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Chris Cenac Jr. of the Boston Celtics.
When the Boston Celtics wrapped up the draft less than two weeks ago (hard to believe), there was a generally positive review of what they’d done. Most significant was the selection of Chris Cenac, from Houston, with the No. 27 pick, a decidedly low mark to land a player who had been projected as a Top 20 pick and who was a Top 10 player coming out of high school before a rocky freshman year at Houston.
But Cenac is 6-foot-11, with a 7-foot-5 wingspan and a perimeter stroke that screams stretch-5 in the NBA. He averaged 7.9 rebounds but just 9.5 points in college, making 33.3% of his 3-pointers. The hope, clearly, is that he was just in an awkward situation last season, and can revert to form once he gets with Celtics coaches.
And now, at least, we can be sure he will be with the Celtics as the team preps for summer league in Las Vegas. On Sunday, the Celtics announced that Cenac has officially signed his four-year rookie deal.
Celtics ‘Did Well’ to Pick Chris Cenac
The Celtics’ draft got varying grades around the league, and was generally overshadowed by the Jaylen Brown trade talks, but one of the most positive outlooks came from ESPN, where Ben Golliver rated the selection–and that of Dillon Mitchell in the second round–as an A-minus.
Golliver wrote: “Brad Stevens did well to select Cenac, a versatile big man who was a top-10 player in his high school class before a somewhat disappointing freshman season at Houston. Cenac looks like a tweener — at 6-foot-11, 240 pounds, he might be stuck between power forward and center — but he still fills a glaring positional need for the Celtics, whose thin and inexperienced frontcourt was exposed by the 76ers in the playoffs.”
Chris Cenac Role in Boston to Be Determined
It’s not clear what Cenac’s role will be in Boston as a rookie, but there should be minutes for him at the 4, if he can earn them. The Celtics have Mitchell Robinson and Neemias Queta at center, and will get power forward minutes from Sam Hauser and Jayson Tatum, who are both more natural wings. Cenac might need time, but if he shows eh can contribute early, he will see the floor.
Cenac said his motor will be there: “All around, coming in playing hard, playing to my strengths, I will be good. I mean, coming in immediately, rebounding, defending, playing hard. And then you know, working on my all around game, getting better every single day and having the right attitude.”
No Celtics Workout
Cenac said he had limited contact with the Celtics, only having talked with them while he was at the combine in Chicago in May. Cenac did not work out for the Celtics, and the expectations was that he would be gone before they picked.
But Boston has had luck with draft sliders, including recent players like Payton Pritchard and Robert Williams.
He said: “The draft, you can go anywhere. So just, open eyes to every single team. Had a great conversation with them during the draft, had a great conversation with them during the combine, so it’s been great.”
Sean Deveney is a veteran sports reporter covering the NBA, NFL and MLB for Heavy.com. He has written for Heavy since 2019 and has more than two decades of experience covering the NBA, including 17 years as the lead NBA reporter for the Sporting News. Deveney is the author of 7 nonfiction books, including “Fun City,” “Before Wrigley became Wrigley,” and “Facing Michael Jordan.” More about Sean Deveney
