Post#1733 » by Hal14 » Tue Jun 18, 2024 6:29 pm
Ok, so the more I think about it..and the more I watch this celtics team play playoff games (and NBA finals games) and also watch other playoff games, the more I think that I don't want to draft anyone with this pick who is a non-shooter.
A big reason for our success (and the success of other teams like OKC and DEN) is having all 5 guys who can shoot, pass and put the ball on the floor.
The exception is guys like Gobert, Lively, Gafford and to some extent Kornet, who compensate for their lack of shooting by providing enough value on offense (catch lobs, set screens, score from dunker's spot, score off put-backs, etc.) and on defense (rim protection).
With that in mind, these are the types of players I would be targeting with this pick if I'm Boston:
-A big..either a true 5 man or a guy who can play some small ball 5 mins but also play the 4. But either way, I'd prefer someone who can shoot or at least catch lobs (like Jesse Edwards)..but I think we all know that it might be a good idea to add a big, with Al's age, KP's injuries & Kornet and Tillman hitting free agency..
-A wing. I think a wing who can not only shoot but also *create* shots, for themself and others would be ideal. I just think that so much of the shot creation burden falls on the Jays. Off the bench, everyone (for the most part) is either shooting specialist or a defensive specialist. We don't really have a "wing scorer" / shot creator specialist. And I think sometimes that causes our offense (when the bench unit is in) to be kind of stagnant and can have some stretches where the buckets are hard to come by. And then the other team goes on a run, or we have to put 1 (or both) of the Jays back in..and they don't end up getting enough rest, so then they're less effective/efficient when they're in the game.
Also, Hauser lacks strength, speed and athleticism. Pritchard lacks size and athleticism. Both of them sometimes struggle with on ball defense.
So a wing who can shoot, create, and has more strength/speed/athleticism would be nice.
Who's that guy? Could be someone like Terrence Shannon Jr, Jaylen Wells, Jaylon Tyson, Nikola Djurisic, Ja'Kobe Walter. Off the top of my head, those are the main ones I think of. Perhaps Kevin McCullar Jr as well. Before they decided to return to college, I would've included Hunter Sallis and jamir Watkins in there.
Doesn't seem like Brad wants this type of guy though, since we didn't really have anyone like this on this year's team off the bench (unless you maybe count Banton but his shooting was not good enough so I don't really count him for this) and we haven't had any of these guys in for a pre-draft workout.
We did work out Dillon Jones and Judah Mintz, who can both create shots for themselves and others pretty well. But both of them have concerns about their shooting (and to a lesser extent, concerns about their defense too).
Reports are saying we're bringing in 6 guys for a workout today. I'm very curious if any of the guys I just named (Wells, Djurisic, Tyson, Walter, McCullar, Shannon) are among the guys coming in today.
Walter I know is a long shot since he's projected in like the 11-21 range.
Djurisic is very intriguing to me. He checks a lot of boxes. Good size at 6'8". He can handle the ball like a guard. Actually played a bit of PG this season (as did Tyson and in small doses Shannon did as well). Djurisic is good at creating shots for himself and for others. Can run PnR, can drive it to the rim, has a decent "bag". Can shoot it pretty well. Has pretty good strength and athleticism. The defense is just okay. He's not a bad defender but not a good one either. I think we can coach him up to be playable on that end - especially since he's still pretty young - only 20 yrs old.
And it seems like a good chance Djurisic will still be there at 30. A mock I just saw (today's bleacher report mock) has him going 42nd to Charlotte. Seems like that 35-45 range is where I see him going a lot of the times. But I have him as the 19th best prospect in this draft. Perhaps we could trade down from the 30th pick and snag him in that 35-45 range..saving some money, getting some assets..and if we take him in the 2nd round, that gives us the flexibility of not having to give him a guaranteed contract - since he's an overseas player, we could even stash him for a year or 2, if we're thinking he';s not quite ready yet or if the roster is so deep/talented that there isn't really any mins for him right away.
Nothing wrong with having a different opinion - as long as it's done respectfully. It'd be lame if we all agreed on everything
