Hal’s Draft Thread

[Hal14]

My top 5 for #16:

1a. Kai Jones. In two years he could be the PF the Cs need badly.
1b. Usman Garuba. He'll contribute in his rookie year and will grow faster than advertised. A bit undersized, so he's not 1a, but you know Ainge will love this pick.

2. Jalen Johnson. Looks great, but a bit of a gamble and only if Kai and Usman are off
3. Josh Giddey. He can be a great player, but he'll need too much time to develop
4. Ziaire Williams. Very talented, but thin as a rail... he'll need time and eating a lot

If none of the above are available, trade down so you can get more value, then draft

5. Tre Mann. The kind of guard we're missing, if he plays defense, he'll be great.

Sounds good, but:

a) Mann is projected to go in the top 15 according to some mocks I've seen. We're not going to be able to trade down from the 16 spot and get him. If you want him, you need to draft him 16th (if he's even still on the board then)

b) Giddey..yeah he might take a year or 2 to develop. But all of these guys will. they are all 18 or 19 for the most part, they're young AF. Jones is 20 but he's only been playing basketball since he was 15 and only really started playing at an elite level when he was a senior in high school when he came to the US from the Bahamas. Kemba still has 2 years left on his contract anyways. So if it takes Giddey 2 years to develop, well that's fine - we bring Giddey off the bench while we still have Kemba, and then when Kemba's contract is up at end of 2022-2023 season, you hand the keys of the offense to Giddey. That's better than just throwing a 19 year old kid into the fire as a starting PG in a new country anyways.

The bottom line with Giddey is he solves what's IMO our biggest problem and that's lack of ball movement, too much iso/hero ball. We've got 3 guys who are very high usage and all of them are shoot-first players. Giddey is a pure PG, a pass-first PG with insane passing ability, court vision, instincts and timing. We haven't seen a dude come into the league with his passing ability in awhile. With him at the 1 and Tatum and Brown on the wings, we'd be unstoppable with Giddey constantly setting the Jays up for open looks. Not to mention another weakness for our team is being too small - going from 6'0" PG to a 6'8" PG would obviously help to solve that as well, especially once Giddey fills out his frame more, which he should do in 2 years - when Kemba's contract is up..

I have Giddey no. 1 on my list of targets for the Celtics at 16. However, most mocks I've seen have him going in the 8-14 range, so I'm not getting my hopes up. If he's there at 16, we'll take him but if not, there should still be another good option. And if we don't get Giddey, I'm optimistic that Yam Madar could be that PG of the future (quick, explosive, good size at 6'3", outstanding defender, pass-first PG, floor general who also shoots 40% from 3)

c) Curious why you don't have Alperen Sengun on your listbut you do have Williams? IMO the 2 of them are comparable talent-wise, maybe a slight edge to Sengun in terms of talent, but Sengun is a significantly better fit since we need a center much more than we need another athletic wing.

As of now, my top choices for no. 16 are:

1) Giddey
2) Jones/Johnson/Sengun (still not sure on the exact order of preference but chances are only 1 of them will be still on the board at 16, if any)

Haven't seen footage or done research on Garuba yet..or Isaiah Jackson. Gonna check those guys out next..

[JediMasterRevan]

I really like Sengun, I think he has potential.

But my top picks for a PF are still Todd and Isaiah Jackson has really been growing on me.

Todd, to me, is projecting to be Christian Wood/Chris Bosh/John Collins type of player. Excellent range, good speed, good ball handling, good size, great rebounder. Makes zero sense he is being projected second round.
12.5ppg, 5rpg, .8apg, .5spg, .8bpg, 44% and 36% with a FT of 82%

Good writeup in draftroom

Todd is a gifted basketball talent who is a long and fluid athlete who shows great coordination for a young player of his size. We haven’t seen much of him (or the rest of the G League Ignite team) this year and so he’s a bit of a mystery man heading into the 2021 NBA Draft.

He’s got all of the physical tools and skill-set to be a modern NBA Big. He’s got nice length, excellent quickness in the open court and a promising offensive game. His size and athleticism allow him to guard at the rim and he’s got quick hands and feet, making him a capable perimeter defender for his position.

His offensive game is smooth and advanced for his age. He’s got nice form on his shot and projects as a player who can score from all three levels as his game matures.

Todd shows a lot of versatility and is able to play in the post, make plays in mid range and in the transition game. He gets above the rim with ease and can finish with either hand.

Todd doesn’t have one glaring weakness in his game but he needs to keep adding strength and continue working on his body to hold up against NBA competition.

Needs to continue to develop his skill set, work on his outside shooting and become a consistent free throw shooter.

Watch on YouTube

IMO, Offense is pretty much ideal for the celtics out of the pf spot. Ideally Todd continues to grow and forms into the center spot. Needs to work on defensive positioning.



Isaiah Jackson, 6foot10, 7foot 5 wingspan and an absolute freak athlete. He is a bigger Rob Williams who is a defensive beast.
He is a defensive, shot blocking Amare. Projecting to be more of a center than a PF.

Draftnet

Extremely athletic, agile big man that can impact the game without scoring and has a lot of physical gifts … An active big who makes plays all over the court defensively, having averaged 2.6 blocks and .8 steals per game as a freshman … Had a block rate of 12.7 at Kentucky. Is a rangy defender, and can cover a lot of ground quickly … Is a productive on ball and help side defender … Looks to get out in transition on turnovers … Is a very good rim-runner who can outrun virtually all players at his position … has tremendous lengthh with a 7’5 wingspan … Plays above the rim … Has made progress in learning to set his defender up to drive by him … Developing face up game still needs work, but is able to use his quickness to create space … Has a quick first step on face ups that allow him to beat his man off the dribble … Explosive athlete … Extremely quick to get off the floor, and has explosive second and third jumps that gives him the advantage on rebounds …70% free throw shooting gives optimism that he can ultimately develop some reliable face up skills … Solid competitor and determination … One of the youngest players in the draft having turned 19 in January …

Jackson needs to improve on his offense, needs to develop a shot.

Watch on YouTube

I would love both honestly.

Kemba/Pritchard
Fournier/Smart
Brown/Nesmith
Tatum/Todd
Timelord/Jackson

[aporel18]

Spoiler:

My top 5 for #16:

1a. Kai Jones. In two years he could be the PF the Cs need badly.
1b. Usman Garuba. He'll contribute in his rookie year and will grow faster than advertised. A bit undersized, so he's not 1a, but you know Ainge will love this pick.

2. Jalen Johnson. Looks great, but a bit of a gamble and only if Kai and Usman are off
3. Josh Giddey. He can be a great player, but he'll need too much time to develop
4. Ziaire Williams. Very talented, but thin as a rail... he'll need time and eating a lot

If none of the above are available, trade down so you can get more value, then draft

5. Tre Mann. The kind of guard we're missing, if he plays defense, he'll be great.

Sounds good, but:

a) Mann is projected to go in the top 15 according to some mocks I've seen. We're not going to be able to trade down from the 16 spot and get him. If you want him, you need to draft him 16th (if he's even still on the board then)

b) Giddey..yeah he might take a year or 2 to develop. But all of these guys will. they are all 18 or 19 for the most part, they're young AF. Jones is 20 but he's only been playing basketball since he was 15 and only really started playing at an elite level when he was a senior in high school when he came to the US from the Bahamas. Kemba still has 2 years left on his contract anyways. So if it takes Giddey 2 years to develop, well that's fine - we bring Giddey off the bench while we still have Kemba, and then when Kemba's contract is up at end of 2022-2023 season, you hand the keys of the offense to Giddey. That's better than just throwing a 19 year old kid into the fire as a starting PG in a new country anyways.

The bottom line with Giddey is he solves what's IMO our biggest problem and that's lack of ball movement, too much iso/hero ball. We've got 3 guys who are very high usage and all of them are shoot-first players. Giddey is a pure PG, a pass-first PG with insane passing ability, court vision, instincts and timing. We haven't seen a dude come into the league with his passing ability in awhile. With him at the 1 and Tatum and Brown on the wings, we'd be unstoppable with Giddey constantly setting the Jays up for open looks. Not to mention another weakness for our team is being too small - going from 6'0" PG to a 6'8" PG would obviously help to solve that as well, especially once Giddey fills out his frame more, which he should do in 2 years - when Kemba's contract is up..

I have Giddey no. 1 on my list of targets for the Celtics at 16. However, most mocks I've seen have him going in the 8-14 range, so I'm not getting my hopes up. If he's there at 16, we'll take him but if not, there should still be another good option. And if we don't get Giddey, I'm optimistic that Yam Madar could be that PG of the future (quick, explosive, good size at 6'3", outstanding defender, pass-first PG, floor general who also shoots 40% from 3)

c) Curious why you don't have Alperen Sengun on your listbut you do have Williams? IMO the 2 of them are comparable talent-wise, maybe a slight edge to Sengun in terms of talent, but Sengun is a significantly better fit since we need a center much more than we need another athletic wing.

As of now, my top choices for no. 16 are:

1) Giddey
2) Jones/Johnson/Sengun (still not sure on the exact order of preference but chances are only 1 of them will be still on the board at 16, if any)

Haven't seen footage or done research on Garuba yet..or Isaiah Jackson. Gonna check those guys out next..

I have seen Mann around the 20-25, . He seems to dominate on offense, and has the athleticism to also dominate on defense. I wanted to trade down to get a better second rounder just to take Petrusev, who I like a lot. But nevermind.

Giddey could be a special player, but IMO he'll need more than 1-2 years to develop, so his timeline, unlike Mann, isn't that convenient. His shooting is also suspect, so you might be forced to move Smart. Celtics probably won't have to scratch their heads about that because Giddey will be top 10 and I hope Ainge doesn't trade up to get him.

I don't think Sengun is on those guys level. The fact he's had a great regular season in Turkish League is a bit deceiving, because the best teams (Efes, Fenerbahce) don't even care about the Regular Season to play their stars, they put their focus on Euroleague. Sengun has played also in the 4th best international competition (1.Euroleague 2.Eurocup 3. FIBA BCL 4. FIBA Europe Cup), so he hasn't faced the best in Europe. You can say the same about Poku, or even the Greek Freak, but this kid projects to be a solid player, not a star. Picking him would be a gamble, just like Williams, Jalen Johnson or Giddey, but those three show some potential I can't see on Sengun.

Kai Jones and Garuba can contribute from day 1, I'd be happy with either one. Jones has the higher ceiling, but Garuba has the highest floor. They both can develop into solid starters or maybe more. I think they're the best out of that range, and if they are available, Celtics should pick one of them. But as always, with a couple of months away from the Draft, stocks will raise and fall, you never know.

[Hal14]

I really like Sengun, I think he has potential.

But my top picks for a PF are still Todd and Isaiah Jackson has really been growing on me.

Todd, to me, is projecting to be Christian Wood/Chris Bosh/John Collins type of player. Excellent range, good speed, good ball handling, good size, great rebounder. Makes zero sense he is being projected second round.
12.5ppg, 5rpg, .8apg, .5spg, .8bpg, 44% and 36% with a FT of 82%

Good writeup in draftroom

Todd is a gifted basketball talent who is a long and fluid athlete who shows great coordination for a young player of his size. We haven’t seen much of him (or the rest of the G League Ignite team) this year and so he’s a bit of a mystery man heading into the 2021 NBA Draft.

He’s got all of the physical tools and skill-set to be a modern NBA Big. He’s got nice length, excellent quickness in the open court and a promising offensive game. His size and athleticism allow him to guard at the rim and he’s got quick hands and feet, making him a capable perimeter defender for his position.

His offensive game is smooth and advanced for his age. He’s got nice form on his shot and projects as a player who can score from all three levels as his game matures.

Todd shows a lot of versatility and is able to play in the post, make plays in mid range and in the transition game. He gets above the rim with ease and can finish with either hand.

Todd doesn’t have one glaring weakness in his game but he needs to keep adding strength and continue working on his body to hold up against NBA competition.

Needs to continue to develop his skill set, work on his outside shooting and become a consistent free throw shooter.

Watch on YouTube

IMO, Offense is pretty much ideal for the celtics out of the pf spot. Ideally Todd continues to grow and forms into the center spot. Needs to work on defensive positioning.



Isaiah Jackson, 6foot10, 7foot 5 wingspan and an absolute freak athlete. He is a bigger Rob Williams who is a defensive beast.
He is a defensive, shot blocking Amare. Projecting to be more of a center than a PF.

Draftnet

Extremely athletic, agile big man that can impact the game without scoring and has a lot of physical gifts … An active big who makes plays all over the court defensively, having averaged 2.6 blocks and .8 steals per game as a freshman … Had a block rate of 12.7 at Kentucky. Is a rangy defender, and can cover a lot of ground quickly … Is a productive on ball and help side defender … Looks to get out in transition on turnovers … Is a very good rim-runner who can outrun virtually all players at his position … has tremendous lengthh with a 7’5 wingspan … Plays above the rim … Has made progress in learning to set his defender up to drive by him … Developing face up game still needs work, but is able to use his quickness to create space … Has a quick first step on face ups that allow him to beat his man off the dribble … Explosive athlete … Extremely quick to get off the floor, and has explosive second and third jumps that gives him the advantage on rebounds …70% free throw shooting gives optimism that he can ultimately develop some reliable face up skills … Solid competitor and determination … One of the youngest players in the draft having turned 19 in January …

Jackson needs to improve on his offense, needs to develop a shot.

Watch on YouTube

I would love both honestly.

Kemba/Pritchard
Fournier/Smart
Brown/Nesmith
Tatum/Todd
Timelord/Jackson

Wow, this mock has Todd slated to going 59th:

http://www.tankathon.com/mock_draft

I'll have to look into him. If he's as good as you're saying, he could be an absolute steal if we take him in the 2nd round..

[Hal14]

Spoiler:

My top 5 for #16:

1a. Kai Jones. In two years he could be the PF the Cs need badly.
1b. Usman Garuba. He'll contribute in his rookie year and will grow faster than advertised. A bit undersized, so he's not 1a, but you know Ainge will love this pick.

2. Jalen Johnson. Looks great, but a bit of a gamble and only if Kai and Usman are off
3. Josh Giddey. He can be a great player, but he'll need too much time to develop
4. Ziaire Williams. Very talented, but thin as a rail... he'll need time and eating a lot

If none of the above are available, trade down so you can get more value, then draft

5. Tre Mann. The kind of guard we're missing, if he plays defense, he'll be great.

Sounds good, but:

a) Mann is projected to go in the top 15 according to some mocks I've seen. We're not going to be able to trade down from the 16 spot and get him. If you want him, you need to draft him 16th (if he's even still on the board then)

b) Giddey..yeah he might take a year or 2 to develop. But all of these guys will. they are all 18 or 19 for the most part, they're young AF. Jones is 20 but he's only been playing basketball since he was 15 and only really started playing at an elite level when he was a senior in high school when he came to the US from the Bahamas. Kemba still has 2 years left on his contract anyways. So if it takes Giddey 2 years to develop, well that's fine - we bring Giddey off the bench while we still have Kemba, and then when Kemba's contract is up at end of 2022-2023 season, you hand the keys of the offense to Giddey. That's better than just throwing a 19 year old kid into the fire as a starting PG in a new country anyways.

The bottom line with Giddey is he solves what's IMO our biggest problem and that's lack of ball movement, too much iso/hero ball. We've got 3 guys who are very high usage and all of them are shoot-first players. Giddey is a pure PG, a pass-first PG with insane passing ability, court vision, instincts and timing. We haven't seen a dude come into the league with his passing ability in awhile. With him at the 1 and Tatum and Brown on the wings, we'd be unstoppable with Giddey constantly setting the Jays up for open looks. Not to mention another weakness for our team is being too small - going from 6'0" PG to a 6'8" PG would obviously help to solve that as well, especially once Giddey fills out his frame more, which he should do in 2 years - when Kemba's contract is up..

I have Giddey no. 1 on my list of targets for the Celtics at 16. However, most mocks I've seen have him going in the 8-14 range, so I'm not getting my hopes up. If he's there at 16, we'll take him but if not, there should still be another good option. And if we don't get Giddey, I'm optimistic that Yam Madar could be that PG of the future (quick, explosive, good size at 6'3", outstanding defender, pass-first PG, floor general who also shoots 40% from 3)

c) Curious why you don't have Alperen Sengun on your listbut you do have Williams? IMO the 2 of them are comparable talent-wise, maybe a slight edge to Sengun in terms of talent, but Sengun is a significantly better fit since we need a center much more than we need another athletic wing.

As of now, my top choices for no. 16 are:

1) Giddey
2) Jones/Johnson/Sengun (still not sure on the exact order of preference but chances are only 1 of them will be still on the board at 16, if any)

Haven't seen footage or done research on Garuba yet..or Isaiah Jackson. Gonna check those guys out next..

I have seen Mann around the 20-25, . He seems to dominate on offense, and has the athleticism to also dominate on defense. I wanted to trade down to get a better second rounder just to take Petrusev, who I like a lot. But nevermind.

Giddey could be a special player, but IMO he'll need more than 1-2 years to develop, so his timeline, unlike Mann, isn't that convenient. His shooting is also suspect, so you might be forced to move Smart. Celtics probably won't have to scratch their heads about that because Giddey will be top 10 and I hope Ainge doesn't trade up to get him.

I don't think Sengun is on those guys level. The fact he's had a great regular season in Turkish League is a bit deceiving, because the best teams (Efes, Fenerbahce) don't even care about the Regular Season to play their stars, they put their focus on Euroleague. Sengun has played also in the 4th best international competition (1.Euroleague 2.Eurocup 3. FIBA BCL 4. FIBA Europe Cup), so he hasn't faced the best in Europe. You can say the same about Poku, or even the Greek Freak, but this kid projects to be a solid player, not a star. Picking him would be a gamble, just like Williams, Jalen Johnson or Giddey, but those three show some potential I can't see on Sengun.

Kai Jones and Garuba can contribute from day 1, I'd be happy with either one. Jones has the higher ceiling, but Garuba has the highest floor. They both can develop into solid starters or maybe more. I think they're the best out of that range, and if they are available, Celtics should pick one of them. But as always, with a couple of months away from the Draft, stocks will raise and fall, you never know.

Far points all around - you know your stuff.

1) We'll have to agree to disagree on Giddey. I think he'll take a year or 2 to develop, tops. Look what Lamelo Ball did as a rookie. Giddey needs to improve his shooting but I think he will do that over the next 1-2 years. Earlier this season he was shooting 19% from 3 and by the end of the season he was at 29%, so that just shows how quickly he's improving his shot. I agree that we shouldn't trade up to get him. If he falls to 16, great. But if not, I'm fine with drafting a bigger guy and trying to develop madar as the future PG to take over once Kemba's contract is up.

2) We'll also have to agree to disagree on Sengun. He might not be doing it against the best competition in europe, but he's still doing it against grown men who are professionals and it's still higher competition than NCAA. The skill set and how polished he is, with the post moves, footwork and finishing ability at his size and at only 18 years old is insane. Plus good quickness for a dude of that size, ability to put the ball on the floor and dribble drive, hit 3's off the dribble. Skill is skill, size is size, and a ton of upside at only 18. I know not everyone on real GM is an expert, but I've seen multiple people in the NBA draft forum on real GM calling him a top 5 player in this draft.

3) You've seen Mann in the 20's, well I've also seen him go in the 10-15 range in mocks. So Ainge can trade down if he wants, but he has to know there's a good chance Mann will be gone by then.

[aporel18]

Spoiler:

Sounds good, but:

a) Mann is projected to go in the top 15 according to some mocks I've seen. We're not going to be able to trade down from the 16 spot and get him. If you want him, you need to draft him 16th (if he's even still on the board then)

b) Giddey..yeah he might take a year or 2 to develop. But all of these guys will. they are all 18 or 19 for the most part, they're young AF. Jones is 20 but he's only been playing basketball since he was 15 and only really started playing at an elite level when he was a senior in high school when he came to the US from the Bahamas. Kemba still has 2 years left on his contract anyways. So if it takes Giddey 2 years to develop, well that's fine - we bring Giddey off the bench while we still have Kemba, and then when Kemba's contract is up at end of 2022-2023 season, you hand the keys of the offense to Giddey. That's better than just throwing a 19 year old kid into the fire as a starting PG in a new country anyways.

The bottom line with Giddey is he solves what's IMO our biggest problem and that's lack of ball movement, too much iso/hero ball. We've got 3 guys who are very high usage and all of them are shoot-first players. Giddey is a pure PG, a pass-first PG with insane passing ability, court vision, instincts and timing. We haven't seen a dude come into the league with his passing ability in awhile. With him at the 1 and Tatum and Brown on the wings, we'd be unstoppable with Giddey constantly setting the Jays up for open looks. Not to mention another weakness for our team is being too small - going from 6'0" PG to a 6'8" PG would obviously help to solve that as well, especially once Giddey fills out his frame more, which he should do in 2 years - when Kemba's contract is up..

I have Giddey no. 1 on my list of targets for the Celtics at 16. However, most mocks I've seen have him going in the 8-14 range, so I'm not getting my hopes up. If he's there at 16, we'll take him but if not, there should still be another good option. And if we don't get Giddey, I'm optimistic that Yam Madar could be that PG of the future (quick, explosive, good size at 6'3", outstanding defender, pass-first PG, floor general who also shoots 40% from 3)

c) Curious why you don't have Alperen Sengun on your listbut you do have Williams? IMO the 2 of them are comparable talent-wise, maybe a slight edge to Sengun in terms of talent, but Sengun is a significantly better fit since we need a center much more than we need another athletic wing.

As of now, my top choices for no. 16 are:

1) Giddey
2) Jones/Johnson/Sengun (still not sure on the exact order of preference but chances are only 1 of them will be still on the board at 16, if any)

Haven't seen footage or done research on Garuba yet..or Isaiah Jackson. Gonna check those guys out next..

I have seen Mann around the 20-25, . He seems to dominate on offense, and has the athleticism to also dominate on defense. I wanted to trade down to get a better second rounder just to take Petrusev, who I like a lot. But nevermind.

Giddey could be a special player, but IMO he'll need more than 1-2 years to develop, so his timeline, unlike Mann, isn't that convenient. His shooting is also suspect, so you might be forced to move Smart. Celtics probably won't have to scratch their heads about that because Giddey will be top 10 and I hope Ainge doesn't trade up to get him.

I don't think Sengun is on those guys level. The fact he's had a great regular season in Turkish League is a bit deceiving, because the best teams (Efes, Fenerbahce) don't even care about the Regular Season to play their stars, they put their focus on Euroleague. Sengun has played also in the 4th best international competition (1.Euroleague 2.Eurocup 3. FIBA BCL 4. FIBA Europe Cup), so he hasn't faced the best in Europe. You can say the same about Poku, or even the Greek Freak, but this kid projects to be a solid player, not a star. Picking him would be a gamble, just like Williams, Jalen Johnson or Giddey, but those three show some potential I can't see on Sengun.

Kai Jones and Garuba can contribute from day 1, I'd be happy with either one. Jones has the higher ceiling, but Garuba has the highest floor. They both can develop into solid starters or maybe more. I think they're the best out of that range, and if they are available, Celtics should pick one of them. But as always, with a couple of months away from the Draft, stocks will raise and fall, you never know.

Far points all around - you know your stuff.

1) We'll have to agree to disagree on Giddey. I think he'll take a year or 2 to develop, tops. Look what Lamelo Ball did as a rookie. Giddey needs to improve his shooting but I think he will do that over the next 1-2 years. Earlier this season he was shooting 19% from 3 and by the end of the season he was at 29%, so that just shows how quickly he's improving his shot. I agree that we shouldn't trade up to get him. If he falls to 16, great. But if not, I'm fine with drafting a bigger guy and trying to develop madar as the future PG to take over once Kemba's contract is up.

2) We'll also have to agree to disagree on Sengun. He might not be doing it against the best competition in europe, but he's still doing it against grown men who are professionals and it's still higher competition than NCAA. The skill set and how polished he is, with the post moves, footwork and finishing ability at his size and at only 18 years old is insane. Plus good quickness for a dude of that size, ability to put the ball on the floor and dribble drive, hit 3's off the dribble. Skill is skill, size is size, and a ton of upside at only 18. I know not everyone on real GM is an expert, but I've seen multiple people in the NBA draft forum on real GM calling him a top 5 player in this draft.

3) You've seen Mann in the 20's, well I've also seen him go in the 10-15 range in mocks. So Ainge can trade down if he wants, but he has to know there's a good chance Mann will be gone by then.

Ok, we agree on Giddey, if he's available he's worth it, although I'd rather pick Kai Jones and Garuba, and even Jalen Johnson. Not trading up for him.

About Sengun, here is some of his highlights when playing against our old friend Jerebko, who's had a terrible year on Khimki Moscow. You can also note Sengun is helped by playing with another old friend, Shane Larkin. The kid has skill, but you can see he'll need to adapt to the speed of European top basketball play, let alone the NBA game. I hope he does, but not sold on it:

Watch on YouTube

I'd rather get Petrusev with an early second rounder. That's why I mentioned trading down. Of course, there's a chance Tre Mann is a lottery pick, so bye bye.

On a side note, what about signing this guy as an undrafted free agent?

[GoGreen]

Giddey, Jones, Garuba, Jackson; I'll take any of those dudes at 16

[GoGreen]

Just some thoughts on Isaiah Jackson...

He really, really reminds me of Rob. Just a taller, longer version of the kid. Also, he actually attempts jump shots. With that sad, I don't think they'd fit well on the court together at all. They're both too similar; they'd clog the paint so bad.

If we could somehow package Rob & Smart for Lonzo and draft Jackson? Booyyy would I love that. Let a man dream...

[Hal14]

Just some thoughts on Isaiah Jackson...

He really, really reminds me of Rob. Just a taller, longer version of the kid. Also, he actually attempts jump shots. With that sad, I don't think they'd fit well on the court together at all. They're both too similar; they'd clog the paint so bad.

If we could somehow package Rob & Smart for Lonzo and draft Jackson? Booyyy would I love that. Let a man dream...

1) Yeah you probably can't play Jackson and Rob together. That would be a double big lineup, which we know don't work in today's NBA. If you draft Jackson or Sengun, you're either a) looking to turn around and trade Rob or b) keep both of them knowing that Sungun or Jackson will need at least a year or 2 to develop so you keep Rob in the meantime and then 1-2 years from now you figure out which one you want to focus on being the center of the future - but it's good to have options - by having 2 really good young bigs, you increase your chances that 1 of them will pan out in the long run.

2) Not sure if that trade would work because a) A sign and trade with Ball would be tricky because I believe NOR actually has to sign him first then trade (all in 1 day but still...) and I don't think they have the cap space to re-sign Ball and b) I don't see us adding Ball unless we're able to trade Kemba. Kemba and Ball on the same team just wouldn't work. They would both want to be the starting PG..and obviously trading Kemba would be very challenging..it also opens us up for risk - like what if we trade Kemba with the hope that we'd sign or trade for Ball, but then we're not able to get Ball? Then we're screwed..

[Bleeding Green]

Just some thoughts on Isaiah Jackson...

He really, really reminds me of Rob. Just a taller, longer version of the kid. Also, he actually attempts jump shots. With that sad, I don't think they'd fit well on the court together at all. They're both too similar; they'd clog the paint so bad.

If we could somehow package Rob & Smart for Lonzo and draft Jackson? Booyyy would I love that. Let a man dream...

I don't see the problem. Rob plays like 30 games a year and has one more season on his contract before he's an RFA. He just finished his third season and has played fewer career NBA minutes than 6 rookies did this year. If the Celtics are making any moves based on the assumption that Rob Williams will ever be healthy for a long enough time to actually matter, they need to check the math again on that one.

[Hal14]

It's official: we are the 16th pick:

https://www.hoopsrumors.com/2021/05/latest-on-nbas-lottery-standings-draft-order.html

[Hal14]

Just some thoughts on Isaiah Jackson...

He really, really reminds me of Rob. Just a taller, longer version of the kid. Also, he actually attempts jump shots. With that sad, I don't think they'd fit well on the court together at all. They're both too similar; they'd clog the paint so bad.

If we could somehow package Rob & Smart for Lonzo and draft Jackson? Booyyy would I love that. Let a man dream...

I don't see the problem. Rob plays like 30 games a year and has one more season on his contract before he's an RFA. He just finished his third season and has played fewer career NBA minutes than 6 rookies did this year. If the Celtics are making any moves based on the assumption that Rob Williams will ever be healthy for a long enough time to actually matter, they need to check the math again on that one.

Very true.

But if you're looking at drafting either Giddey/Jackson/Jones/Johnson/Sengun/Garuba, 2 of those 6 guys you wouldn't be able to play with Rob (Sengun, Jackson) but the other 4 you could play with Rob. And if more than 1 of these 6 guys are still on the board at 16, and 1 is a guy who can play with Rob but the other 1 is a guy who can't play with Rob, and Ainge for the most part sees both of them pretty much as equal, it might be smart to pick the guy who can play with Rob because Rob is still on this team, he's a damn good player. when healthy and perhaps with a full offseason this summer of rest + treatment, he could come back better than ever and healthy next season. Stranger things have happened..

Side note - this might be why picking Jones might be a good idea if he's still available - because he can play with Rob (can defend smaller guards/wings and also has dribble drive/shooting ability to space the floor on offense plus overall quickness that we wouldn't be too slow of a team with him and Rob out there together but at the same time Jones does have the size/inside scoring/rebounding/rim protection ability to play the 5 in case Rob doesn't work out/keeps getting hurt. It's the best of both worlds..the risk with Jones (and Garuba) is both of them played a low number of minutes (only like 20-22 mins a game) so we don't know if either could handle the workload of being a starter which ideally, you're drafting a guy here who could start for you eventually..

[Bleeding Green]

Just some thoughts on Isaiah Jackson...

He really, really reminds me of Rob. Just a taller, longer version of the kid. Also, he actually attempts jump shots. With that sad, I don't think they'd fit well on the court together at all. They're both too similar; they'd clog the paint so bad.

If we could somehow package Rob & Smart for Lonzo and draft Jackson? Booyyy would I love that. Let a man dream...

I don't see the problem. Rob plays like 30 games a year and has one more season on his contract before he's an RFA. He just finished his third season and has played fewer career NBA minutes than 6 rookies did this year. If the Celtics are making any moves based on the assumption that Rob Williams will ever be healthy for a long enough time to actually matter, they need to check the math again on that one.

Very true.

But if you're looking at drafting either Giddey/Jackson/Jones/Johnson/Sengun/Garuba, 2 of those 6 guys you wouldn't be able to play with Rob (Sengun, Jackson) but the other 4 you could play with Rob. And if more than 1 of these 6 guys are still on the board at 16, and 1 is a guy who can play with Rob but the other 1 is a guy who can't play with Rob, and Ainge for the most part sees both of them pretty much as equal, it might be smart to pick the guy who can play with Rob because Rob is still on this team, he's a damn good player. when healthy and perhaps with a full offseason this summer of rest + treatment, he could come back better than ever and healthy next season. Stranger things have happened..

I just hope they don't make any decisions on draft picks based on players who almost never play. It's like not drafting a wing because you already have Romeo Langford. Rob Williams has one more season on this roster. By the time any of those listed players are ready to be productive players, Rob Williams is gone.

[Hal14]

I don't see the problem. Rob plays like 30 games a year and has one more season on his contract before he's an RFA. He just finished his third season and has played fewer career NBA minutes than 6 rookies did this year. If the Celtics are making any moves based on the assumption that Rob Williams will ever be healthy for a long enough time to actually matter, they need to check the math again on that one.

Very true.

But if you're looking at drafting either Giddey/Jackson/Jones/Johnson/Sengun/Garuba, 2 of those 6 guys you wouldn't be able to play with Rob (Sengun, Jackson) but the other 4 you could play with Rob. And if more than 1 of these 6 guys are still on the board at 16, and 1 is a guy who can play with Rob but the other 1 is a guy who can't play with Rob, and Ainge for the most part sees both of them pretty much as equal, it might be smart to pick the guy who can play with Rob because Rob is still on this team, he's a damn good player. when healthy and perhaps with a full offseason this summer of rest + treatment, he could come back better than ever and healthy next season. Stranger things have happened..

I just hope they don't make any decisions on draft picks based on players who almost never play. It's like not drafting a wing because you already have Romeo Langford. Rob Williams has one more season on this roster. By the time any of those listed players are ready to be productive players, Rob Williams is gone.

I get where you're coming from and agree for the most part, but you really seem to have a harsh view of Rob.

"almost never plays" to me that implies it's a very rare occasion when he actually suits up and plays. To me it implies 9 times out of 10 he is out with injury. Or even being conservative, it would mean he plays in less than 25% of our games. We had 72 games this year so if you're correct then Time Lord would have played in less than 18 games. But he actually played in 52 games. So you're not even close - not even in the ballpark. This is some massive hyperbole here. Out of the 20 games he missed, 4 was due to COVID and 1 was due to a non-COVID related illness. So let's remove those 5 games. Out of the 67 games he could have played in, he was out with injury 15 of them. So he played in 52 out of 67 games, which 77.6% which is insanely higher than 25%.

Time Lord played in more games this season than:

Kemba
Smart
Fournier
Aaron Gordon
Christian Wood
Jusuf Nurkic
D'Angelo Russell
Karl-Anthony Towns
Lebron James
Kevin Durant
James Harden
Anthony Davis
Kristaps Porzingis

Let's look beyond just this season. Here's how many games each player played in during their first 3 seasons

Robert Williams = 113
Joel Embiid = 31

That's right, Time Lord has played in over 3x more games than Embiid during each of their first 3 seasons.

Time Lord is top 10 in the entire NBA in rebounding %, blocks %, PER, Win Shares Per 48 Minutes, Offensive rating, defensive rating, BPM, TS%, FG% and doing it at age 23 with a 7'6" wingspan and a 40 inch vertical, plays hard brings a ton of energy.

So yeah, I'm definitely concerned about his injury history but not ready to completely write him off. Still optimistic that a full offseason of rest/treatment can help..

[Bleeding Green]

Yeah he's really good when he plays. He played 14 minutes last game. He'll probably do the same tomorrow if he even plays. This team absolutely should never make a decision based on the assumption that Rob Wiliams will play major important minutes. Just like the Sixers should have traded Embiid years ago. Since being drafted he has played 1656 minutes across the 226 Celtics games. That's 7 minutes a game. He is completely written off in my head. If he plays, great. Otherwise, it's just the same as it has been for three seasons now.

[threrf23]

On a side note, what about signing this guy as an undrafted free agent?

I'd say he projects as a better Brian Scalabrine? Why not.

Ed Najera and Brian Cardinal are also working comps. Like Scal, they didn't shoot as well, and were scrappier defensively...but Manek posted decent defensive stats too if you compare to his foul efficiency.

His statistical production didn't change a whole lot Freshman to Senior year, some will view that as a negative but I view it as a sign of consistency and upside.

[playa-hater]

I really like Sengun, I think he has potential.

But my top picks for a PF are still Todd and Isaiah Jackson has really been growing on me.

Todd, to me, is projecting to be Christian Wood/Chris Bosh/John Collins type of player. Excellent range, good speed, good ball handling, good size, great rebounder. Makes zero sense he is being projected second round.
12.5ppg, 5rpg, .8apg, .5spg, .8bpg, 44% and 36% with a FT of 82%

Good writeup in draftroom

Todd is a gifted basketball talent who is a long and fluid athlete who shows great coordination for a young player of his size. We haven’t seen much of him (or the rest of the G League Ignite team) this year and so he’s a bit of a mystery man heading into the 2021 NBA Draft.

He’s got all of the physical tools and skill-set to be a modern NBA Big. He’s got nice length, excellent quickness in the open court and a promising offensive game. His size and athleticism allow him to guard at the rim and he’s got quick hands and feet, making him a capable perimeter defender for his position.

His offensive game is smooth and advanced for his age. He’s got nice form on his shot and projects as a player who can score from all three levels as his game matures.

Todd shows a lot of versatility and is able to play in the post, make plays in mid range and in the transition game. He gets above the rim with ease and can finish with either hand.

Todd doesn’t have one glaring weakness in his game but he needs to keep adding strength and continue working on his body to hold up against NBA competition.

Needs to continue to develop his skill set, work on his outside shooting and become a consistent free throw shooter.

Watch on YouTube

IMO, Offense is pretty much ideal for the celtics out of the pf spot. Ideally Todd continues to grow and forms into the center spot. Needs to work on defensive positioning.



Isaiah Jackson, 6foot10, 7foot 5 wingspan and an absolute freak athlete. He is a bigger Rob Williams who is a defensive beast.
He is a defensive, shot blocking Amare. Projecting to be more of a center than a PF.

Draftnet

Extremely athletic, agile big man that can impact the game without scoring and has a lot of physical gifts … An active big who makes plays all over the court defensively, having averaged 2.6 blocks and .8 steals per game as a freshman … Had a block rate of 12.7 at Kentucky. Is a rangy defender, and can cover a lot of ground quickly … Is a productive on ball and help side defender … Looks to get out in transition on turnovers … Is a very good rim-runner who can outrun virtually all players at his position … has tremendous lengthh with a 7’5 wingspan … Plays above the rim … Has made progress in learning to set his defender up to drive by him … Developing face up game still needs work, but is able to use his quickness to create space … Has a quick first step on face ups that allow him to beat his man off the dribble … Explosive athlete … Extremely quick to get off the floor, and has explosive second and third jumps that gives him the advantage on rebounds …70% free throw shooting gives optimism that he can ultimately develop some reliable face up skills … Solid competitor and determination … One of the youngest players in the draft having turned 19 in January …

Jackson needs to improve on his offense, needs to develop a shot.

Watch on YouTube

I would love both honestly.

Kemba/Pritchard
Fournier/Smart
Brown/Nesmith
Tatum/Todd
Timelord/Jackson

Someone gonna shoot me for this, but Todd's mechanics and game reminds me a bit of Robert Horry. very intrigued for sure.

Jackson I like, except I can't imagine him being anything but a center, and yes we need that, but Kai and Todd give me the idea that they can develop to play alongside and for RW
when necessary, while Jackson only for RW.

Edit - some of you made the Jackson point already.. sue me..

[playa-hater]

On a side note, what about signing this guy as an undrafted free agent?

I'd say he projects as a better Brian Scalabrine? Why not.

Ed Najera and Brian Cardinal are also working comps. Like Scal, they didn't shoot as well, and were scrappier defensively...but Manek posted decent defensive stats too if you compare to his foul efficiency.

His statistical production didn't change a whole lot Freshman to Senior year, some will view that as a negative but I view it as a sign of consistency and upside.

OK, I give up. but who the hell is that??

[aporel18]

On a side note, what about signing this guy as an undrafted free agent?

I'd say he projects as a better Brian Scalabrine? Why not.

Ed Najera and Brian Cardinal are also working comps. Like Scal, they didn't shoot as well, and were scrappier defensively...but Manek posted decent defensive stats too if you compare to his foul efficiency.

His statistical production didn't change a whole lot Freshman to Senior year, some will view that as a negative but I view it as a sign of consistency and upside.

OK, I give up. but who the hell is that??

https://celticswire.usatoday.com/2020/12/10/nba-boston-celtics-manek-as-goat-bird/

[playa-hater]

I'd say he projects as a better Brian Scalabrine? Why not.

Ed Najera and Brian Cardinal are also working comps. Like Scal, they didn't shoot as well, and were scrappier defensively...but Manek posted decent defensive stats too if you compare to his foul efficiency.

His statistical production didn't change a whole lot Freshman to Senior year, some will view that as a negative but I view it as a sign of consistency and upside.

OK, I give up. but who the hell is that??

https://celticswire.usatoday.com/2020/12/10/nba-boston-celtics-manek-as-goat-bird/

Wow..sign me up..summer and training campbfor sure