Celtics draft recap: C's take Romeo Langford and Grant Williams, trade Aron Baynes

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With the Celtics entering an uncertain offseason, Danny Ainge had himself an interesting evening calling the shots at the 2019 NBA Draft.

After exploring a trade up to a pick as high as No. 5 on Thursday night, the Celtics went with Indiana’s Romeo Langford at No. 14, a high-upside guard who was sometimes inefficient and inconsistent in college but has shown flashes as a natural, instinctive scorer. Langford also dealt with a thumb injury at Indiana that likely contributed to his poor shooting numbers on the surface.

ICYMI: Brad Stevens on Romeo Langford- pic.twitter.com/TqOUy7Vr3p

— Gabby Guerard (@GabbyGuerard) June 21, 2019

From there, Ainge was working the phones to make a deal for the Celtics’ pick at No. 20, eventually dealing the selection — and Washington’s Matisse Thybulle — to Philadelphia for picks No. 24 and 33.

In between a pair of trades, the Celtics went with Grant Williams out of Tennessee at No. 22, a solid post scorer who can rebound and defend, but will probably need to round out his skillset for the modern NBA without much of 3-point shot or individual shot creation.

Once the trade for No. 20 went through, the Celtics immediately turned around and dealt the No. 24 pick to the Suns along with Aron Baynes in what seemed like a salary dump as Boston looks to continue clearing cap space ahead of free agency.

ICYMI: Brad Stevens couldn’t say too much about Aron Baynes directly after the trade was announced. pic.twitter.com/tMoLQTkT0d

— Gabby Guerard (@GabbyGuerard) June 21, 2019

That’s all the dealing Ainge would do on Thursday, as the Celtics hung on to picks 33 and 51 and went with a pair of guards.

Purdue’s Carsen Edwards came off the board at 33, as the Celtics went with a smaller point guard with electric scoring potential. Edwards rose to fame during this NCAA Tournament in March when he torched eventual champs Virginia, pouring in 42 points and hitting 10 threes against one of the best defenses in the country.

Tremont Waters was the Celtics’ final pick at No. 51, an LSU product even smaller than Edwards at just 5-foot-11. A slick point guard, Waters makes the most of his size, and was First Team All-SEC this season.

Boston made four selections in all, three guards and a forward, two Big Ten products and two SEC guys, as well as two trades and the clearing of $5.4 million in cap space.