In the 2019 NBA draft, a few teams stood out amongst the pack. New Orleans landed Zion Williamson and fleeced the Atlanta Hawks. The Memphis Grizzlies picked up a potential star point guard in Ja Morant and another top-five prospect in Brandon Clarke in the 20s.

While those teams certainly did well for themselves, some believe it was the Boston Celtics that had the best overall draft. To go along with pristine asset management, they added four players who were good to great values at their selections, in Romeo Langford, Grant Williams, Carsen Edwards and Tremont Waters.

With this draft, Danny Ainge increased the power of his young nucleus, adding even more assets to a Boston team loaded with them. Despite being the 22nd pick of the NBA draft, Williams was the real prize, as a clear top 10 talent who fell for inexplicable reasons.

In his Summer League debut against the 76ers, Williams shined despite playing only 19 minutes. During his stint on the court, all of his high-level skills led to a stat line of 12 points, six boards, two assists, two steals, two blocks and no turnovers while shooting 50 percent from the field and 50 percent from three.

A genius on and off of the court, Williams’ basketball IQ and feel for the game made it easy to bet on him. His IQ was apparent all night, making high-level plays few rookies can. He will be an impactful team defender from day one; watch how early Williams slides over reading the play, snatching the lob pass out of midair with a superhuman rotation:

Defending the weak corner, Williams reads the pick and roll occurring on the right side of the court and steps in front of the pass attempt to the roll man:

Along with his IQ, Williams’ elite strength will be a major asset on the defensive end, guarding bigs and stymieing drives. After draining the three, Williams picks up the electric Zhaire Smith, cuts off his baseline drive, flips his hips quickly and bumps him into a miss:

His on-ball defense against quicker players is a question mark, as Williams doesn’t have the quickest feet. At the point of attack, Williams was solid in his debut, here sticking with the admittedly unathletic Shake Milton and offering a good contest:

Initially, Williams does well to slide through the screen, but P.J. Dozier turns the corner on him with ease:

On offense, Williams’ high IQ manifests in a multitude of ways, most notably as a passer. In Boston, Brad Stevens will optimize Williams’ playmaking gifts, from short rolls with Kemba Walkers to high-post actions. This bounce pass in transition is great, despite the recipient fumbling the ball:

The body control and intuition required to save this ball and find an open man while falling out of bounds are absurd:

Some knocked Grant down their boards due to his three-point shooting. While his volume and accuracy (14-44) at Tennessee was concerning, his myriad of positive indicators far outweigh any concerns regarding his shooting projection.

Williams posted fantastic marks at the rim (72.2 percent), on two-point jumpers (50.2 percent) and from the line (81.8 percent). These three statistics, along with his excellent touch, are all positive indicators for shooting development. He looked comfortable from beyond the arc and already has the drive-kick-relocate trick in his bag, a tool every high-octane shooter employs:

Williams’ elite touch offers him more offensive versatility then many credit him for, with great potential making difficult shots. At 6-foot-7, Williams can attack a closeout and finish with a soft floater:

Shots like these could be a legitimate facet of Williams’ repertoire; not many can hit spin jumpers over two defenders with any sort of consistency:

Even in Summer League, Williams’ elite feel for the game and touch pop off of the screen and are projectable to the real game. His baseline of skills and IQ will lead him to a positive impact with more upside pertaining to shotmaking development.

Boston’s second-round pick, Carsen Edwards, showed out in his first taste of NBA action. Edwards lit up Philadelphia, posting 20 points and three steals in 28 minutes of action, shooting 41.2 percent from the field and 41.7 percent from three.

The Celtics deployed Edwards in a similar manner to his senior season at Purdue, as their primary initiator. While this isn’t the role Edwards projects in with the Celtics, he can do it in spurts due to his athleticism and shotmaking goodness. Placing in the 71st percentile in off dribble jumpers last season, Edwards is excellent pulling up on a dime:

Comfortable bombing away from anywhere on the court, Edwards’ range extends multiple feet past the three-point line:

With a dynamic first step and solid handle, Edwards is adept at creating space for his pull-up. His high release point and quick rise mean he doesn’t need much airspace to score, here creating space on an excellent defender in Zhaire Smith with the step back:

For a 6-foot guard, Edwards possesses rare strength, allowing him access to avenues closed to most players of his size. While most guards create separation for jumpers with burst and handle, Edwards can do it with strength. It is a unique method of generating space for pull-ups; Edwards bumps Smith to get his shot off here:

Edwards’ best role may be as an off-ball 3-and-D type guard with some secondary playmaking, playing off of Kemba Walker and Jayson Tatum. A fantastic movement shooter, the Celtics can draw up all manner of off-ball screens to get Edwards triples without the ball:

For Edwards to truly succeed at his size, he’ll need to become a nuclear shooter, excellent finisher or improve his passing. The self-creation seems to be a legitimate weapon for Edwards, but his passing projection is less certain. He struggled with decision making last season, with a 0.9 assist to turnover ratio and a concerning usage rate to assist percentage ratio of 34.8 to 18.3. As Boston’s initiator, some of these decision making qualms popped up, with Edwards eschewing drives or passes for contested shots:

Edwards did flash some passing ability in this game, which would be incredibly useful in an off-ball role. Out of the PNR, Edwards fires a hook pass on the money to Grant Williams:

Here’s a heads up play, lofting a pass in semi-transition to Yabusele, who can’t corral the ball:

Despite Edwards’ size, there’s a solid chance he nears neutral or even positive defensive impact due to his strength and 6’6 wingspan. Edwards’ quickness and strength are on display here, fighting through the screen and forcing a difficult shot:

Edwards keeps his man in front of him and rips the rock out at the end of the drive middle:

Performing his best school bully impression, Edwards takes Smith’s lunch money here, swiping the ball away from the attacker:

His awareness as a team defender was good, here rotating to take away the initial drive:

Despite his size, Edwards has a legitimate path to success as an off-ball guard with his shot-making and athletic tools. If his pull-up gravity from three is strong and the passing manifests, he could be an unstoppable pick and roll partner with Grant Williams who will take advantage of the four on threes Edwards creates. Even if the off dribble shotmaking never reaches high levels, Edwards should have a spot in Boston’s rotation contributing positive minutes.

Caught up in the greatness of Williams and Edwards is Boston’s 51st pick, Tremont Waters, whom we should not forget about. Standing under 5-foot-11 in shoes, Waters’ path to NBA impact is steep. He may be one of the few who can pull it off with his cornucopia of skills and feel for the game.

Despite an uninspiring line (nine points on 3-13 shooting), Waters had a positive game in my eyes. His self-creation was problematic, as his lack of size shows up on the offensive end. He’ll need to develop a monster floater game to have any success at the rim in the NBA, as he struggles to finish due to his size and strength.

Waters salvaged his offensive performance with good passing and some shot creation flashes. If he ever wants to be a backup offensive engine or complementary piece, he’ll need a dynamite pull-up game. The space creation and change of pace here are great:

At the basket, Waters will rely on touch and craft, here busting out an off-beat scoop layup to finish with the and one:

One of the better passers in this draft, Waters’ advanced vision and athleticism allows him to get to spots and create openings. Pushing in transition, Waters sucks in two defenders before wrapping a pass around to the corner for a hockey assist:

Driving into space, Waters finds the cutting Robert Williams with an on-target one-handed pass:

For someone who didn’t watch this game closely, they’d likely scoff at this statement: Tre Waters had an excellent defensive game. Despite his diminutive size, Waters was legitimately impactful due to his high-level instincts and IQ on defense. The size will keep him from ever being positive on defense, especially in the playoffs, but he could approach neutral if his defensive playmaking is excellent. At the point of attack, the majority of NBA players will be able to overwhelm Waters:

He’s a genuinely good team defender. here Waters shoots through the pin down and notches a deflection:

Recognizing the driver beat his man, Waters rotates to the ball and gets a steal, showing his astute sense of positioning and awareness:

With quick hands, Waters rips Marial Shayok and takes it the other way:

Tremont Waters is a longshot to be a positive rotation piece on the Celtics, but he landed in the right organization to reach that ceiling. With his skill set and IQ, he’s an excellent project to have in the organization and could one day crack the rotation.

After playing their first game on Saturday, this young Celtics group should continue to be entertaining to watch as the Summer League progresses through the week.