2019 NBA draft

[Andrew McCeltic]

If we draft Mfiondu Kabengele, don't care where, I will be happy.

I’m the opposite — I just dont see what his role is in the NBA.

He doesnt pass and only had 21 assists in 71 college games. His defensive rebounding %’s were not strong and I dont see his offensive rebounding transferring in our system. He did not play well vs top competition, save one game vs Duke this year. He’s a 63.7% finisher at the rim, which is alarming giving his size. And I dont trust his shooting.

I just dont see how he’ll turn into an effective player here. Obviously the Celtics appear to disagree given the two work outs but I personally just dont see it.

Working a player out twice doesn’t mean you really like them, it can also mean you’re not sure about what you saw

[No-Man]

NAW is pretty meh, his floor is lower than people think, he is not elite as a shooter, terrible shot creation/pull-up numbers, little shot versatility, he has issues in terms of athleticism/frame-strength when it comes to his defense and he is really only really good at staying attached and defending on ball, getting through screens, he is pretty average elsewhere, doesn't track shooters well

And all of his secondary creation isn't going to translate much considering his overall limitations, he is a fine prospect and I do like him enough to draft him in the 1st, but towards the end, he should be a competent rotation Guard, but pairing him with the likes of Grant Williams who is a far superior prospect is just wrong

[cloverleaf]

If we draft Mfiondu Kabengele, don't care where, I will be happy.

I’m the opposite — I just dont see what his role is in the NBA.

He doesnt pass and only had 21 assists in 71 college games. His defensive rebounding %’s were not strong and I dont see his offensive rebounding transferring in our system. He did not play well vs top competition, save one game vs Duke this year. He’s a 63.7% finisher at the rim, which is alarming giving his size. And I dont trust his shooting.

I just dont see how he’ll turn into an effective player here. Obviously the Celtics appear to disagree given the two work outs but I personally just dont see it.

Working a player out twice doesn’t mean you really like them, it can also mean you’re not sure about what you saw

It means they think they might really like him, but need to see more to confirm whether that is so.

[bucknersrevenge]

I’m the opposite — I just dont see what his role is in the NBA.

He doesnt pass and only had 21 assists in 71 college games. His defensive rebounding %’s were not strong and I dont see his offensive rebounding transferring in our system. He did not play well vs top competition, save one game vs Duke this year. He’s a 63.7% finisher at the rim, which is alarming giving his size. And I dont trust his shooting.

I just dont see how he’ll turn into an effective player here. Obviously the Celtics appear to disagree given the two work outs but I personally just dont see it.

Working a player out twice doesn’t mean you really like them, it can also mean you’re not sure about what you saw

It means they think they might really like him, but need to see more to confirm whether that is so.

We have a history of drafting guys that we work out twice.

[sully00]

Im not drafting for stars in this draft as I’m not confident in anyone beyond Zion and Ja. I’m drafting players with role playing floors that have shown a history of working their ass off— guys like Brandon Clarke, NAW orGrant Williams that will come in, work hard, fit a role and continue to grow.

I see this draft as similar to 2004 for the Celtics. We can take a higher upside guy at 14 [like Al Jefferson at 15], but we should really be focused on finding great role players like Tony Allen or Delonte West with our picks in the 20’s.

if we still have Kyrie and Horford than taking role players who can contribute right away would be ideal as we'll need to replace our lost free agents. However, if we lose them and are essentially close to having to go on a full rebuild, I'd rather not take the next Kelly Olynyk over a potential Giannis. The real issue is Ainge has never successfully drafted a project who turned out to be a star

There are no potential Giannis’ in this draft. There are some guys with rare tool kits but they also have massive flaws that are not easily correctable.

Were better off drafting a guy like NAW and hoping he continues to grow than drafting a guy like Bol Bol, who weighs as less than Tatum and cant move defensively.

Look at what Toronto has done with Poeltl, Siakam, Powell, OG et al— take the young player with the established floor and hope that he’s a strong worker and will break through his perceived ceiling. Worse case scenario: you can always flip them for a better player as everyone loves young cheap role players.

That is the problem though Giannis was that player in 2013. He was really tall and talented but with huge flaws in his game that there is no way to project him being able to fix at the NBA level. He was too skinny to play and defend the PF and didn't even have the range in his game to play PF at the time. To some extent his flaws helped with his development MIL had to his lumps playing as a big guard and then put on the muscle at 23-24 years old.

The injury concerns with Bol are legit and how exactly a guy with his size and skill set still fits into the NBA but I think your nuts worrying about his mobility his length is game changing is he a very skilled offensive player in the post you just don't see that in young players. I think if he was healthy all year he and continued to play close to what he showed he is a top 5 pick. If healthy I could see him being a somewhere between Brook Lopez and Joel Embid.

But if your the Celtics and you want to run an offense the features your bigs shooting 3's how do you not take a chance on this? He walked on the NCAA floor and was shooting 3's at 50%. Guys get drafted in the lottery for that skill alone.

[SmartWentCrazy]

if we still have Kyrie and Horford than taking role players who can contribute right away would be ideal as we'll need to replace our lost free agents. However, if we lose them and are essentially close to having to go on a full rebuild, I'd rather not take the next Kelly Olynyk over a potential Giannis. The real issue is Ainge has never successfully drafted a project who turned out to be a star

There are no potential Giannis’ in this draft. There are some guys with rare tool kits but they also have massive flaws that are not easily correctable.

Were better off drafting a guy like NAW and hoping he continues to grow than drafting a guy like Bol Bol, who weighs as less than Tatum and cant move defensively.

Look at what Toronto has done with Poeltl, Siakam, Powell, OG et al— take the young player with the established floor and hope that he’s a strong worker and will break through his perceived ceiling. Worse case scenario: you can always flip them for a better player as everyone loves young cheap role players.

That is the problem though Giannis was that player in 2013. He was really tall and talented but with huge flaws in his game that there is no way to project him being able to fix at the NBA level. He was too skinny to play and defend the PF and didn't even have the range in his game to play PF at the time. To some extent his flaws helped with his development MIL had to his lumps playing as a big guard and then put on the muscle at 23-24 years old.

The injury concerns with Bol are legit and how exactly a guy with his size and skill set still fits into the NBA but I think your nuts worrying about his mobility his length is game changing is he a very skilled offensive player in the post you just don't see that in young players. I think if he was healthy all year he and continued to play close to what he showed he is a top 5 pick. If healthy I could see him being a somewhere between Brook Lopez and Joel Embid.

But if your the Celtics and you want to run an offense the features your bigs shooting 3's how do you not take a chance on this? He walked on the NCAA floor and was shooting 3's at 50%. Guys get drafted in the lottery for that skill alone.

He weighs less than Tatum and cannot defend a soul laterally and gets pushed off the block like Yi’s chair due to his high center of gravity. There are also many reports that he’s pretty ambivalent towards basketball in general.

Brook Lopez works because he’s a house who wont get moved off the block and hes quick enough in short distances to wall off the hoop. Bol isnt strong nor quick enough to do either— players will go around and through him.

Also, he shot 25 3’s in total. Hes a good shooter but lets not ignore that when touting the 50% figure.

[Andrew McCeltic]

NAW is pretty meh, his floor is lower than people think, he is not elite as a shooter, terrible shot creation/pull-up numbers, little shot versatility, he has issues in terms of athleticism/frame-strength when it comes to his defense and he is really only really good at staying attached and defending on ball, getting through screens, he is pretty average elsewhere, doesn't track shooters well

And all of his secondary creation isn't going to translate much considering his overall limitations, he is a fine prospect and I do like him enough to draft him in the 1st, but towards the end, he should be a competent rotation Guard, but pairing him with the likes of Grant Williams who is a far superior prospect is just wrong

Think he’d be great value at 22, although I love Horton-Tucker as a gamble instead - Kabengele at 14, Grant Williams at 20, NAW or THT at 22 would be an interesting draft.. Gamble on Jontay Porter or Darius Bazley and you’ve drafted well, even if all four bust. I’d hesitate to take Kabengele at 14 over Fernando or Rui.

Tough draft to predict, though - those Philly picks at 33/34 could be really valuable. It’s about a 44 player draft if you count players you’d take with a second and not mind bringing to summer league for a longer look.

[No-Man]

Kab or Fernando at 14th it's terrible terrible stuff

[Andrew McCeltic]

Who would you take at that spot

[threrf23]

He weighs less than Tatum and cannot defend a soul laterally and gets pushed off the block like Yi’s chair due to his high center of gravity. There are also many reports that he’s pretty ambivalent towards basketball in general.

Brook Lopez works because he’s a house who wont get moved off the block and hes quick enough in short distances to wall off the hoop. Bol isnt strong nor quick enough to do either— players will go around and through him.

Also, he shot 25 3’s in total. Hes a good shooter but lets not ignore that when touting the 50% figure.

Not that I'm not wary of Bol too, but I remember seeing video of Porzingis for the first time and thinking the same things. Porzingis was rail thin and wasn't tearing up Europe, but his talent was obvious.

Bol is probably the closest thing to Porzingis since Porzingis, at some point in the draft I don't think you pass on that.

The reports that he is pretty ambivalent towards basketball in general are concerning, especially since his father was an NBA player and he may have felt pushed into the game. But his production at Oregon (albeit small sample size against lesser competition) largely overcomes that concern for me.

[SmartWentCrazy]

He weighs less than Tatum and cannot defend a soul laterally and gets pushed off the block like Yi’s chair due to his high center of gravity. There are also many reports that he’s pretty ambivalent towards basketball in general.

Brook Lopez works because he’s a house who wont get moved off the block and hes quick enough in short distances to wall off the hoop. Bol isnt strong nor quick enough to do either— players will go around and through him.

Also, he shot 25 3’s in total. Hes a good shooter but lets not ignore that when touting the 50% figure.

Not that I'm not wary of Bol too, but I remember seeing video of Porzingis for the first time and thinking the same things. Porzingis was rail thin and wasn't tearing up Europe, but his talent was obvious.

Bol is probably the closest thing to Porzingis since Porzingis, at some point in the draft I don't think you pass on that.

The reports that he is pretty ambivalent towards basketball in general are concerning, especially since his father was an NBA player and he may have felt pushed into the game. But his production at Oregon (albeit small sample size against lesser competition) largely overcomes that concern for me.

Bol checked in at 25 lbs less than KP did before he was drafted.

[Andrew McCeltic]

Read on Twitter

[Curmudgeon]

This is going to be a draft in which many of the mocks get everything wrong after the first three picks.

As for Bol Bol, the injury risk is way too high for me. He's already suffered a navicular fracture, the same injury that cut Yao Ming's career short, and caused Embiid to miss two years. And if Bol Bol bulks up, the chances of another foot injury become even higher (more weight=more stress on the bones in the feet).

[threrf23]

Bol checked in at 25 lbs less than KP did before he was drafted.

Yeah, but how about a visual comparison.

Watch on YouTube

Watch on YouTube

[big-shot-ROB]

It's not the first time I post this but couldn't find my other own post so here we go: check the differences in frame:

[Roddy]

14- Nickeil Alexander-Walker
20- Tyler Herro
22- PJ Washington

[FlatearthZorro]

For me it's always been:

Sekou/Bitadze/Hachimura at #14
Herro/PJ Washington at #20 or slightly sooner
Bol Bol or Gafford at #22

If we're looking at a weir draft I'd say Bol Bol at 14, Tacko Fall at 51 #size.

[La Flame]

Im all for Bol Bol. Time to take risks for the Giannises and Kawhis of the draft

[Gomes3PC]

Bol Bol is not Giannis or Kawhi though. He's so, so comically bad on D. He also has massive injury risks and his frame type is terrifying to me. He's like Ingram in that regard.

At this point the guys I'm settling in with are:

Coby White
Romeo Langford
Clarke
Culver if he somehow slides
PJ

I want guys who can play both ends, are athletes, and can make plays with the ball / read the floor.

I think a big issue with our team right now is not enough guys who can see the floor / make plays for others. Al can, Smart can, Baynes can (of all guys!), and Hayward can when he's got confidence, but almost everyone else has tunnel vision. It's ok to have guys that are primarily finishes/1v1 but we need better balance than we have today.

[Gomes3PC]

Read on Twitter

Little is a possibility at 14, along with Goga, Alexander-Walker and Kabengele if they are still available at 14.

I’m getting excited about the draft, with less than 2 weeks away.

There's no way we pass on Little at 14, right? He fits the mold of the prototypical Ainge prospect to a tee.

I don't love him, but I also do appreciate he was in a really bad system for his skills. Like Jaylen at Cal, he should not have played so much with multiple bigs next to him who could not space the floor. I could see his productivity improving with NBA spacing.

My concerns with him are simply that I am not sure he how he fits with our existing wings. Honestly his best profile is a bench defensive stopper. If he ever bought into that as a true lockdown guy and corner 3 spot up shooter, he'd prob have a 12-year career locked up. Just hard for consensus top 10 recruits to believe that's what they are at the next level though.

I also think there will be other more attractive fits out there, like Clarke, Romeo and PJ Washington. I wouldn't toss my TV if they were there and we took Little, but I think they are all superior talents AND roster fits.