Michigan State Basketball: NBA mock draft projections for Xavier Tillman

Michigan State basketball’s Xavier Tillman is preparing for the NBA draft, but after the lottery, where do various mocks have him going?

Just a couple of weeks after making that official decision to remain in the NBA draft, Xavier Tillman is getting a decent idea of where he might land.

Plenty of mock drafts have him going in the first round and there’s one team that’s standing out in terms of potentially selecting him.

Here’s where the latest mock post-NBA Lottery mock drafts have Winston ending up.

• Bleacher Report: Not picked in first round
• CBS Sports: No. 26 overall to Celtics
• SB Nation: No. 26 overall to Celtics
• Busting Brackets: No. 25 overall to Thunder (via Nuggets)
• FOX Sports: No. 26 overall to Celtics

Clearly every major site believes that Tillman would be a great fit with the Celtics and it’s tough to argue that. The Celtics do have Enes Kanter at center along with Vincent Poirier, Daniel Theis, Tacko Fall and Robert Williams, but two of those could be free agents this offseason.

None of those guys is a major impact player and outside of Theis, not one of them looks like a legit starter if Kanter was to leave. The Celtics need some solid depth.

Tillman might be a bit of an NBA project as an undersized center with no major post game on offense, but he’s a plus defender and has a great motor. Boston would be a great fit.

It’s rare to find a single mock draft without Tillman going in the first round, but Bleacher Report was the most prominent to exclude him. That’s a good sign for his future.