2020 NBA Draft discussion

BigSoxFan

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I won't be disappointed if they can't move up into the late lottery if no one really wants to move down. I just want them to get a player or players that can help right now. Someone that has a skill set they are missing or lacking in(i.e. shooting or size).
Yeah, I have zero expectations of a trade up. Just want a couple nice pieces added to the team - one we can dream on and one who might be a solid bench contributor. A Hampton/Tillman draft that I mentioned in another post would be perfectly acceptable to me given the limitations of the draft and where we're picking.
 

benhogan

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I won't be disappointed if they can't move up into the late lottery if no one really wants to move down. I just want them to get a player or players that can help right now. Someone that has a skill set they are missing or lacking in(i.e. shooting or size).
there are high floor guys that could be available at 26/30 (Tillman, Flynn, Bane, Bey, Winston, Quickly etc). They'll get a usable rotational player out of 26 or 30
 

Cellar-Door

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I really need the draft to come sooner, as I am now making some wild trades in the trade machine combining rumors......
36463
 

OurF'ingCity

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One part is me is like: Jaylen Brown and Tatum, heck yeah trust Danny. And the other part of me is thinking about the failed Winslow trade...

Goes against the general consensus that it's more of a flat draft in terms of talent drop off.
It’s obviously a small sample but Ainge’s history does give me some comfort that he can pick out good talent in drafts that are generally considered weak. Jaylen at #3 and Smart at #8 both fall into that category and they are now crucial pieces of the team. Put another way Danny seems to have nailed all of the top-10 picks he’s had in recent years (unless I’m forgetting someone).

His “weakness,” if it could be called that, has been finding sleepers late in the first round or in the second - which is obviously much more difficult but is something that some teams like the Spurs have done very well.

Which is all a long way of saying I’d be perfectly comfortable with them trading up because I trust Danny’s evaluation of higher-end prospects more than I do his evaluation of guys who will fall in that non-lottery portion of the draft.
 

bbc23

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Mason Jones has moved to the top of my #47 wishlist. Until you watch the gametape you have no idea just how fucking nuts his offensive game is. He isn't an elite athlete at all, but he changes directions at top speed all the time. And he'll launch any shot against any defender at any time. He's the honey badger of guards, he just don't give a fuck.

If I were Boston I'd take him at #47 and tell Marcus "Your job is to terrorize MJ every minute of every scrimmage game," because by year two Jones will be torching opponents off the bench. And he'll laugh at every defender opponents throw at him with a "Marcus beats the crap out of me every practice, you expect me to fear a mere mortal defender?"
Highly recommend looking into his backstory. Basic gist is, was one of those "nations #1 7th/8th grader" types, quit basketball, ballooned up to 270 by his senior year of high school when he decides he wants to give it another go, makes his way through prep school and a JUCO year before making it to Arky while massively improving his body the whole way through to become the SEC player of the year.
 

oumbi

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It’s obviously a small sample but Ainge’s history does give me some comfort that he can pick out good talent in drafts that are generally considered weak. Jaylen at #3 and Smart at #8 both fall into that category and they are now crucial pieces of the team. Put another way Danny seems to have nailed all of the top-10 picks he’s had in recent years (unless I’m forgetting someone).

His “weakness,” if it could be called that, has been finding sleepers late in the first round or in the second - which is obviously much more difficult but is something that some teams like the Spurs have done very well.

Which is all a long way of saying I’d be perfectly comfortable with them trading up because I trust Danny’s evaluation of higher-end prospects more than I do his evaluation of guys who will fall in that non-lottery portion of the draft.
This may be subjective, but I believe many people would could consider the following are/were credible NBA players:

- Al Jefferson
- Tony Allen
- Delonte West
- Kendrik Perkins (not drafted directly by Celtics, but targeted and traded for)
- Leon Powe (not drafted directly by Celtics, but targeted and traded for)
- Jared Sullinger
- Ryan Gomes
- E'twan Moore
- Avery Bradley
- Terry Rozier
- Grant Williams, so far.
- Romeo Langford, perhaps too early to tell.
 

128

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His “weakness,” if it could be called that, has been finding sleepers late in the first round or in the second - which is obviously much more difficult but is something that some teams like the Spurs have done very well.
Toronto and Miami have killed outside the top 10, too.
 
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JohnnyTheBone

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This may be subjective, but I believe many people would could consider the following are/were credible NBA players:

- Al Jefferson
- Tony Allen
- Delonte West
- Kendrik Perkins (not drafted directly by Celtics, but targeted and traded for)
- Leon Powe (not drafted directly by Celtics, but targeted and traded for)
- Jared Sullinger
- Ryan Gomes
- E'twan Moore
- Avery Bradley
- Terry Rozier
- Grant Williams, so far.
- Romeo Langford, perhaps too early to tell.
We would be remiss not to mention Rajon Rondo, Glen "Big Baby" Davis, and perhaps even Abdel Nader.
 

Cellar-Door

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Ringer mock updated like everyone they mention Celtics want to move up/out
But w/ the picks they go:
14. Hampton
26. Bolmaro
30. Tillman
 

Pollard's Spartan Beard

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We would be remiss not to mention Rajon Rondo, Glen "Big Baby" Davis, and perhaps even Abdel Nader.
Old friend Gerald Green says hello, also. He's bounced around the league for what, 12 seasons over the course of a 15 year career? If you guaranteed me the guy I drafted with the #18 pick would still be playing at age 34, but but didn't provide me with any other information, I'd probably feel pretty stoked with that outcome.

baa6740d794fe33760c97ddaf3815f91.jpg
 

BaseballJones

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It's crazy how different the league is. Vernon Carey is exactly the kind of guy that years ago would likely be a top-5 pick. Excellent size, good power in the paint. 18 points, 9 rebounds a game for an elite program. Now, that guy barely cracks the first round of the draft.
 

NomarsFool

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The hard part with this is that the "expected value" if you will of the top end of the draft is much higher than the mid to late portion of the draft. The Athletic had a nice statistical analysis of this in their draft mega-issue.

I don't remember the exact numbers, but the general idea is that most of the players in the top part of the draft should become useful NBA players and a minority, but decent proportion, even become stars. So, while Ainge gets credit for drafting guys in the top 3 who did turn out to be stars, it isn't that hard.

On the flip side, a guy drafted 15-20 has a pretty low likelihood of being a star - or even a useful player. So, if Ainge has struck out on those, the expectation wasn't that high to begin with. Just to make up numbers, if 0 of 10 players drafted by Ainge in that range were good, the expectation might have been that only 1 or 2 would have been good on average. Going from 1 to 0 is basically statistical noise.
 

Cellar-Door

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It's crazy how different the league is. Vernon Carey is exactly the kind of guy that years ago would likely be a top-5 pick. Excellent size, good power in the paint. 18 points, 9 rebounds a game for an elite program. Now, that guy barely cracks the first round of the draft.
I don't even think it's the league changing that much as the league having better decision makers. He's a tallish, but low wingspan, low athleticism big. He's exactly the type of guy who used to get picked 8-15, and then bust out of the league because he didn't have the athleticism to defend in the NBA
 

ifmanis5

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It's crazy how different the league is. Vernon Carey is exactly the kind of guy that years ago would likely be a top-5 pick. Excellent size, good power in the paint. 18 points, 9 rebounds a game for an elite program. Now, that guy barely cracks the first round of the draft.
For sure. Even Cherokee Parks went 12th and I feel better about Carey than Parks.
 

NomarsFool

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I guess the cost to get into the top 3 this year should be lower than in other years, but it seems odd to me to be trying to move into the top 3 in a year where there isn't really elite talent in the top 3. Also, the way the CBA works, those players will be much more expensive on their rookie deals than guys 8-20. With luxury tax potentially an issue, I don't really get it.
 

pjheff

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It's crazy how different the league is. Vernon Carey is exactly the kind of guy that years ago would likely be a top-5 pick. Excellent size, good power in the paint. 18 points, 9 rebounds a game for an elite program. Now, that guy barely cracks the first round of the draft.
Do you think that Ainge might use one of the later picks, 30 or 47, on a situational offensive big like Carey (or defensive one such as Azubuike) as a cost-controlled alternative to spending $5 million on Kanter?
 

BaseballJones

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Do you think that Ainge might use one of the later picks, 30 or 47, on a situational offensive big like Carey (or defensive one such as Azubuike) as a cost-controlled alternative to spending $5 million on Kanter?
Possible. Kanter has huge weaknesses, but in one game vs Miami (I think) in the playoffs, he showed his value in that when the offense was struggling, he came in and instantly provided offensive spark that got Boston back in the game. There's a role for a big guy who can score, even if his defense suffers.
 

BaseballJones

ivanvamp
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I don't even think it's the league changing that much as the league having better decision makers. He's a tallish, but low wingspan, low athleticism big. He's exactly the type of guy who used to get picked 8-15, and then bust out of the league because he didn't have the athleticism to defend in the NBA
In the old NBA, a guy like Carey probably would have been just fine, because a lot of big men weren't super athletic. Not in the new NBA.
 

Cesar Crespo

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I guess the cost to get into the top 3 this year should be lower than in other years, but it seems odd to me to be trying to move into the top 3 in a year where there isn't really elite talent in the top 3. Also, the way the CBA works, those players will be much more expensive on their rookie deals than guys 8-20. With luxury tax potentially an issue, I don't really get it.
It's possible they just really like someone and see a player as being an elite talent.
 

RedOctober3829

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deep inside Guido territory

RedOctober3829

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Hollinger's latest on the Celtics.

Lots of teams want to move up with their multiple picks, but the Celtics almost have to. With 16 players already and three first-round picks in their holster, Boston is in a must-trade situation where they almost certainly need to move either up or out.
The Celtics have picks 14, 26, and 30, but haven’t gained a lot of traction on moving into the lottery to select a top-10 player (Okonwgu would be perfect for them. Just saying). They may also look to move 14 for a future 1st, select overseas players with either 26 or 30, or attach 26 or 30 to unwanted contracts to ease their luxury tax burden – say by sending 30 and Vincent Poirier’s contract ($2.6 million) out for a pick in the low 40s or a future second.
https://theathletic.com/2206107/2020/11/18/nba-draft-storylines-whos-no-3-okongwu-medical-and-celtics-trade-intrigue/
 

DJnVa

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So right now we have heard the following:

Top 3
Top 5
mid-lotto
Trade #14 for future pick
Stay put

Honestly, I don't mind any of them.
 

nighthob

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Maybe they deal Hayward to the Warriors for Wiggins & #4 after the Warriors deal #2 for Wendell Carter & #4. But then Ainge will turn around and send #4 and #14 to the Knicks for #8 and their 2021 #1? That covers all the rumors, I think...
 

BigSoxFan

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So right now we have heard the following:

Top 3
Top 5
mid-lotto
Trade #14 for future pick
Stay put

Honestly, I don't mind any of them.
I would mind trading #14 for a future pick unless it has limited protections. There are going to be intriguing options at #14, IMO. Would much rather get a guy like Hampton into the CBS development machine vs. punting. No strong feelings about 26/30 though unless a guy like Terry is somehow there.
 

NomarsFool

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I realize it is a conference rival, but given the fact that the Bucks have like 10 roster spots to fill, might they be interested in acquiring some of the Celtics' roster fodder? I still really hate the idea of stapling one of our beloved first round picks to get rid of Kanter or Poirier.
 

benhogan

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I realize it is a conference rival, but given the fact that the Bucks have like 10 roster spots to fill, might they be interested in acquiring some of the Celtics' roster fodder? I still really hate the idea of stapling one of our beloved first round picks to get rid of Kanter or Poirier.
I could see Semi on that roster next season
 

Cesar Crespo

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I realize it is a conference rival, but given the fact that the Bucks have like 10 roster spots to fill, might they be interested in acquiring some of the Celtics' roster fodder? I still really hate the idea of stapling one of our beloved first round picks to get rid of Kanter or Poirier.
Late 1st round picks really shouldn't be beloved. More often than not, they provide very little if any value to the team that drafted them unless they turn into a star. By the time they are productive, they hit FA and some other team will pay them more than they are worth. This is probably going to happen with Robert Williams.
 

nighthob

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I realize it is a conference rival, but given the fact that the Bucks have like 10 roster spots to fill, might they be interested in acquiring some of the Celtics' roster fodder? I still really hate the idea of stapling one of our beloved first round picks to get rid of Kanter or Poirier.
I think they might like Semi and Arsen Edwards. Those two plus Poirier for a future #2 would open roster space for Boston.
 

NomarsFool

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I think they might like Semi and Arsen Edwards. Those two plus Poirier for a future #2 would open roster space for Boston.
Semi's contract is non-guaranteed and can be cut. He's not really the problem. The challenge is Kanter (if he opts in) and to a lesser extent, Poirier. I don't fault them for the Kanter signing, but giving 2 years to a guy who your coach seems to think doesn't belong anywhere near a basketball court seems like a mistake.
 

bakahump

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Couldnt GS add (a) players to make the money work?
Not sure we would want GS's flotsom while also giving the best player in the trade but If the 2 and Hayward are a match then they should be able to work out the money.
 

BigSoxFan

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How many vets making under 17.2 million would fill the win-now role and be worth the #2 pick?
Yeah, that's the problem that GS is dealing with. This would be much easier if they had like #8 or something. It will never happen for a variety of reasons but Smart/14/26 for 2 would at least be in the ballpark of a reasonable offer that both teams might consider.