The Summer Celtics don’t have a traditional point guard on the roster, a position usually relied upon to generate a little upheaval on opposing offenses.
The blueprint of the re-built Celtics is a series of concentric circles. In the middle are the offensive engines of Boston’s offense with Jayson Tatum, Payton Pritchard, Paul George, and Derrick White being the most likely leading scorers in that order. The next level outside that core is your margin-control support staff. Think Baylor Scheierman,
Ron Harper Jr., Sam Hauser, and Neemias Queta — players tasked to not make mistakes and accentuate the best players.
The larger circle represents your ceiling raisers, a group of hellraisers that could swing games all season. That’s Hugo Gonzalez, Jordan Walsh, and Mitchell Robinson. For a team focused on limiting turnovers and controlling the boards, that trio of banshees flip the script on opponents, trying to force turnovers and generate extra possessions with offensive rebounds.
And out in Las Vegas for the next week, the Celtics are developing their next group of game changers and energy shifters.
When you’re picking on the backend of the draft, the available pool can be a bit of an island of misfit toys. There are those more polished players like Scheierman and to some extent, Amari Williams. Those 4-5 years in college have rounded out their games. But there are also those diamonds in the rough, one-and-dones and transfer portal frequenters that never found their place that may have some glaring flaws, but also show some clear portable NBA skills.
In the 2026 NBA Draft, the Celtics front office identified two players that could potentially be part of that outer circle crew, Chris Cenac Jr. and Dillon Mitchell.
“He’s awesome. He’s just a live body, you know? And as he gets used to the pace, and I think [takes] his shape, and just getting out there more, he’s going to be a really good player,” Summer League coach Amile Jefferson said of Cenac Jr.’s modest debut.
“He can just do so many things on the court. You saw him put the ball on the floor. You saw him shoot the three. You saw him screen. His rebounding is incredible, and so for us, I think he can have an immediate impact.”
The #27 pick finished with a strong double-double, 14 points and 10 rebounds, with four blocks and the game-tying three in regulation.
Mitchell didn’t fill up the box score like his fellow rookie, but his four stocks (two steals and two blocks) are indicative of what his contributions could look like early in his Celtics career.
“He’s probably the loudest voice we have right now. He talks nonstop — on defense, on offense, in huddles — and that’s huge for a young guy,” Jefferson told Celtics.com’s Marc D’Amico.
“The speed of the game… he already gets it. He’s able to slow things down on both ends, which is rare for a rookie. Everyone sees the athleticism, but his mind is what really stands out. That’s what’s going to let him impact the offense even when he’s not shooting.”
At one point in the win over the Raptors, Cenac Jr. attempted a putback over Mitchell that ended with a missed dunk and both players splayed across the Cox Pavillion floor. It was an insane display of athleticism and reckless abandon. Pure chaos.
Back in 2007 when Danny Ainge put together the Big Three, Boston was able to retain some of their core in Rajon Rondo, Tony Allen, and Kendrick Perkins. All were late first round picks in the 20’s and all contributed to raising Banner 17. Maybe this is a bit of getting drunk on small sample Summer League showings and a fever dream of what could be by training camp in September then a two-week run in the December dog days of the NBA season then a spark off the bench in June and July, but what might have been a mirage on draft night is quickly crystalizing as a real vision for the two rookies.
