Pruitt, Giddens and Walker...

[Rocky5000]

Bill Walker's top 10 NBA plays of 2008-09
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B1wM39T4PCE
In case you forgot.

Bill Walker will be an NBA player, I am sure of that. I am not so sure in the case of Giddens, but he definitely has a chance. Both guys were very efficient scorers in the D-league, but both had problems with turnovers. Pruitt, I have lost confidence in. His shooting just hasn't been there when given the chance. Aside from the big minutes he was given in preseason against the Nets, he had a pretty miserable year. In preseason, he looked very good playing with the big 3. Either he can't get into a rhythm as a bench player, or the big 3 + low preseason effort by the other team made he look a lot better than he actually is.

[Jammer]

J. R. Giddens. 6' 4" height w/o shoes. Superior SG quickness. Overly Long arms.
24 years, 4 months old. Not a reliable shooter, but may not be hopeless.
Has the tools to be a first class defender. Can finish a break extremely well.
Rebounds extremely well. Unknown what type of scorer he will be since he hasn't played much
and his shot isn't dependable.
May be skilled enough to defend the quicker Small Forwards as well.
Although 24+, Giddens could turn out to be a solid reserve since he
already has the tools to be a superior defender and rebounder for his position.
His success will be basically governed by his shot and basketball I.Q.

It doesn't help his reputation that he was caught stealing 4 personal computers from a Walmart
that he worked at; and in a separate incident, was knifed in the leg when he got into a bar fight.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
Gabe Pruitt. 23 years, 2 months. Of the 3 basic skills PG's are judged on,
Pruitt only exhibits the third trait.
He has not shown that he can run a team,
and he can not take care of the ball in the face of the best on ball defenders
or when double teamed. So, basically, offensively, he is not a PG.

Pruitt also is not a scorer, the second trait desired in a PG. The reason he doesn't
score is he shoots a low percentage, despite taking the second most shots on the
Celtics on a per minutes basis.

Lastly, Pruitt does seem to be able to defend NBA point guards quite well. So, in answer
to the question where do you play him, since he can defend PG's, people assume that
he is a PG, even though he has not demonstrated that he can run an offense or score.
___________________________________________________________________________________________

Now, Billy Walker is 20 years, 8 months old, with double ACL surgery.
He still has potential. He is the most likely to grow into something.
Unfortunately, whether he has the speed/quickness for SG as he matures
is a concern. He does have SF quickness, but he may not have the size,
although he seems to play taller than his height.
Walker may develop into a quality second stringer, although last season,
he didn't show that much except some nice highlights.

[GuyClinch]

Pruitt did get some minutes this season - but he didn't really seize the day. I think he is gone with Hudson here. As a project player you have to step up when given the chance.

Walker and Giddens never got enough burn to say much about them one way or the other. So I will reserve judgement. Though Walker looked brutal in his few minutes. He looked almost identical to Kedrick Brown. You know the flashes of amazing athleticism mixed with general cluelessness and crappy ball handling.

Fans on this board in general are far too soft when it comes to young players. I have said it before if you can play you show it right away. Doc plays young guys who contribute. He played Rondo, Jefferson, West, TA over a 1000 minutes in their rookie year. If you beat out people in practice you will get burn. Doc is fair.

People need to realize Doc knows what he is doing. There is no free lunch in the NBA. You have to earn your minutes.

[cloverleaf]

If Pruitt isn't Mr. Authoritative-Knowledgeable, playing up his superior understanding and taking charge in summer camp next week he's gone--as he should be. What'll be interesting is seeing Giddens, Walker and Hudson all trying to make their mark and score at the same time: should make for an interesting week at the very least.

[Celtics_85]

As far as Pruitt goes he is a little different when talking about Summer League. The brass know what they have with Pruitt and have publicly spoke of what a good shooter he is. The problem with us is we haven't seen enough of him as they have. He sure hasn't caught our eye as of yet, but he hasn't played enough minutes consistantly as he does in practice where the coaches see enough of him. I'll take their word for things and give the kid the benefit from what they have said from what I have seen. Time will tell and some of these posters who say he is done, well the the brass have stated to your contrary.

[Darth Celtic]

roster

Rondo-FA (marbury maybe)-rookie
Allen-FA-house-allen
Pierce-walker
KG-baby-Scal
Perk-FA

so, if we really do resign marbury and get a sf/sg and center in free agency

that is 14 players, with giddons, pruit, and powe to fight for 15th spot. My money is on pruitt being traded or option not picked up after summer league.

[threrf23]

I liked Pruitt based on what I had read about him before he was drafted. It was supposed to take a few years for him to develop NBA caliber PG skills, and even right now he is solid enough on the defensive end to be a nice role player in limited minutes. I would hate to see us let Pruitt go, we have very little to lose by keeping him considering he has no real trade value. Yes, he's always smiling perhaps and hence comes off as less than competitive, but balance is always key IMO and guys like Perk/KG/Rondo help balance his jubilance (and have more influence). (And ETA - his A/TO ratio last season was better than Billups' at the same age)

Bill Walker - sometimes those running into knee problems take more than a year to fully recover and show what they are capable of. Sometimes immensely talented players take time to get down the relevant intangibles before blossoming into very solid players. Statistically, he was one of the worst players in the league last season, but,

He was coming off of a knee injury, and check Rivals.com's previous rankings of the 2007 High School class -

2007 Rank Pos Ht/Wt Schools
1 Michael Beasley
Fitchburg (MA) Notre Dame F 6-9/235 Kansas State
Beasley, MichaelThe hallmark of Beasley's game is versatility. He is a 6-foot-9 combo forward with both a powerful game and a finesse game. The future of the NBA calls for forwards who can run, defend multiple positions and stretch the defense on the offensive end. Beasley fits this mold to a tee. He is effective in transition both as a finisher and handler. He is capable of switching on the high ball screen and guarding a perimeter player while also capable of banging down low against the big boys. Offensively, he can score at all three levels and is a terrific scorer and passer off the dribble, causing match up problems for his opponents.
2 Eric Gordon
Indianapolis (IN) North Central G 6-4/215 Indiana
Power guard is a dominant scorer.
3 Derrick Rose
Chicago (IL) Simeon G 6-4/194 Memphis
Possesses a unique combination of athleticism and playmaking skill.
4 O.J. Mayo
Huntington (WV) Huntington G 6-5/215 Southern Cal
Can dominate games with his strength, skill and competitiveness.
5 Kyle Singler
Medford (OR) South Medford F 6-8/210 Duke
Perhaps the most complete player in the 2007 class.
6 Kevin Love
Lake Oswego (OR) Lake Oswego C 6-9/240 UCLA
Shoots and passes the ball better than any big man in the class.
7 Bill Walker
Cincinnati (OH) North College Hill F 6-6/220 Kansas State
Top shelf athlete who is constantly improving with the ball. Accelerated his academics in order to enroll at Kansas State for the 2006-2007 season.
8 DeAndre Jordan
Houston (TX) Christian Life Center C 7-0/240 Texas A&M
Lengthy athlete could be a lottery pick one day.
9 Donte Greene
Baltimore (MD) Towson Catholic F 6-9/217 Syracuse
Expanded shooting range is elevating his face up game.
10 J.J. Hickson
Marietta (GA) Wheeler F 6-8/220 NC State
Impossible to guard one-on-one in the low-post.
11 James Harden
Rancho Dominguez (CA) Artesia G 6-5/200 Arizona State
Lengthy guard knows how to play.
12 Anthony Randolph
Dallas (TX) Woodrow Wilson F 6-10/210 LSU
Has the tools to be a NBA small forward.
13 Jerryd Bayless
Phoenix (AZ) St. Mary's G 6-3/193 Arizona
No one elevates as high on his pull up jumper.
14 Nick Calathes
Winter Park (FL) Lake Howell G 6-5/185 Florida
Basketball I.Q. is off the charts.
15 Austin Freeman
Hyattsville (MD) DeMatha G 6-3/185 Georgetown
The most lethal mid-range scorer in the class.
16 Kosta Koufos
Canton (OH) Glenoak C 7-0/252 Ohio State
Euro-style big man who is great with the ball.
17 Patrick Patterson
Huntington (WV) Huntington F 6-8/228 Kentucky
Skilled, athletic and hard playing.
18 Nayal Koshwal
Chicago (IL) Boys to Men Academy F 6-9/235 DePaul
Scoring and rebounding machine around the basket.
19 Chandler Parsons
Winter Park (FL) Lake Howell F 6-8/190 Florida
A sharp shooter who can run.
20 Craig Brackins
Wolfeboro (NH) Brewster Academy F 6-10/220 Iowa State
Lengthy post player is effective inside and outside.

I do think it would be stupid to give up on Bill Walker. What does worry me a little are the reports that he got on KG's bad side during training camp last season. KG is a good judge of other players.

Giddens - I have no clue. An SG with no PG skills is the easiest player to replace. He was a 4 your college guy with limited upside to begin with and did not have a history of consistent discipline (same with Lester Hudson). In college he was a poor FT% shooter and despite quantities his three point shooting percentages were unimpressive for a guy who was 22 entering his senior year. And he was said to have a poor midrange game to complement that.

By objective measures, I felt Pruitt had good potential to eventually develop into a solid player before we drafted him. By objective measures, I could cite various reasons as to why Giddens seemed at least iffy from the get go. His lack of fitting in last season reinforces the negatives that existed when we drafted him, whereas Pruitt's lack of quick development is in line with expectations, and he was statistically a good defensive player in limited minutes last season. Giddens should go, IMO, even if his defense come along nicely Pruitt could fill his role well enough, perhaps.