Celts17Pride wrote:I’ll be so disappointed if the Celtics take Jordan Walsh. He won’t get on the floor unless his shot improves dramatically. Celtics have enough guys who are a very little threat offensively.
Not to mention they already have a wing they drafted a few years ago that can’t shoot named Juhann Begarin
First of all, Walsh just turned 19. If a title contender like the Celtics drafts him, it's for the long term upside - not necessarily to play right away in year 1. By the time he's ready (in year 2 or year 3) the Celtics roster could look vastly different than it does today.
Secondly, pretty much everyone on our roster is a threat offensively. Tatum and brown are 2 of the best scorers in the league. When you have 2 guys averaging 27+ PPG, you only need a little more firepower - and we have that. Smart is a good passer, can score in iso situations pretty well when he picks his pots, especially when he backs down smaller guards in the post. Brogdon shoots lights out and can create off the dribble pretty well. White has improved a lot as a shooter, good passer, decent at driving and scoring off his drives. Grant can shoot (and improved quite a bit this season attacking off the bounce), Hauser and Pritchard can shoot, Al can shoot (and is a good passer). Rob is the best lob finisher in the league, good finisher out of dunker's spot, on put-backs, good passer. Muscala shoots lights out, we'll get Gallo back healthy who can post up, make good passes, can shoot, drive.
Thirdly, between the scouting report vid I posted and the other stuff I posted, you can see that while Walsh is a little bit limited offensively, he shows good flashes with shooting off the catch, battling/hustling for offensive boards and put-backs, does a good job of pushing the ball in transition which leads to easy baskets for his team, shows flashes of some good drives and finishes at the rim and is a really good/smart/unselfish passer. There's a lot there to work with (along with elite defense and really high motor) and considering he's so young (just turned 19) there's a lot of room for development. 2 years from now, he could be a beast on both ends of the floor.
Fourthly, as I pointed out in my post, he showed good improvement in his shooting as the season went on. Last 19 games of the season he shot 34% from 3 (not too far below NBA league average which is 36%) and also keep in mind, most of the guys in the NBA who shoot 36% or higher are vets who have been in the league for awhile. The average 3 pt % among guys in this draft class is actually 31%. So Walsh (relative to others in this draft class) really isn't
that bad of a shooter, especially considering he's younger than most of the guys in the draft class. Plus, his shooting form is decent, he shot pretty well at the draft combine and his 71% FT (74% over his last 15 games) is respectable.
Fifthly, I don't really think Begarin is factoring in much to who we draft with this pick. If Begarin ends up working out and contributing for the C's eventually, great. But at this point it seems like a long shot - which is no big deal. He was the 45th pick - most guys picked that late in the draft don't make it in the league.
Begarin and Walsh are different players. They're different people. Just because Begarin is a wing we drafted who has struggled with his outside shooting and hasn't played for us yet, that has nothing to do with Walsh or how Walsh projects as an NBA player.
Lastly, Begarin is still only 20 yrs old. He's still so young - still developing - who knows, he could end up being a good shooter and having a good career with the C's. And if he does, there's still room for Walsh to contribute - you can never have enough good, 2-way wings in the modern NBA.
Look, I get it. Drafting a guy who's not a very good shooter might not be ideal - especially with our shooting coach Ben Sullivan headed to Houston. But I feel like with Walsh being so young (and other factors mentioned above) that there's a pretty good chance he eventually ends up being a decent shooter. I also feel like any guy who is still available with the 35th pick is gonna have some serious flaws - if a dude is still available then and is a really good shooter, he's probably got some other flaws that are really bad that will scare you away..no prospect is perfect - especially this late in the draft.
You take a guy like this, knowing that even if he doesn't become a great shooter, he could still be a decent role player, with everything else that he does well (the rebounding, the defense, the passing, the length, the athleticism, strength, motor, flashes of driving to the rim). And if he does develop into a good shooter, he could be a REALLY good role player - or even a star (like he was in HS just a year ago), which would be a steal with the 35th pick.
