It's a shame that the Boston Celtics weren't able to select Kristaps Porzingis with the #17 pick last year, as they were rumored to have heavy interest in the Latvian 7-footer. But Porzingis made the right move to withdraw, because he improved his game significantly over the past year and is now projected to go Top 10. Despite that, could the Celtics have interest in trading up for him?

Porzingis has always been an appealing prospect. He's a 7-footer. He has outstanding range and can shoot from deep. If he needs to, he can straight-line drive to the rim and finish strong. And on defense he has shot-blocking potential with his super long wingspan. It's rare to find players with that mixture of skills.

Before we look at his fit with the Celtics, here's my full scouting report of him from my 2015 NBA Draft Guide. I'll be releasing the guide on June 12 and it's available for pre-order now. It'll have full-page scouting reports of my top 60 prospects, just like this one.

You can pre-order for $10 by clicking the PayPal Buy Now button below.

Click below to pre-order now using PayPal. Kevin O'Connor's 2015 NBA Draft Guide is the most comprehensive draft resource on the market. It features full-page scouting reports with professional level analysis of Kevin's top 60 prospects. Also included in the eBook/PDF are in-depth team-by-team previews, essays on the draft, a full top 100 list, and a unique two-in-one mock draft. The guide cost $10, but you can pay more if you'd like. Every dollar is truly appreciated. PayPal and most credit cards are accepted. To PayPal directly, my address is KevinOConnorNBA@gmail.com. If you pre-order now, you'll automatically get a free download of my 2014 guide, which features full scouting reports of my top prospects from last year. If it doesn't download immediately after the receipt page, please send me an email at the address above and I will process it to you by the end of the day. Once the 2015 NBA Draft Guide is released on June 12, you'll receive an email to download it. Thank you! ★★★

In the NBA Draft Edition of the CelticsBlog MailBag, footey asked this:

Kevin, you don't seem to have Porzingis ranked as highly on the Celtics needs list as some other guys, such as Cauley-Stein, Hezonja or Winslow. Why is that? It seems that he has the potential to be the best player in this draft looking back in 10 years. How far do you think he will fall, and at what point do you see Danny trying to trade up to grab him?

Porzingis would be an amazing fit for the Celtics. I had him at #5 on my Celtics-specific Big Board 1.0 and he's still there now (2.0 will be published soon). I didn't have him ahead of the aforementioned players, only because I think they are closer to helping the team win games. My impression could be wrong, but I get the sense that they will favor "ready" players, if they're in a position to draft one and there aren't many.

But I think you are correct: Porzingis could become the best player in this draft. This is something discussed in my SB Nation profile of him. Brad Stevens has talked about how they want versatile players, and I think Porzingis could bring that to the Celtics. Even though he can't switch all pick-and-rolls like a Willie Cauley-Stein can, he does project as a guy who could switch onto some wings down the line. His technique needs a lot of improvements, most notably his footwork, but his length and speed bode well for him.

He's a 7-footer with a knockdown three. He got a lot more consistent over the past year and will continue to in the future. He's already very good shooting off the catch and he has flashed potential off the dribble. With the way Stevens wants to space the floor this could be extremely valuable.

Though his low post game is very weak right now, but he is working with legendary European basketball player Audie Norris on that area of his game and has improved a lot in one year. He added a hookshot and a turnaround jumper, which is all I wanted to see from him. Porzingis is never going to be a guy that backs down his man and out-muscles him. But with his length and quickness, he could develop into a face up threat.

One of the key concerns on his fit with the Celtics is his passing vision. Even though Porzingis has made some terrific passes, he has also been prone to excruciating mistakes. Whether he'd miss an open teammate on the drive or fail to make the "simple play," it's something that could hinder his ability in Stevens' motion offense. But at only 19, he has plenty of time to develop in this area.

The problem is that the Celtics would have to trade up into the lottery to select him. He could go as high as #3 to the 76ers or as low as #10 to the Heat. Depending on how the cards fall on draft night, Kristaps Porzingis could be within reasonable range for the Boston Celtics to pick him, but it's still going to take a trade to get there.

Follow @KevinOConnorNBA