The Boston Celtics had two first-round picks in the 2012 NBA draft, and neither of them were used to select Draymond Green, a transcendent two-way force who’s single-handedly proving how influential a defender can be.
This was a mistake, but isn’t one anyone can fault the Celtics for making when 29 teams did the exact same thing. The Golden State Warriors eventually snatched Green up in the second round (as their third pick of the draft), and the rest is history.
But at this year’s Sloan Sports Analytics Conference in Boston, former Celtics forward Brian Scalabrine revealed that the team’s assistant general manager, Mike Zarren, once had Green ranked third on his draft board.