Chronicle: Celtics coveted Carl Landry in the draft?

[GonzoLays]

On draft day, Morey had learned how badly his boss wanted to win. When Seattle hesitated on a trade that would have allowed the Rockets to jump ahead of the Celtics to draft Carl Landry, Alexander urged Morey to throw in more money, more draft picks, more whatever to make it happen.

Morey completed that trade, drafted Landry and a key piece of this remarkable season was in place.

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/hot ... 05659.html

Interesting. It seems like the article says that Houston had to get in front of Boston to get Landry in the second round or they would have lost him. What do you guys think?

[phoolishly_insane]

Doesn't matter... We got Big Baby!

[SonicYouth34]

we have Powe and Baby, they're both better

[UGA Hayes]

We will see. At the time I was not a huge fan of drafting Pruitt. I didn't give much thought to Landry but it would have been an insane 2nd round to get both of those guys (Baby+Landry)

[eloper]

I like Baby, but he isn't the player Landry is. Those who have seen a lot of Landry know he's a flat out stud. All the guy does is rebound, score, and play defense.

[Truthiracy]

I don't have any faith in Gabriel Michael Pruitt, I wish Landry fell to us.

[Al n' Perk No Layups!]

I don't have any faith in Gabriel Michael Pruitt, I wish Landry fell to us.

What would the point be in having 3 undersized bigs?

Gabe is good.

[Truthiracy]

-= original quote snipped =-



What would the point be in having 3 undersized bigs?

Gabe is good.

What's the point of having a PG who can't play?

Gabe isn't good.

[ICanOutreboundWalter]

I'm concerned that you guys think Powe and Baby are better than Landry...

[billfromBoston]

Landry is better than Davis flat out...in the future that could change, but until Davis drops lbs and gets his jumper to the level Landry has his, it makes complete sense that the Celtics were targeting Landry ahead of Davis...

[GoGoCeltics]

I'm concerned that you guys think Powe and Baby are better than Landry...

Same here.

[Zin5]

Landry was a huge steal for the Rockets. I missed most of the draft since I was out for the day, so I missed most of the rumors and everything. I remember when I got back and saw the trade that had happened and said I'd be pissed if the second rounder we got was Landry instead of Davis. Well, I was wrong about that. I love Big Baby, we all do, but right now Landry's just flat out better and more consistent.

Anyways, if this is actually true, as much as I wouldn't mind seeing the pick moved for a veteran, I think this just hold's more credibility towards Danny's great ability to find steals late in the draft. I'm at the point where I wouldn't only be surprise, but I actually expect to whoever the Celtics take with the 30th pick in 2008 to be a solid contributor within a year or two. I'm not sold on Pruitt yet, but I don't believe he can't turn into something either, we knew he'd need to take time.

[LarryBrdismyDad]

I am not surprised by this at all because as we have seen Ainge is an expert drafter. I remember seeing an article last year about how Ainge saw Barbosa on tape before the 2003 Draft and he was blown away but Barbosa hurt his hamstring and then he couldn't work out for us. Ainge saw Banks the next day and loved him and promised him we would pick him. To see how good a drafter Ainge is look at his draft history:

2003
Actual Pick: Marcus Banks - Bust (He had all the physical tools in the world to be a good player but he lacked the Bball IQ to run a team and the work ethic to develop a jumpshot).

Should have picked: Leandrinho Barbosa (The whole league passed on him so it is hard to fault Ainge here)

Actual Pick: Kendrick Perkins - Hit (Perkins has come on the past 6 games and has shown this season that he is a viable starting center on a chmpionship level team. This is an impressive pick considering Perkins was a late first rounder.) Josh Howard would have been a better pick but everyone in the league passed on him so you can't fault Ainge here


2004
Actual Pick: Al Jefferson - Home Run (Jefferson is a 20 and 10 guy and an All Star for the next 12 years and to find that in the middle of the first round is very impressive. I would go as far as saying that Big Al is a franchise player that you can build a team around)

Actual Pick: Delonte West - Hit (Delonte has shown that he can play in a rotation on a championship level team. Delonte may not be a starter but he is definitely a guy that can a good 7th or 8th man and to find that at the end of th first round is good)

Actual Pick: Tony Allen - Hit (Tony has proven that he is a valuable piece to our team this year as he is our best wing defender. Doc always brings Tony in when he needs a spark off the bench or he needs Tony to defend a big point guard or a good shooting guard.)

I know people will say we should have taken Kevin Martin late first round but come on be real. When you look back at draft history it is so easy to say well we should have taken this guy but when the GMs are making the deicison about who to pick it is a lot harder. Almost the whole league passed on Martin and he played at a small school Western Carolina so he didn't have much publicity coming into the draft.

2005

[dwestside]

-= original quote snipped =-



What would the point be in having 3 undersized bigs?

Gabe is good.

If DA has taught us anything its to draft for talent, and not worry so much about redundancy. Pick the one or two best of the three, then showcase the other for a trade or something. It's not like Gabe was going to be an impact player anytime soon anyways. Plus Landry is 6'9''. For today's NBA I don't think that's particularly undersized for a very efficient rookie PF. Regardless, it was not meant to be. Woulda been sick though ...

[LarryBrdismyDad]

I am not surprised by this at all because as we have seen Ainge is an expert drafter. I remember seeing an article last year about how Ainge saw Barbosa on tape before the 2003 Draft and he was blown away but Barbosa hurt his hamstring and then he couldn't work out for us. Ainge saw Banks the next day and loved him and promised him we would pick him. To see how good a drafter Ainge is look at his draft history:

2003
Actual Pick: Marcus Banks - Bust (He had all the physical tools in the world to be a good player but he lacked the Bball IQ to run a team and the work ethic to develop a jumpshot).

Should have picked: Leandrinho Barbosa (The whole league passed on him so it is hard to fault Ainge here)

Actual Pick: Kendrick Perkins - Hit (Perkins has come on the past 6 games and has shown this season that he is a viable starting center on a chmpionship level team. This is an impressive pick considering Perkins was a late first rounder.) Josh Howard would have been a better pick but everyone in the league passed on him so you can't fault Ainge here


2004
Actual Pick: Al Jefferson - Home Run (Jefferson is a 20 and 10 guy and an All Star for the next 12 years and to find that in the middle of the first round is very impressive. I would go as far as saying that Big Al is a franchise player that you can build a team around)

Actual Pick: Delonte West - Hit (Delonte has shown that he can play in a rotation on a championship level team. Delonte may not be a starter but he is definitely a guy that can a good 7th or 8th man and to find that at the end of th first round is good)

Actual Pick: Tony Allen - Hit (Tony has proven that he is a valuable piece to our team this year as he is our best wing defender. Doc always brings Tony in when he needs a spark off the bench or he needs Tony to defend a big point guard or a good shooting guard.)

I know people will say we should have taken Kevin Martin late first round but come on be real. When you look back at draft history it is so easy to say well we should have taken this guy but when the GMs are making the deicison about who to pick it is a lot harder. Almost the whole league passed on Martin and he played at a small school Western Carolina so he didn't have much publicity coming into the draft.

2005
Actual Pick: Gerald Green - Bust (Green was another player like Banks who has every physical attribute you would want in an NBA player but Green lacked a bball IQ, couldn't defend, and couldn't create his own shot off the dribble.
I won't blame Ainge here for taking Green because Green was a consenus top 8 prospect who fell into our laps. Ainge was looking for an all star level player at this point in our teams development and fans would have been pissed if we passed on Green.

Actual Pick: Ryan Gomes - Hit (To get a player who will be playing in the league for the next 10 years in a rotation at pick 50 is like hitting a Home Run. Gomes has shown that he can be productive when given mintues and he can help a team win)

Actual Pick: Oriene Greene - Miss (Hard to call the 53rd pick in the draft a bust when most guys picked here don't even make an NBA roster but we should have taken Amir Johnson here.)

2006
Actual Pick - Traded for Sebastian Telfair - Big Time Bust (Ainge should have taken Rudy Gay or Brandon Roy here who many people had listed as top 5 prospects in this draft. Telfair had already been in the league two years and Ainge should have realized that he wasn't anything more then a lower level starting point guard. Telfair lacked the ability to finish at the rim and couldn't shoot which is bad for an undersized point guard. I feel that Ainge drafted for need here as we already had Pierce, Wally, Green, and Tony Allen on the wings so the general thought was we didn't need another wing. We were wrong here as Wally was injury prone and Green was a bust.

Should have Picked: Brandon Roy or Rudy Gay

Actual Pick: Rajon Rondo - Steal (To get a one of the better young point guards in the NBA at pick 21 in this draft was amazing. Rondo is avg 11 ppg 5 rpg and 4 apg this season and has started every game. He has the chance to be an all star in the future if he continues to get better at the same rate)

Actual Pick: Leon Powe - Hit (Leon has shown this year that he is an NBA player and he will be in the league for many years. Getting a guy who can come off the bench and contribute at pick 49 is very good)

2007
Actual Pick: Glen Pruitt - Incomplete (Pruitt had the most talent and upside then anybody else at this point in the draft)

Actual Pick: Glen Davis - Hit (Davis has already shown as a rookie that he should have been a top 20 pick in this year's past draft. He is a solid guy to bring off the bench for energy and to rebound and score some points)

Ainge's Five Year Totals:
1 Home Run (Al Jefferson)
1 Steal (Rajon Rondo)
6 Hits (Perkins, Allen, West, Powe, Davis, Gomes)
1 Miss (O. Greene)
2 Busts (G. Green and Banks)
1 Big Time Bust (Trading for Telfair over taking Gay or Roy)

This is a great drafting record and is why I believe Ainge is the one of the best in the league at drafting.

[GuyClinch]

If Banks is a bust so are Allen and West. <g>

Banks is shooting 45% from the field, 39% from 3 and averaging 6.6 points per game. Those numbers are basically identical to that of Allen and right there with West.

Pete

[The Rondo Show]

If Banks is a bust so are Allen and West. <g>

Banks is shooting 45% from the field, 39% from 3 and averaging 6.6 points per game. Those numbers are basically identical to that of Allen and right there with West.

Pete

Banks was a lottery pick, West and Allen were late 1st rounders. Drafting a rotational/bench player late in the 1st round isn't a bust, drafting one in the lottery is.

[rambo_ortega]

telfair was packaged to dump contracts and get theo's which was used to get kg.

[P2]

Guys, we got Big Baby, we should be really grateful for that. You also can't tell the difference on who's better right now. They're both in their rookie year, and we'll see how much they'll contribute in their third year.

Also, Landry is in a much better position to prove himself with Yao out and not having a star PF on their team. For the record, we have Kevin Garnett, and Big Baby is his backup. If Baby was on the Rockets, I'm sure he would get 30 minutes per game right now and really fill the stat sheet.

What's the point of having a PG who can't play?

Gabe isn't good.

What's the point of having conversations about that when you don't even know?

You have to wait.

[P2]

We will see. At the time I was not a huge fan of drafting Pruitt. I didn't give much thought to Landry but it would have been an insane 2nd round to get both of those guys (Baby+Landry)

If we had picked Landry, I think we wouldn't have drafted Big Baby.