Olynyk's rookie season

[BfB]

Ideally you'd like to see your rookie have at least one solid niche in the NBA to hold his ground and develop from there.

Kelly hasn't been good enough in any areas to have a niche. But yeah he'll develop, and players can make significant advances from year one to year two.

This year though, he really just doesn't seem NBA material. At least Bradley always had the defense to fall back on when he was being mis played as a PG early in his career.

Kelly does seems like a smart kid who thinks his way through the basketball game. You have to think he'll at least grow into a rotational player in the future.

I agree - it is MUCH, MUCH easier for a player to establish himself when he has at least one NBA ready skill to hang his hat on. In KO's instance, I think it's his Knowledge of the game that is NBA ready. It's not as tangible as shooting or rebounding, but he has a highly advanced understanding of Offensive/Defensive concepts.

The most telling quote was early in the year when Coach Stevens said he thought KO might lead the team in minutes - that was a statement that stood out to me. Very bold to make coming out of training camp and indicitive of the Coach's opinion of KO's grasp of things.

[Elrod is Back]

Great thread.

I concur with the general sentiment, and am possibly more optimistic.

I have been surprised by Kelly's rebounding, which is better than I thought it would be. I have also concluded that Kelly's sense of the game will make him a decent defender. I feared his T-Rex wingspan might prove to be his death knell in that regard.

And, of course, his passing is his single skill that is elite. I love great passers, so I am a fan of KO.

Danny scored again. I think when the dust clears Kelly will be one of the three best players out of the 2013 draft.

[Gomes3PC]

His offensive rebounding is actually very, very good. He does struggle on the defensive glass at times, but part of that may be strength.

[shawn unkempt]

The offensive rebounds are good but he goes after every single one. He needs to pick his spots, he has been getting left in the dust in transition. More than just a few times his man has been wide open under the hoop for an easy bucket.

[celticfan42487]

Ideally you'd like to see your rookie have at least one solid niche in the NBA to hold his ground and develop from there.

Kelly hasn't been good enough in any areas to have a niche. But yeah he'll develop, and players can make significant advances from year one to year two.

This year though, he really just doesn't seem NBA material. At least Bradley always had the defense to fall back on when he was being mis played as a PG early in his career.

Kelly does seems like a smart kid who thinks his way through the basketball game. You have to think he'll at least grow into a rotational player in the future.

I agree - it is MUCH, MUCH easier for a player to establish himself when he has at least one NBA ready skill to hang his hat on. In KO's instance, I think it's his Knowledge of the game that is NBA ready. It's not as tangible as shooting or rebounding, but he has a highly advanced understanding of Offensive/Defensive concepts.

The most telling quote was early in the year when Coach Stevens said he thought KO might lead the team in minutes - that was a statement that stood out to me. Very bold to make coming out of training camp and indicitive of the Coach's opinion of KO's grasp of things.

Actually you know what, he may be the first player that I think I can say that.

It sounds odd to say he thinks through the game, there's no way for me to confirm that. But it's obvious he's trying to make the right play out there and has a good mind. I agree, that's his current skillset to hold his hat on. He tries to make the right play evertime he touches the ball.

And I honestly 100% think, things are going to come a lot easier to him once he convinces himself he's playing the right way. The game will seem more natural, he'll make faster more decisive action. His shots will start falling. But it's going to take awhile for him to convince himself he's playing the right way.

[Golabki]

Ideally you'd like to see your rookie have at least one solid niche in the NBA to hold his ground and develop from there.

Kelly hasn't been good enough in any areas to have a niche. But yeah he'll develop, and players can make significant advances from year one to year two.

This year though, he really just doesn't seem NBA material. At least Bradley always had the defense to fall back on when he was being mis played as a PG early in his career.

Kelly does seems like a smart kid who thinks his way through the basketball game. You have to think he'll at least grow into a rotational player in the future.

I agree - it is MUCH, MUCH easier for a player to establish himself when he has at least one NBA ready skill to hang his hat on. In KO's instance, I think it's his Knowledge of the game that is NBA ready. It's not as tangible as shooting or rebounding, but he has a highly advanced understanding of Offensive/Defensive concepts.

The most telling quote was early in the year when Coach Stevens said he thought KO might lead the team in minutes - that was a statement that stood out to me. Very bold to make coming out of training camp and indicitive of the Coach's opinion of KO's grasp of things.

but 6 months ago people were saying he was the most, or one of the most nba ready players


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[tlee324]

Um, don't think anyone said he was physically NBA ready.... Skillwise, he's got NBA level talent, but he's gotta work on strength and endurance. I think he's gonna get there.

[Ed Pinkney]

If he can increase his strength and conditioning to be able to at least hold his own at the five then that would be a pretty massive bonus for the team, having him be able to split his time between the four and the five.

If they both reach their ceilings and you could add an athletic rim protector type to the mix, a three big rotation of Sully, Olynyk and theoretical rim protector would be pretty nice, gives you all aspects you would want in a front court. Rebounding, post play, playmaking skills, jump shooting, and defense.

There are still too many "ifs" with Olynyk at the moment in my opinion, but he has certainly shown enough to warrant the time and effort to develop him to see if he can make it to the level people hope he can. As most realistic people have already said, the Dirk thing is not going to happen but I quite like the Okur comparison. Though I think Okur had more genuine centre skills while I think Olynyk is more of a four.

Another comparison I thought of was Toni Kukoc. I know Kukoc had borderline point guard skills and was a better shooter, but I think Olynyk does have genuine playmaking skills and understanding of basketball concepts, and there is definitely potential to be an above average jump shooter all the way out to the three point line.

[tlee324]

Ed, I've been using the Kukoc comparison from day one.

[celticfan42487]

Ideally you'd like to see your rookie have at least one solid niche in the NBA to hold his ground and develop from there.

Kelly hasn't been good enough in any areas to have a niche. But yeah he'll develop, and players can make significant advances from year one to year two.

This year though, he really just doesn't seem NBA material. At least Bradley always had the defense to fall back on when he was being mis played as a PG early in his career.

Kelly does seems like a smart kid who thinks his way through the basketball game. You have to think he'll at least grow into a rotational player in the future.

I agree - it is MUCH, MUCH easier for a player to establish himself when he has at least one NBA ready skill to hang his hat on. In KO's instance, I think it's his Knowledge of the game that is NBA ready. It's not as tangible as shooting or rebounding, but he has a highly advanced understanding of Offensive/Defensive concepts.

The most telling quote was early in the year when Coach Stevens said he thought KO might lead the team in minutes - that was a statement that stood out to me. Very bold to make coming out of training camp and indicitive of the Coach's opinion of KO's grasp of things.

but 6 months ago people were saying he was the most, or one of the most nba ready players


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It just goes to show that college basketball is complete and utter ****. You can't judge anything from it, might as well just have highschool to pros as the norm.

[Gomes3PC]

Ideally you'd like to see your rookie have at least one solid niche in the NBA to hold his ground and develop from there.

Kelly hasn't been good enough in any areas to have a niche. But yeah he'll develop, and players can make significant advances from year one to year two.

This year though, he really just doesn't seem NBA material. At least Bradley always had the defense to fall back on when he was being mis played as a PG early in his career.

Kelly does seems like a smart kid who thinks his way through the basketball game. You have to think he'll at least grow into a rotational player in the future.

I agree - it is MUCH, MUCH easier for a player to establish himself when he has at least one NBA ready skill to hang his hat on. In KO's instance, I think it's his Knowledge of the game that is NBA ready. It's not as tangible as shooting or rebounding, but he has a highly advanced understanding of Offensive/Defensive concepts.

The most telling quote was early in the year when Coach Stevens said he thought KO might lead the team in minutes - that was a statement that stood out to me. Very bold to make coming out of training camp and indicitive of the Coach's opinion of KO's grasp of things.

but 6 months ago people were saying he was the most, or one of the most nba ready players


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Relative to his peers, he has been WAY better at acclimating himself to the NBA. What other big man has looked more ready than him? Maybe Steven Adams? He looks even more raw offensively than Olynyk has defensively.

[bbd24]

Bottom line, when it's all said and done, we'll look back at this draft and realize we got one of the better players to come out of it.

When the re-draft comes out in 3/4 years, KO will be top 3.

[GreenMachine]

Bottom line, when it's all said and done, we'll look back at this draft and realize we got one of the better players to come out of it.

When the re-draft comes out in 3/4 years, KO will be top 3.

Well he is already top 8 (not including Noel) as the top 8 rookies played tonight... and KO was one of them! So despite what some people here would have you believe... he is Already exceeding pre-draft expectations!

[bbd24]

Bottom line, when it's all said and done, we'll look back at this draft and realize we got one of the better players to come out of it.

When the re-draft comes out in 3/4 years, KO will be top 3.

Well he is already top 8 (not including Noel) as the top 8 rookies played tonight... and KO was one of them! So despite what some people here would have you believe... he is Already exceeding pre-draft expectations!

He just has 'it'. He's got the entire skill set to be damn good at this level.

I think MCW & Oladipo will have him beat, but he's right after them. I haven't seen Noel of course yet, so he could eventually trumph him but still. He'll be more productive than Giannis, Hardaway, Burke, Mclemore, McCollum, Snell, & Adams.

[BfB]

He's legit.

[bbd24]

He's legit.

Without a doubt. You nailed it earlier on in this thread on his game.

He knows what he is doing on the court. Just needs the strength so he can post up without getting knocked off balance so easily. You talked a little about his core strength. It's poor right now but as you stated, it's 'entirley within his control '.

This is a type of player who loves the game & will put in the work to better anything that's within his control. When you draft that type of pro, sky's the limit.

[LongTimeFan]

One of the things most of you don't get is how Ainge being bishop in the Weston ward maps into his drafting and his success drafting. He simply has a lot of experience reading young people and knowing how they are going to deal with the challenges of becoming an adult. Every Sunday for decades he has spent a lot of his free time dedicated to teaching the next generation. As bishop he is the point of the spear organizing and directing the leadership of the ward in that effort. He routinely interviews young people to try to understand how they see the world and to try to understand how the ward's effort can positively shape their future. And he sees how this effort works out over and over again. He sees who does well and progresses and who gets sidetracked into the various paths that can ruin a young person's life.

Someone like Olynk where we moved to get him tells you that Ainge has a very strong and positive read on his character. We pretty much know to the extent these things can be known that he will work hard in the off season and try to develop as the Celtic leadership wants him to develop.

Basically I'm saying you really have to give this kid a couple of years to have any idea of where he'll end up. Ainge believes their is a very high probability Olynk will develop like Rondo has. Ainge, because he's been a bishop & GM, has far more experience in these things than any of us.

In the stock market there's a saying, ""Talk is cheep. Where's your money invested?" Forget whatever Ainge has said. He's invested a lot in this kid (two draft picks, one being one of the best we've had in a long time.) Give this investment time to mature. And don't be surprised at the upside.

[greenmachine_2849]

Offensively, he reminds me of former Celtic Raef LaFrentz, and I think maybe a better passing LaFrentz. I could see him in his prime being able to average 14 ppg, 8 rpg, 3 apg on 48% shooting (35%+ from three) in 30+ mpg at center. Just in general being the type of outside shooting center that causes mismatch problems for traditional centers. Defensively, he will certainly never be the 3 bpg presence that LaFrentz was, and he may never get to be more than adequate. Which might prevent him from ever getting to that 30+ mpg necessary to produce those offensive numbers. Still, if he can even be a solid 15 - 20 mpg back-up offensive big man for the next ten years, there are certainly worse scenarios to play out for a late lottery pick.

[bbd24]

One of the things most of you don't get is how Ainge being bishop in the Weston ward maps into his drafting and his success drafting. He simply has a lot of experience reading young people and knowing how they are going to deal with the challenges of becoming an adult. Every Sunday for decades he has spent a lot of his free time dedicated to teaching the next generation. As bishop he is the point of the spear organizing and directing the leadership of the ward in that effort. He routinely interviews young people to try to understand how they see the world and to try to understand how the ward's effort can positively shape their future. And he sees how this effort works out over and over again. He sees who does well and progresses and who gets sidetracked into the various paths that can ruin a young person's life.

Someone like Olynk where we moved to get him tells you that Ainge has a very strong and positive read on his character. We pretty much know to the extent these things can be known that he will work hard in the off season and try to develop as the Celtic leadership wants him to develop.

Basically I'm saying you really have to give this kid a couple of years to have any idea of where he'll end up. Ainge believes their is a very high probability Olynk will develop like Rondo has. Ainge, because he's been a bishop & GM, has far more experience in these things than any of us.

In the stock market there's a saying, ""Talk is cheep. Where's your money invested?" Forget whatever Ainge has said. He's invested a lot in this kid (two draft picks, one being one of the best we've had in a long time.) Give this investment time to mature. And don't be surprised at the upside.

What's his responsibility during these interviews when doing this bishop thing ? Is he paid for his effort ? Sounds like a lot of babysitting.

Ainge has always seemed like a good guy. Not sure how he does at the bishop thing but he's a helluva GM. I laugh at those that always question if he has a 'plan'. The guy seems to be a step ahead in just about everything he does. It's been fun watching his moves to get us back into relevancy and eventually grab banner #17.

He's going to get it done again this next time around. Grabbing Olynyk is just one little piece (although Kelly could become damn good in this league when its all said and done).

[sam_I_am]

Watched some of the Rising Stars game. Useless game but 2 things stood out. Olynyk definitlely looked like one of the best players out there - when this group is In it's hey day, a healthy KO will be one of leagues very good players.

The second thing is that 6/7 GMs that passed on Drummond should have their heads examined. Only NO gets a pass for drafting AD but how can you not draft a guy that big and that athletic who has great hands. Motor or not.... That is a can't miss once in a generation big man.