NBA Draft 2012: Evaluating Kris Joseph as Boston Celtics' Draft Pick

In terms of talent available in the second round of the NBA draft, the Celtics did about as well as they could have by drafting Kris Joseph out of Syracuse. During his senior season, he was the leading scorer for Cuse.

Yes, you read that right. He was the leading scorer for one of the best basketball teams in the country. Even more astounding, though, is that he scored more than Dion Waiters.

That means that scoring-wise, he was more potent than the fourth pick in the whole draft, even though he went No. 52.

Obviously, there is some reasoning behind the disparity in the picks—mainly the potential that Waiters has and the fact that he had some good workouts. Still, the Celtics got a steal with Joseph in the late second round.

Although Joseph may not play much during his rookie season, his talents will still be valuable to the Celtics now and, more importantly, in the future. His athleticism could land him some floor time, but even if it doesn't, it will still help to make practices more competitive. 

In the future, as he develops more, he could turn into a good role player off the bench with his aforementioned athleticism, rebounding ability and knack for scoring.

And being around Paul Pierce will only help his scoring ability. 

Pierce is one of the keenest small forwards in terms of scoring the ball, and he can certainly teach the more athletic Joseph some of his moves and tricks. 

With Pierce's teaching, Joseph could turn into a solid scorer in the NBA. If that is the case, then the Celtics will have struck gold in the second round.

And even if that doesn't happen, Joseph's athleticism and raw scoring ability is still enough to justify the pick by the Celtics.