Follow Us
Subscribe
On Wednesday night, the Boston Celtics completed a blockbuster three-team trade with the Washington Wizards and the Memphis Grizzlies. The Celtics received star big man Kristaps Porzingis along with the 25th pick in the 2023 draft and a 2024 first-round pick via the Golden State Warriors. The Wizards received Tyus Jones, Danilo Gallinari, Mike Muscala, and the 35th pick in the 2023 draft, and the Grizzlies received defensive ace Marcus Smart.
Giving up Smart in the deal — who spent nine seasons playing for the green and white — will be a tough pill to swallow for many Celtics fans. But the deal made sense from a basketball perspective, as the Celtics received the best player in the deal, and they were also the only team to net a first-round pick from the three-team trade.
There are players projected to fall within the pick-25 range who the Celtics should avoid drafting, but there are also plenty of players in this range who could make an impact for the Celtics right away. And there's one prospect, in particular, who stands out as someone who is a perfect fit for the Celtics, especially now that Marcus Smart is headed to Memphis. With all of that said, here are two reasons why Marcus Sasser is the perfect fit for the Celtics with the 25th overall pick in the 2023 NBA Draft:
2 reasons Marcus Sasser is perfect fit for Celtics with No. 25 pick in 2023 NBA Draft
1. Playmaking
Sasser, a 6'1″ guard who played for Houston, didn't necessarily turn heads with his playmaking this season. He averaged just 3.1 dimes per game in his senior year. But while Sasser might not ever be the primary playmaker for an NBA team, he oozes secondary-playmaker potential.
Sasser did a great job limiting turnovers during his college career. He averaged just 1.4 turnovers per game across his four-year career at Houston, a very low number for a high-usage guard such as himself. Plus, Sasser had success and looked comfortable functioning as the pick-and-roll ball handler for Houston throughout his collegiate tenure.
The 22-year-old has more than enough playmaking chops to be an effective secondary playmaker for the Celtics in 10-15 minutes per game off of the bench.
2. Three-point shooting
The Celtics lived and died by the three-pointer as much as any team in the NBA this season. They averaged a whopping 42.6 three-point attempts per game in the 2022-23 regular season, the second-most in the league behind only the Golden State Warriors. And Sasser's ability to shoot the ball from deep is one of his trademark skills.
In his senior year, Sasser was one of the better three-point shooting guards in the nation. He converted 38.4% of his threes on 6.9 attempts per contest, an impressive blend of efficiency and usage rate. And the various ways in which Sasser scored the ball from deep are almost just as impressive. He proved to be comfortable both creating his own shot from deep off the dribble and spotting up off of the catch.
Only time will tell who the Boston Celtics end up selecting with the 25th overall pick in the 2023 NBA Draft. At least Celtics fans won't have to wait much longer for the answer, though, as the NBA Draft will take place on Thursday. What's already abundantly clear, however, is that Marcus Sasser's playmaking chops and three-point shooting ability make him a perfect fit for the Celtics.