The Boston Celtics have the luxury of making eight draft picks in the upcoming 2016 NBA draft this June in New York. There is a possibility that the Atlantic division team will exercise the draft-and-stash route with a couple of international players, considering the franchise's goal of expanding overseas and growing their game.

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Considering this, it makes that Chinese young center Zhou Qi (pronounced Joe Chee) is a reasonable target for one of the Brad Steven-led team's three, first-round picks. Zhou was in Massachusetts last week and reportedly participated in the Celtics' workout.

According to Sherod Blakely of the CSNNE, choosing the Chinese national with the No. 3 overall pick is unlikely to come up. And opting for a player to "keep tucked away" with the 16th pick is a bit of a stretch, too.

"But selecting Zhou at No. 23 is definitely something the Celtics will consider",  he noted.

The club has five other draft rights in the second-round. League executives contacted this weekend by CSNNE expect the Asian big man to be taken in the latter stages of the first round. B

Zhou Qi, who hails from Xinxiang, Henan province of China, jumped onto the radar of NBA teams in 2011 when he scored 43 points and nabbed 19 boards in a match against the South Korea at the Asia Under-16 Championships. He has also participated in the pre-draft workouts of the Memphis Grizzlies and Phoenix Suns.

The 20-year-old towering 7-foot-2-inches tall center played two seasons for the Xinjiang Flying Tigers in the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA). Zhou helped the Flying Tigers reach the semifinal round in the recently concluded 2015-16 season of the league. He is averaging 15.8 points, 9.8 boards and 3.2 blocked shots per contest.

With Xinjiang, Zhou played with former and current NBA players Andrew Goudelock, Bryce Cotton, and Andray Blatche this season. He has been the CBA blocks leader for two-straight years (2015 and 2016).

TagsNBA, 2016 NBA Draft, Zhou Qi, Boston Celtics, phoenix suns, Memphis Grizzlies, cba, Xinjiang Flying tigers