I thought this might be an interesting thread, what with a week and a half before the 2020 draft.
How I approached this: I considered a grade of "B" as "expected value for draft position." I resisted giving "incomplete" as a grade, as it would be too easy to do, considering we haven't seen all that much of any of them (Grant has spent the most time on an NBA court).
Romeo Langford, #14: C
This may seem low, but I'm growing skeptical Langford can stay healthy. His injuries aren't minor either: he's had torn ligaments twice (thumb, wrist). His three-point shot may look better than Lonzo's, but not by much. His defense is encouraging, with long arms and an ability to stick close; he can bother shots even when someone appears to beat him on the drive. He seems to have a really good court sense. People could argue his grade should be "incomplete," and his outcomes are quite wide, but my major concern right now is durability. Who we could've had instead: Clarke, Thybulle.
Grant Williams, #22, B
I think Grant was solid value, but his natural limitations are noticeable in the NBA. He's just a little shorter, a little slower, and a little less athletic than the typical NBA player at his position. However, it's impressive how smart he is, and unselfish, and how well he's recognized and adapted to his limitations. And he's built like a bull. I think he's going to figure out how to get his offense inside; we saw flashes of that, though mostly he seemed content to take set-and-shoot three pointers. He seems like someone who could be a sixth man of the year type. A bit of a tendency to commit dumb fouls; he had this rap in college too. You could argue he's a B+, based on recency bias (playoffs).
Carsen Edwards, #33, C
Edwards' future really depends on that three-point shot. He was 31.6% from three in Boston last year, which just isn't nearly good enough. Even more disappointing, he played in about 13 games in Maine, and took about 120 three-pointers, and made only 27.7%, which is even worse, in a league where you get a cleaner look at the basket. If he's not the microwave scorer he was touted to be, and he can't run an offense, he's not going to be of much use, being only 5' 11". However, since he was picked #33, expectations aren't too high.
Tremont Waters, #51, A-
This is the position where I really think Ainge got value. Waters is small (5' 10"), but unlike Edwards has elite quickness, so he can knock the ball free when whoever he's guarding brings it down low. He was G League player of the year, had a slightly better than 2 to 1 ratio of assists to turnovers, and shot 35.4% from three. At the draft combine, he was one of the fastest in the sprint and had a 40-inch vertical leap. Unfortunately in the NBA he shot only 17% from three, but he was a 78% free-throw shooter in the G League, so mid-30s from three-point range seems like a reasonable projection. It'll take a little time to adjust to the NBA, but I like him a lot as a backup point guard.
Overall draft: B or B-
How I approached this: I considered a grade of "B" as "expected value for draft position." I resisted giving "incomplete" as a grade, as it would be too easy to do, considering we haven't seen all that much of any of them (Grant has spent the most time on an NBA court).
Romeo Langford, #14: C
This may seem low, but I'm growing skeptical Langford can stay healthy. His injuries aren't minor either: he's had torn ligaments twice (thumb, wrist). His three-point shot may look better than Lonzo's, but not by much. His defense is encouraging, with long arms and an ability to stick close; he can bother shots even when someone appears to beat him on the drive. He seems to have a really good court sense. People could argue his grade should be "incomplete," and his outcomes are quite wide, but my major concern right now is durability. Who we could've had instead: Clarke, Thybulle.
Grant Williams, #22, B
I think Grant was solid value, but his natural limitations are noticeable in the NBA. He's just a little shorter, a little slower, and a little less athletic than the typical NBA player at his position. However, it's impressive how smart he is, and unselfish, and how well he's recognized and adapted to his limitations. And he's built like a bull. I think he's going to figure out how to get his offense inside; we saw flashes of that, though mostly he seemed content to take set-and-shoot three pointers. He seems like someone who could be a sixth man of the year type. A bit of a tendency to commit dumb fouls; he had this rap in college too. You could argue he's a B+, based on recency bias (playoffs).
Carsen Edwards, #33, C
Edwards' future really depends on that three-point shot. He was 31.6% from three in Boston last year, which just isn't nearly good enough. Even more disappointing, he played in about 13 games in Maine, and took about 120 three-pointers, and made only 27.7%, which is even worse, in a league where you get a cleaner look at the basket. If he's not the microwave scorer he was touted to be, and he can't run an offense, he's not going to be of much use, being only 5' 11". However, since he was picked #33, expectations aren't too high.
Tremont Waters, #51, A-
This is the position where I really think Ainge got value. Waters is small (5' 10"), but unlike Edwards has elite quickness, so he can knock the ball free when whoever he's guarding brings it down low. He was G League player of the year, had a slightly better than 2 to 1 ratio of assists to turnovers, and shot 35.4% from three. At the draft combine, he was one of the fastest in the sprint and had a 40-inch vertical leap. Unfortunately in the NBA he shot only 17% from three, but he was a 78% free-throw shooter in the G League, so mid-30s from three-point range seems like a reasonable projection. It'll take a little time to adjust to the NBA, but I like him a lot as a backup point guard.
Overall draft: B or B-