Guerschon Yabusele an upside pick with game like Millsap's

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BOSTON – The Celtics have selected French forward Guerschon Yabusele with the 16th pick in the 2016 NBA Draft. With eight draft picks -- and apparently no trades on the radar, yet -- Yabusele is a player the Celtics can draft-and-stash.

Yabusele looks like a body builder with his muscular frame, but he's not a heavyweight. He's nimble, athletic, and can dunk with power at the rim. In the modern NBA, teams love to play small, and in that sense Yabusele could be a tremendous fit as a relatively versatile defender.

It's his offense that's most intriguing, though. Consider how the Celtics could use Yabusele as a small ball center, someone who can set screens, roll the rim, and handle the ball a bit. He does need to tighten his dribble, but the ability is there for him to do a lot of things on offense.

And he can shoot, too. Yabusele drained over 42 percent of his threes this past season in the French league playing for Rouen. He will need to quicken his mechanics though to translate it to the NBA.

Yabusele won't join the Celtics this season, but he's an upside pick with a game similar to Atlanta's Paul Millsap. You can't go wrong with a guy like that. 

Kevin O’Connor can be followed on Twitter: @KevinOConnorNBA

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