The Boston Celtics parlayed two late first-round picks in Thursday night's 2012 NBA Draft into two big men with lottery talent, Jared Sullinger of Ohio State and Fab Melo of Syracuse.
Andrew Sharp of SB Nation gave the Celtics an 'A' in his 2012 NBA Draft Grades.
Selected PF Jared Sullinger No. 21, C Fab Melo No. 22, SF Kris Joseph No. 51
As Sullinger continued to slide Thursday, not only was I positive he'd end up on the Celtics, but it just feels like he's destined to come in and spend the next 10 years making everyone else look stupid for doubting him. He's the best offensive big man in the draft, and with his hands and soft touch around the rim, as long as he stays healthy he seems like a perfect candidate to be on the receiving end of Rajon Rondo assists for the next 10 years.
And with Fab Melo, you couldn't really imagine a better scenario for a young, raw big man surrounded by question marks. If there were a boot camp for troubled teenage big men potentially headed down the wrong path, that boot camp would involve spending nine months next to KG, right? Is there any other big man in the league you'd rather put in charge of motivating someone like Fab Melo?
It's not a coincidence that the Celtics' big three keeps turning late 1st rounders into surprising stars (Rondo, Bradley, even Kendrick Perkins), and Melo has as much potential as any of them. Between him and Sullinger, the Celtics did as well as you could ever hope picking in the 20s. Grade: A
Read the rest of Sharp's draft grades.
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