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The Boston Celtics hold the luxury of possessing the first overall pick in the 2017 NBA Draft, where early expectations are that the team will select University of Washington point guard Markelle Fultz.
This would pair Fultz in the backcourt alongside All-Star point guard Isaiah Thomas next season. In light of that, former Washington head coach Lorenzo Romar has weighed on the possibility, voicing much confidence that it could work out, according to Chris Greenberg of Boston.com.
“Both of them have played with the ball and without the ball,” he said. “And they both can be effective with the ball and without the ball. And that’s the beauty of both of those guys. There are some who are such pure point guards that if they don’t have the ball in their hands then they don’t know how to function. Both those guys are complete guards.”
Romar's perspective should be taken with some weight given that he coached both players during his tenure at Washington. He has first-hand experience of how each player operates on the court and doesn't see their styles of play conflicting in any manner.
Fultz is coming off a highly productive freshman campaign where he averaged 23.2 points on 47.6 percent shooting from the field and 41.3 percent from beyond the arc along with 5.9 assists and 5.7 rebounds per game. He was the first freshman since LaDrell Whitehead in the 1994-95 season to average at least 20.0 points, 5.0 assists, and 5.0 rebounds per game
Meanwhile, Thomas had his best individual season averaging career-highs with 28.9 points on 46.3 percent shooting from the field with 5.9 assists per game that helped him earn his second straight All-Star selection and first All-NBA Second Team nod.
However, there are questions about their shared score-first mentalities if they can work effectively for the betterment of the Celtics' chances. If General Manager Danny Ainge has any doubt in that regard, Boston could look to go another direction with the pick that includes trading it away for, possibly, an all-star caliber paint presence.
