The Boston Celtics selected Guerschon Yabusele, a 20-year-old big man out of France, with the No. 16 overall pick in the 2016 NBA Draft on Thursday night. Yabusele wasn't expected to go this high but leaps over some bigger names to join No. 3 pick Jaylen Brown as part of the team's draft haul.
NBA Draft 2016: Celtics select Guerschon Yabusele with 16th pick
The Celtics shock by drafting the French big man.
Yabusele is expected to be stashed in Europe for now, according to The Vertical’s Shams Charania.
The Celtics were rumored to be dangling their picks around the league for possible trades throughout the draft, with names like Jimmy Butler and Nerlens Noel coming up. Instead, the team settled on the 6'8 forward out of France with its second pick of the night, adding to its stockpile of young talent.
Scouting reports say Yabusele has great strength on the block and bullies defenders down low. Measuring at 6’8 and 240 pounds, he’s clearly got the heft to bump up against the big bodies in the NBA, although there’s been some concern that he’s too short given his traditional post skills.
Over at ESPN, Yabusele was ranked No. 30 on Chad Ford’s big board, while Draft Express ranked him No. 32 on its list. That makes him a bit of a reach for Boston with that pick, but given that the team is stashing him, it likely was hoping to land a player who wouldn’t need to fill a roster space next season.
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