BOSTON – If the Boston Celtics move up in Thursday’s draft from their current spot at No. 16, Kentucky’s Willie Cauley-Stein is certainly a player they would have great interest in selecting.
But according to a report, the Celtics may not have to go as high as anticipated in order to acquire him.
According to DraftExpress.com, there is growing concern among teams near the top of the draft surrounding Cauley-Stein’s foot injury suffered during Kentucky’s NCAA Tournament run in March of 2014 that might result in his draft stock taking a hit on Thursday.
The 7-foot big man suffered a stress fracture in the Wildcat’s March 28 win over Louisville and it was surgically repaired with a pin being inserted.
A sophomore at the time, Cauley-Stein was seen as a mid-to-late first round pick prior to the injury prior to the 2014 NBA draft. Afterwards, Cauley-Stein decided to return to Kentucky in part because of the injury.
The additional year not only helped round out his game but it also provided a jolt to his stock in the eyes of NBA scouts and executives.
Every league executive CSNNE.com has talked in recent weeks views Cauley-Stein as a lottery (top-14) pick who is projected to be selected as early as the No. 6 pick by Sacramento.
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DraftExpress reportedly spoke with five different teams who all indicated “varying degrees of concern” regarding his injury.
Cauley-Stein’s agent Rich Kleiman of Roc Nation Sports (he also represents Boston’s James Young) spoke to DraftExpress about Cauley-Stein’s surgically repaired ankle.
“Willie is not stressing about where he goes in this draft, and teams that have done their research know that there is nothing to be concerned about,” Kleiman said. “Martin O'Malley, a renowned ankle and foot specialist in New York, checked his foot out last week and said he's completely fine. Doctor O'Malley is used by almost every team in the NBA, including working with our client Kevin Durant. The fracture has healed and is asymptomatic. Teams who are overly cautious may want to look into an offseason cleanup if we agreed to it, but currently Willie is 100% pain free and not limited in any way. Any team that really looks at this will have no reason for concern. Teams rely on their doctors, and we rely on ours. I told them they can call Doctor O'Malley and many have already.”
In 2012, similar talk came out at about this time surrounding then-Ohio State star Jared Sullinger.
Expected to be a lottery pick, Sullinger was red-flagged prior to the draft for a potential career-impacting back injury.
Boston knew about the concerns, but they had Sullinger checked out and felt more than comfortable selecting him if he were available when they were on the clock at No. 21.
When he was available, Boston didn’t hesitate to scoop him up.
Sullinger has had two of his three NBA seasons impacted by injuries, one of which being season-ending back surgery during his rookie season.
However, Sullinger was more than worth drafting at No. 21 when you consider his numbers thus far in the NBA – 11.4 points and 7.4 rebounds – are better than a number of big men taken ahead of him in the draft.
Will Cauley-Stein be Sullinger 2.0 for the Celtics?
A lot will depend on how much stock will teams in the lottery put in his injury in 2014.
Cauley-Stein may drop some, but it’s hard to imagine he’ll slip outside of the lottery.
But if he’s now looking more like a player selected in the back half of the lottery (picks 8-14), that gives the Celtics a decent shot at swinging a deal to move up and potentially select him.
Among the teams that Boston might be able to persuade to be a trade partner are Detroit (No. 8 pick), Charlotte (No. 9 pick), and Phoenix (No. 13).
The Celtics have a pair of first-round picks in this year’s draft (16th and 28th overall) along with as many as nine first-round picks in the next four drafts (2016-2019).