RealGM

Now that the Celtics' roster is likely complete for the season, general manager Danny Ainge is working on the future. So Ainge is on the road scouting for the draft, planning to check out the Pacific-10 and West Coast Conference tournaments.

"Before draft time, you've got to get a feel for the top 60 guys in the draft," said Ainge.

Despite that success, Ainge said he is open-minded about trading his draft picks if a deal can add a veteran who could help immediately.

"We can find someone that can help us," Ainge said. "The big question is, will we draft someone to the team? We have some good young guys and some good veterans. Do we add a veteran? Trade the pick for a veteran?"

Link: http://www.boston.com/sports/basketball ... ing_ahead/


I am really going to enjoy this year`s draft! What is better than to pick at 30? No more lottery day, no more scouting the top 10 guys...This is just great!

There is definitely going to be someone who falls on draft day and it will be interesting to see who we end up with. I don`t know what kind of a player we could get by trading the pick but I expect Ainge to add a prospect. He always finds solid players with low picks and I would like to see him do his magic again this year...OTOH, we have Davis, Powe, Rondo, Pruitt, so trading the pick for a veteran might not be a bad idea.

However it turns out, I trust Danny to make the right decision for this team.

I expect Danny to choose another great role player like Gomes, Powe, or Baby.

Do we have a first Rd pick this year?

Mike35 wrote:Do we have a first Rd pick this year?

As of right now, we have the 30th pick.

Mike35 wrote:Do we have a first Rd pick this year?

Yes.

I'm hoping he's looking for a legit young big man, or a stud shooting guard that could help offensively when Ray/Paul sit.

Smart move by Danny. Even though we look great there is always room for improvement.

At first when it mentioned he'd be scouting the Pac-10 Hardin from Cal and Mbah a Moute from UCLA came to mind. Both are guys that could fill huge needs for us coming in the next few seasons off the bench and would probably be available at 30. Weaver from Washington St and Taylor and Hairston from Oregon also seem like decent prospects.

Of course, I'd be fine with skipped the whole draft this year and just getting a veteran out of it.

BadMuthaCeltic wrote:I'm hoping he's looking for a legit young big man, or a stud shooting guard that could help offensively when Ray/Paul sit.

At 30 here are your options. Serviceable big man with low ceiling. Or,undersized PFs and shooting guards.

I like going with the 603 shooting guard or the 6-7 PF who could od things.

It is nearly impossible to find a legit 6-10 PF who can play at that pick. But, a 6-7 guy like Gomes, Baby etc are always available.

You won't find a sure fire 6-5 shooting guard unless your lucky (Josh Howard's aren't every year) but there is always an Arenas type waiting out there.

If you want prototypical size you probably get a stiff and a backup. But, if you go for tweeners you may get a very good player. Or,you could get a guy who can't make your team.

I like drafting at 30.

For shooting guards, I figure we're not going to get THAT lucky and find a Brandon Roy at 30, but a Kirk Snyder type wouldn't hurt my feelings at that spot. I think that's possible. A player like that could fill in and do a good job if we need offense off the bench.

When you consider Gomes, Powe, Glen, and even guys like Brandon Hunter, I'm not too worried about Ainge being able to find a serviceable forward at 30 either.

It looks like Gabe Pruitt is a keeper at the point if they choose to let Eddie House go, so there would only be TA as a backup SG/SF, so there would be room to develop another young shooting guard, in my opinion.

Funny,how I no longer visit nbadraft.net Everyday...

ALL HAIL Danny Ainge!!!

MaxwellSmart wrote:Funny,how I no longer visit nbadraft.net Everyday...

ALL HAIL Danny Ainge!!!

HAIL!!!

Zin5 wrote:At first when it mentioned he'd be scouting the Pac-10 Hardin from Cal and Mbah a Moute from UCLA came to mind. Both are guys that could fill huge needs for us coming in the next few seasons off the bench and would probably be available at 30. Weaver from Washington St and Taylor and Hairston from Oregon also seem like decent prospects.

Of course, I'd be fine with skipped the whole draft this year and just getting a veteran out of it.

as a cal fan i've been disappointed with hardin's career. he's got all the tools but somehow he doesn't dominate games for more than 5 mins at a time. in this respect he reminds me vaguely of moiso (tho hardin actually cares). i suppose with clifford ray hardin might blossom. but he's kind of the anti-powe.

mbah a moute is a guy i like, he kind of reminds me of josh howard in that he isn't super skilled but always seems to make a positive impact.

there are also going to be a large number of underclassmen coming out. hell the entire UCLA team might come out. i think we will get someone at 30 who would normally be in the teens. we should also try for high-risk high-upside guys, because let's face it no rookie is going to contribute much next season. i'd like someone we could develop in 2-3 years to be an allstar caliber player. in danny we trust.

For starters, I think this is a pretty darn good draft. I think the most value is in the 18-23 range but I do think there are some nice options that could slide. As of right now, I assume that Americans Bill Walker (Kansas St), James Harden (Arizona St) and Marreese Speights (Florida) are going to be in. There is a chance that Internationals Alexis Ajinca (France - 1989), Serge Ibaka (Congo - 1989) and Rodrigue Beaubois (France - 1988) will be in, as well. I believe this year to be an extremely deep pool of international prospects (assuming they stay in the draft.)


Pick 30: If Ajinca, Speights, Walker or Harden are still there at 30, you have to take them. Fall back options are DeVon Hardin (Cal), Danny Green (UNC), Jason Thompson (Rider) and my sleeper pick, Pat Calathes (St Joes.) Another option might be to attempt to swing a deal with Portland or Seattle; they each have a bevy of 2nd RD picks (Portland has three and Seattle has four) which could be used to gamble a bit on high upside, not quite ready players and leave them stashed overseas to mature. I would be looking to get at least two picks from Portland (either Memphis' or New York's plus Phoenix's) and three from Seattle (Portland's, Denver's and New Orleans'.)

Pick 60: If Beaubois is available, he is my number one option. If unavailable, other options would include Aleks Maric (Nebraska) and Gavin Grant (NC St.)

I am really excited about the draft, though. There are a few guys I believe who are just lacking a bit of polish. I hope that Ainge doesn't completely foresake development in the name of win at all costs now. Don't get me wrong, I want to win now but I also want to win later.

Pat Calathes, for instance, is a 6'10 (some say 6'11) SF who is caught between two positions. He really doesn't have the athleticism to ever be anything more than an OK man-to-man defender against SFs in the NBA. He should be a pretty good help defender. As a PF, he lacks the strength to battle down low right now.

What is intriguing to me, other than his college results, which speak for themselves, is that he is a late bloomer because of a series of growth spurts. He was formally a 5'9-ish PG and, by my observation, appears to still have the ability to dribble and playmake for others. He is also a very good shooter. Rebounding is ok but nothing to write home about but that is partly because he lacks the athleticism to jump over people and the strength to battle underneath. He is having a breakout year, it's true, but part of that is because, even a college senior, his body is still growing. He was able to put on over 15 lbs of muscle in the off-season before his senior year. It wasn't that he wasn't committed to getting stronger, imo; it was that his body was still growing.

At worst, imo, he is Vladimir Radmanovic with a better attitude and better playmaking skills. Maybe Mike Dunleavy, Jr is a more apt comparison. Either way, Calathe is showing up as a 2nd RD'er in most mocks while both of those players where lottery picks.

Another encouraging element is that he already possesses a Greek passport. With that, he can play for high level teams in Europe without counting as a foreigner. Say the Celtics chose Calathe at 30 and encouraged him to round out his game in Europe? It could end up being one hell of an investment, imo.

In the 2nd RD, if he is still in the draft, I don't see Rodrigue Beaubois lasting to 60. If he did, oh man. A 6'3-ish PG with a 6'10 wingspan, Rondo type athleticism and hands. He is still growing into himself as a player, as well, because he came to the game late.

Aleks Maric as a fallback option isn't such a bad idea, either. He's a 6'11 275 C with low post moves. Nothing super special and somewhat limited by his lack of athleticism. Ahhh but Maric was a former soccer goalie. What happens if he drops down to 260? 255? He probably increases his mobility. Maybe never anything special but at pick 60 I think it would be a great gamble. Maric also holds a Croatian passport. Stashing him overseas isn't out of the question.

It's unfortunate that we don't have anything to move to Memphis or Seattle because I sense that there is going to be a handful of good players at the end of the 1st RD.

I don't know. I do know that we need someone who can alter a shot besides KG and Perk. Additionally, we need a wing, with upside but also right now contributions.

At the very least I would like to see us buy some 2nd RD'ers to invest in high upside prospects that we can cultivate overseas. I don't want this to be a two or three year enterprise. I would like to see them keep this thing moving forward.

MaxwellSmart wrote:Funny,how I no longer visit nbadraft.net Everyday...

ALL HAIL Danny Ainge!!!

haha

QFT

If he can't trade it for a veteran, I'm guessing Danny trades the pick for a 2nd rounder in order to avoid another guaranteed contract. If the 2nd rounder works out, great. But if not, he's cut, reserving precious money to use for our own potential free agents.

Every time DA drafts he adds value to the team. A #30 pick is easily a top ten player in DA's hands.

That said I wouldn't be surprised to see us move up. Baby & the 30 for a pick in the teens, or Powe and the pick. We really need a replacement for Jeffersen.

LongTimeFan wrote:Every time DA drafts he adds value to the team. A #30 pick is easily a top ten player in DA's hands.

That said I wouldn't be surprised to see us move up. Baby & the 30 for a pick in the teens, or Powe and the pick. We really need a replacement for Jeffersen.

we can't trade BBD or Powe. Powe's the perfect back-up 4 for the next 10 years and BBD has the skills/BBIQ to be a stud

I trust DA, he grabbed Gomes with 50th pick and I bet he can grab the future SG for the Celts with the 30th too

Pogue Mahone wrote:For starters, I think this is a pretty darn good draft. I think the most value is in the 18-23 range but I do think there are some nice options that could slide. As of right now, I assume that Americans Bill Walker (Kansas St), James Harden (Arizona St) and Marreese Speights (Florida) are going to be in. There is a chance that Internationals Alexis Ajinca (France - 1989), Serge Ibaka (Congo - 1989) and Rodrigue Beaubois (France - 1988) will be in, as well. I believe this year to be an extremely deep pool of international prospects (assuming they stay in the draft.)

...signs thus far have pointed to most of these guys staying put and not entering this year's draft...Bill Walker looks like the only one of the group that has given signs that he's taking his game pro this season...things change a lot between now and the declaration deadline, but most of these guys look like '09ers...

That being said, I think the team is looking at two areas: Center and wing...Perkins needs a backup and with Tony Allen expiring the team is sure to look at a potential wing to develop behind PP/RA...

Harden and Jason Thompson amongst the Americans are the only intriguing bigs that the Celtics may be able to position for...I like Pat Calathes too and think he can get bulkier, but he's forever a PF/SF and the team is loaded at the 4 and would benefit more from a 3/2, 2/3 than a 3/4...

Nathan Jawai is the Aussie big, but if he's worth his salt he'll shoot up past our draft spot...as it is the Celtics would still probably have to move into the early to mid 20's to get a big..

So, I think the value at the wing is probably best...with TA looking less and less likely to get a contract offer of substance, the team may take a look a t a few of the possible wings that could be available.

My favorites:

-Shan Foster
-Brandon Rush
-Bill Walker
-Devon Jefferson
-Sam Young

Walker has the most "star" potential when he's fully recovered from knee surgery, but my favorite is Foster because of his phenomenal shooting ability...Foster is an exceptional shooter as a spot up or off the dribble and has great defensive potential...he's got experience and would be ready to play a limited role in his rookie year most likely, which would allow the team to retain Posey/House with an eye toward the future...Foster reminds me quite a bit of Michael Redd-though he's much further along with his shot than Redd was coming out of college...regardless, he's got the size and skill to back up both wing spots and his skill set is perfectly complementary to the current team construct...

Jefferson is also intriguing to me...he's got the base skill to play the wing, though probably not the 2...he's a super athlete and could potentially be a Gerald Wallace-level player in time at the 3...he'll slide because he's a tweener and because he shouldn't be coming out this year, but he likely will, so he's a guy to keep an eye on...

I may be in the minority on this, I'm not sure, but I'm not that enamored with this year's draft. Looking at draftexpress the 2009 draft seems more intriguing to me, and with that in mind I wouldn't be disappointed if we tried to trade our current pick for a 2009 pick maybe even combine it with Ray allen to go an ok vet and a potentially higher pick.

The only caveat I have is that some of the few guys that I do like are ranked lower on mock drafts.