Boston Celtics General 2016 Draft Thread

nighthob

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Jul 15, 2005
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I know we have threads for #3, and then another for the other two #1s, but I wanted to go into something that sort of spans the two rounds, and decided to open a general thread, so that we can look at overall prospects, and guys that might be willing to accept a Josh Huestis deal and agree to play in the D for a year or two while Boston works out its roster situation.

Anyway, this is the list of Cs or PF/Cs likely to be drafted this year, and if nothing changes between now and draft night I can see Boston picking two or three of these guys.

Jakob Poeltl
Skal Labissiere
Deyonta Davis
Domantas Sabonis
Damian Jones
Ante Zizic
Ivica Zubac
Cheick Diallo
Stephen Zimmerman Jr.
Chinanu Onuaku
Thon Maker
A.J. Hammons
Diamond Stone
Zhou Qi
Georgios Papagiannis
Prince Ibeh

I'm a big fan of Onuaku as a second round flier, as I think he has a solid future as a defensive roleplayer at the NBA level. I'm the first to admit that I don't watch enough of the Euros to have an informed opinion of them, but with eight picks I'm guessing that Zizic or Zubac are on Boston's shopping list at 23. If Thon Maker lasts until the second he's another that I'd be interested in.

I would still like Kay Felder as a second rounder, especially if he would agree to play overseas for a year or two.
 

DannyDarwinism

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Jul 7, 2007
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I don't see Pascal Siakam on your list, he's a second round binkie of mine as a high motor energy guy, and I know HRB likes him as well. He worked out with the Celtics today. With you on Onuaku, I hope he's there with one of the early seconds.
 

HomeRunBaker

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Jan 15, 2004
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Onuaku is certainly one of my guys as is Siakam. I don't foresee anyone of value pulling a Josh Huestis or a Marcus Thornton last year for us as these players only agree to these terms pre-draft because otherwise they won't go drafted at all. In the case of Huestis is was a sweet deal......have a 1st round pick on your overseas resume for later in your career (which is huge added value) as opposed to going completely undrafted which was likely the case with him. So many interesting guys from 20 to 50 this year. Here are a few of mine I'd like to see us acquire in that range along with a list of guys I really would like to stay away from.

Yes - Sign Me Up!
Dejounte Murray -
6'5 combo guard who is very active with a good motor. High upside in his ability to add size/strength to his 170 lb frame and a perimeter shot.
Caris LeVert - 2nd round injury flyer who when healthy is already an NBA player. Without his foot injuries LeVert is a 15-20 pick. Great value spot here.
Zizic/Zubac - I confuse them but like them both. 19-year old overseas 7-footers who are physically advanced have a history of success in this league.
Chinanu Onuaku - Seems like a certain contributor as a 2nd unit 4/5. While I prefer higher upside guys in the draft there is certainly value in this type of niche player.
Pascal Siakam - My binky (and Darwinism's). Great motor, great length, agile and fast for his size. Not smooth offensively but knows how to put the ball in the basket. Should be a 2nd unit guy fairly quickly and with an added jumper which he's shown some of could be much more.
Kay Felder - Unlike Ulis on my list below, Felder can physically compete at this level and is a warrior. The way he competes reminds of me Norris Cole when he was at Cleveland State......players who compete that hard and are this productive while possessing the physicals to matchup have trouble failing at the next level. I'd be surprised if Felder doesn't make an impact in this league as a Top-8 guy on his team.


NO!! - Stay the F away!
Cheick Diallo -
When you're a mechanical big who isn't really that big while not possessing a great frame it produces red flags to me. I don't like the upside and I don't like that he failed to work his way into regular rotation minutes at Kansas last year. His only numbers all season were in garbage time against awful teams.
Tyler Ulis - At 149 lbs he is going to be a massive liability defensively and very limited offensively as he appears to small to be productive off the dribble against much longer players while not being a knock down shooter to produce this way. I honestly don't know what he can do to make it in this league. Has great leadership skills and with 15-man rosters everyone carries a 3rd PG somewhere (in suits or as an emergency call-up from the D-League) so he may stick around but I don't see Ulis cutting it.
AJ Hammons - To call Hammons too slow is doing an injustice to every player ever called too slow to make it in this league. He's not only a plodder but a SLOW plodder.
Denzel Valentine - No, Valentine isn't Draymond Green. He's a liability defensively, and isn't the fierce competitor of the man he is often wrongly compared to. He's a spot-up 3-point shooter who has a good understanding of the game but zero athleticism. Not worthy of a 1st round or a high 2nd round pick imo.
 

nighthob

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Jul 15, 2005
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I don't see Pascal Siakam on your list, he's a second round binkie of mine as a high motor energy guy, and I know HRB likes him as well. He worked out with the Celtics today. With you on Onuaku, I hope he's there with one of the early seconds.
Complete brain freeze on my part, I was spitting guys off the top of my head trying to figure out a rough order they'd get picked in (should've stuck with alphabetical listings) and completely forgot about him.