Are The Celtics Interested In Emoni Bates?

Are The Celtics Interested In Emoni Bates?

The Boston Celtics have the best record in the NBA as things stand now heading into the new year. Teams like the Celtics have the luxury of taking some swings on draft day that other teams may not be able to swallow the risk. Could Boston take a swing at Emoni Bates during the 2023 NBA Draft?

Jonathan Givony of ESPN had the Celtics taking Bates in his latest mock draft. Don’t bother clicking the link unless you have ESPN+. This post is for the Celtics fans that are a little horned up for early draft news. Givony also has Boston selecting Zach Edey and Recce Beekman in his mock draft.

Does it mean anything? Maybe. The draft is SEVERAL months away so things can change quickly. However, Bates has some serious off-the-court issues that’s going to affect his draft stock. Givony has Bates sliding to pick 47 for that very reason.

After transferring away from Memphis, Bates is averaging 19.4 points and 5.7 rebounds per game for Eastern Michigan. The talent is there considering Bates was the third overall high school recruit in the country in 2021 cycle. Bates is also 6-foot-9 and could provide the Celtics some valuable depth wing depth that they currently don’t have off the bench. The landing spot does make some sense in terms of finding a winning culture where Bates can develop in a stable environment.

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Boston has three second round picks in the upcoming draft. Will the C’s use one of them on Bates? Could they even package the picks to move up into the late first round area? Time will tell.