrue Holiday to Portland. Overall, it is clear that the Celtics are not focused on maximizing their potential to win in 2025-26, even as Jaylen Brown and Derrick White help to provide a reasonable floor.
With that in the background, the Celtics nabbed Hugo Gonzalez with the No. 28 pick in the 2025 draft, and he averaged 10.8 points, 4.5 rebounds, and 2.8 assists per game in four Summer League appearances. However, Gonzalez scuffled to just 30.2 percent shooting, and the 19-year-old is certainly a work in progress. Of course, that does not mean that Gonzalez will flail in Boston, but the Celtics have an interesting opportunity to actually let a late first round pick play some in 2025-26, especially given their modest present-day aspirations. To that end, Gonzalez might see the floor and, while the focus may be elsewhere for most of the season, Celtics fans could be looking around to see what "might have been" if the team went in a different direction.
Here, we'll take a glance at three players selected after Gonzalez that could have Boston fans yearning during the upcoming season.
Rasheer Fleming
With the advent of the two-night NBA Draft, there was effectively a bidding war for Fleming. He ended up being the No. 31 pick in the draft, ending up with the Phoenix Suns. The 6-foot-8 forward from St. Joseph's measured with a 7-foot-5 wingspan at the NBA Draft Combine, and Fleming could bring a combination of size, physicality and shooting ability that NBA teams crave. Fleming was only able to appear in three Summer League games, but he generally looked the part. Beyond that, he is older and more NBA-ready than Gonzalez. That should be taken with a grain of salt in an overall sense, but not everyone would approach that reality with an even-handed manner.
Liam McNeeley
Doesn't Liam McNeeley just sound like a Celtics player? Anyway, the former UConn forward only got a chance to play two Summer League games for injury reasons, but he averaged 18.0 points, 8.5 rebounds, and 4.0 assists while shooting 43 percent from 3-point range. McNeeley was once a projected lottery pick who was still on the board when Boston took Gonzalez, and the 6-foot-7 shooter would have fit nicely in Boston with his shooting and basketball IQ. At the very least, he will probably have a few hot shooting nights in Charlotte this season that leave Boston fans wondering what it would look like in green.
Ryan Kalkbrenner
Kalkbrenner slipped into the second round, perhaps due to his age (23) and relatively low ceiling as an overall player. At the same time, the 7-foot-1 center has a massive 7-foot-6 wingspan, a proven track record as an elite rim protector, and the theoretical ability to stretch the floor. In fact, during the draft process, some compared Kalkbrenner to former Celtics big man Luke Kornet, and that might be a comparison that Celtics fans reach for again if things go well for Kalkbrenner in Charlotte. Also, the Hornets are in a position where Kalkbrenner will almost certainly play a ton, giving Boston fans plenty of chances to see what they may have missed.