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Celtics president Brad Stevens opens up about JD Davison, Boston’s No. 53 pick of the 2022 NBA draft

justin quinn
·4 min read
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As might be expected with the 53rd pick of the 2022 NBA draft, the Boston Celtics went with a player likely something of a mystery to most Celtics fans, freshman point guard JD Davison out of the University of Alabama. The word on the Latohatchee, Alabama native is that he oozes athleticism and the potential that comes with his lightning-fast downhill attack.

But also that he is something of a disaster on wheels when it comes to decision-making, which is amplified by how raw the young prospect is in terms of skills and a feel for the game. That can change with a team investing time in Davison, which Celtics team president Brad Stevens gave every indication that Boston intends to after the franchise selected the 19-year-old Crimson Tide floor general.

“He’s a guy that we’ve seen all year long,” suggested Stevens. “Very young, very explosive, that’s pretty obvious.”

“He has the ability to get inside the paint and make plays and has some things that he’ll have to improve on, but has a lot of physical tools,” added the Celtics president.

“A good competitor,” he observed, noting he “played in a really good program” with “really good coaches.”

“We’re looking forward to getting him up to Boston,” Stevens suggested.

There had been considerable discussion about Boston trying to move up in the draft to grab an early second-rounder or perhaps even a first, but the team president explained why this didn’t happen on draft night. “The cost for moving up was just too, too much for where we are,” said Stevens.

“Whether that was into the 20s, or even the 30s, or, or even the low 40s. For us, it was, okay, we’ve got a good list of guys that we’re comfortable with.”

“As the draft continued, it became obvious that we had two or three guys still on our board there,” continued Boston’s President of Basketball Operations.

“The last couple of pics to choose from, (we) felt pretty good about it. Tonight was about finding somebody that we could invest in, that we could put a lot of time into, that we could help grow in their young career and hopefully … help JD in particular … get better and really start their career off on the right foot with an investment from a staff and organization for the long term, so we weren’t looking for anybody necessary that was going to come in and change the game for our team at 53.”

“We talked about moving up, but parting with significant players on our team, parting with draft assets that you can use with these TPEs at the trade deadline and those types of things didn’t make much sense,” explained Stevens.

And while the Celtics president admitted Davison needs “to improve as any 19-year-old would be,” he reiterated Boston is ready to provide the structure he’ll need to succeed.

“We do think he’s got a good feel as far as getting the ball out of his hands quickly and finding the right people,” he suggested, and at least so far, it seems the Celtics may very well be said right people.

This post originally appeared on Celtics Wire. Follow us on Facebook!

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