Boston Celtics Draft - Royce White is Leading Candidate for First Pick

Posted on Friday, June 22, 2012 at 07:48 AM

Larger Text

E-mail

Make a comment

RSS

Archives

+ 2013 archives
+ 2012 archives
+ 2011 archives
+ 2010 archives
- December 2010 (14 entries)

According to ESPN Insider Chad Ford, the Boston Celtics appear to have promised Royce White that they will select him in the upcoming 2012 NBA Draft.

White is a small forward from Iowa State. He is 21 years of age, stands at 6'8", with a 7'0 wingspan, and weighs roughly 260 pounds.

He is an aggressive player who shows a lot of athleticism on the court. His style of play would obviously fit well with Rajon Rondo and Avery Bradley, the two staples of the Celtics' rebuilding process, and he would immediately become the successor to Paul Pierce.

Notably, White is also a very strong rebounder from the small forward position. Rebounding killed the Celtics last year and upgrading in that department is a must moving forward. Much like Avery Bradley did, White comes out of college needing extensive work on his offensive game and shooting in particular.

The Celtics may be attracted to White for value purposes. Many teams have been turned off by him because of an anxiety disorder that he suffers from when flying. When you're playing a full NBA schedule, being able to fly is obviously a vital part of the job.

Nonetheless, if the Celtics can help White overcome that, then they would have a very athletic front court in place with Paul Pierce. There is no question that White complements Bradley and Rondo's play very well from the small forward spot.

During his only season on the court in college, White averaged 13.1 points per game, 9.2 rebounds and 5.1 assists.

E-mail