Celtics select Guerschon Yabusele with No. 16 pick in NBA draft

Guerschon Yabusele comes to the NBA from France.

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The Celtics selected French forward Guerschon Yabusele with the No. 16 pick in the 2016 NBA draft.

Yabusele is an ideal draft-and-stash prospect. He has gained experience starring for Rouen the past couple of years, but he’s only 20 and he brings versatility and a lot of potential. 

The Celtics have three picks in the first round of this year’s draft. With the No. 3 pick, they chose California freshman Jaylen Brown. Boston also holds the No. 23 pick.  

Strengths: The burly Yabusele brings a combination of size, strength and scoring that’s hard to find. Although his small French club was relegated from the top league this season, Yabusele was extremely productive. His above-average length, athleticism and touch are enticing on their own. Factor in his improving jump shot, and you can envision it all working, especially in a small lineup.

Weaknesses: Yabusele is a total work in progress on the defensive end, and while playing major minutes at 270 pounds on a bad team doesn’t help, it’ll be his biggest hurdle as he transitions to the NBA game. As he gets into better shape, he may find better performance. He’ll also have to deal with longer, taller defenders on a consistent basis.

Grade: C

Explanation: With eight draft picks at their disposal, Boston’s also got both hands in the draft-and-stash bag, and they’ll invest in burly French forward Yabusele. He anchored a pretty bad team in France last season with a weirdly effective skill set, as he can shoot it from the outside and score on the interior while playing at around 270 pounds. He’s undersized, but has an enormous wingspan. All this said, there were more highly regarded, stashable European bigs in this range who were higher on most draft boards. It’s slightly puzzling. - Jeremy Woo