Draft Time

[sox839]

The Celtics have worked out many more players than e\what several sites are listing they are most likelygoing witha big. I know through research I did on the web they definitely worked out trent plisted and devon hardin. They also worked out ryan andersen who more a small forward along with the other listed on this site and on draft expressand inside hoops. I would thinkthey wouldbring in Thompson to perhaps.

[Fencer reregistered]

If there are two immediate roster members from the draft, that means the rest of the team can only be 13 deep.

Coming back (in most cases) or replaced man-for-man almost surely will be:

Perk Brown
Garnett Powe Davis Scal
Pierce Posey
Allen Allen
Rondo Pruitt House

The only slack in that is if one of the undersized PFs somehow vanishes.

If Powe learns the defense and Pruitt is ready to play regular minutes, that's all OK. Otherwise things could be a little tight.

[Barry Lird]

I don't think PJ's coming back. He came out and into the perfect situation, and now he's got his ring. It takes a tremendous amount of grit, determination and effort to do the entire grind; training camp, preseason, regular season, post season. A very long haul for someone who will be 39 and already achieved the goal. I think he's done.

That said, that'll leave us with only Perk and KG as guys 6'10" +. We need one more. I like both Leon and Baby, but they're a little redundant. I realize their skills and what they bring to the table are a little different, but in that they're both undersized PF's, well, I want one more longer guy, and that's where I hope we go in the draft.

If we are to keep only one of Powe/Baby, I'd keep Powe. He's proven himself.

Make no mistake about it, we're still in win now mode, so I'm not for the trading down from 30 to pick up two more rookies. Much of what happens this off season will be predicated on whether we plan on keeping Posey and House. I'm for keeping both. Then it becomes a matter of replacing Sam and PJ (probably). I'm still sort of doubtful about Pruitt being a contributor on a championship team next year. He still strikes me as more of a two than a 1. So, minus Sam and PJ, we'll be in much the same situation as we were for most of last year, that of needing a long big, and a legit backup PG.

Oh, and I'm good with bringing TA back at short money. I think he's gonna bounce back strong next season physically, and I hope he works on his jumper over the summer.

[Rocky5000]

These 3 guys we can expect to be gone: Brown, Cassell, and Pollard. Brown and Pollard free up the backup C spot for a free agent or draft pick to step in and contribute. Cassell will allow Pruitt to get minutes and make it possible for us to add any type of player, but probably another point guard just in case.

Right now, we are as set as a team can possibly be at the wing positions, with two starting all stars, one of the best 6th men in the league, and an elite defender in Tony Allen. I don't think we need to do anything there, as long as Posey re-signs.

At PF, we have another all-star, and couple of energy guys in Powe and Davis. It's possible to get a little better here, but how much will that help with Garnett and the occasional Posey sucking up most of the playing time? We also have Scalabrine to fill in an emergency, so injuries shouldn't be a big concern.

At point guard I expect Rondo to continue to get better and more comfortable with his shot, and House is a perfect utility shooter. Can Pruitt find a space somewhere between the two by combining a stead shot with good ball handling? I'm unsure as of yet, and that's why I'd be fine taking another point guard in the draft. Pruitt played well enough in his limited minutes, but in the d-league he appeared to be turnover prone and a little inconsistent with his shot.

Center is where we obviously have room to improve. While Perk is a good defensive player, he doesn't give you much else. He is slow to gather the ball, and his rebounding numbers aren't anything special. Furthermore, he has had almost chronic shoulder issues throughout his career, going back to high school. This is the one position where it may be possible to upgrade our starting spot through either the draft or free agency and slide Perkins into a backup role. For either a starter or backup center, I'd look for players with explosive leaping ability, quick hands, and great length that prefer to play around the basket, yet possess an adequate 10-15 foot jumpshot. We've seen the way that Perk's anemic offense can hinder our play when teams leave him open. The same thing happens with Rondo, but we can replace him with Eddie House. We don't have the same luxury with Perk. A center with range like Raef or Waltah, would be better than having Perk on the floor at times, maybe we could pick up one to take Pollard's spot.

[Barry Lird]

...
Center is where we obviously have room to improve. While Perk is a good defensive player, he doesn't give you much else. He is slow to gather the ball, and his rebounding numbers aren't anything special. Furthermore, he has had almost chronic shoulder issues throughout his career, going back to high school. This is the one position where it may be possible to upgrade our starting spot through either the draft or free agency and slide Perkins into a backup role. ...

Good post, but I have a question regarding Posey. Do we have any sort of Bird rights to him? If not, and all we've got is the mid-level exception 5.4 mil, or whatever it is, I imagine he'd command most if not all of that, and if so, it leaves us very little left to try to get the reserve 5. There's that lesser exception, but isn't that every other year?

Anyway, if we don't have Bird rights to Posey, then I think Danny will spend his wad on him, and we'll be looking at some vet to take the veterans minimum at center, because I doubt any rookie drafted at pick 30 will be a trusted rotation player come playoff time, so it might be a keep your fingers crossed and wait until people get waived in the latter part of the season, much like this last year to get our 5.

[Maple Green]

Why Boston did not gave a second chance on Keith Brumbaugh base? I hear that he is good but I did not find his profile.

[sox839]

We should make every reasonable attempt to resign posey. As for backup centers at #30 we should be able to get a decent backup big like hardin, plaisted or thompson. Granted I agree about needing a vet big will the C's consider signing pollard for the minium again. He knows the system and should be healthy and for the minium there won't be any learning curve. As far as free agent bigs brian skinner, jake voskuhl, david harrison, adonal foyle. I don't know ifthese guys are any better than pollard perhaps harrison but he is lazy has an attitude and isn't worth the hassle.

[Darth Celtic]

7ft tall, pulse, that's all i care about. More d then o.

[GreenGrizz]

I absolutely agree with Darth Celtic. We need a really big guy standing next to KG. The way KG doesn't have to labor himself into exhaustion.

[ParticleMan]

I guess it's true, we really just need a true C who can play some D, cuz we're not getting that in FA.

When you look at it like that, Devon Hardin is the obvious choice if we can get him.

The guy is a quality athlete, has a true NBA C body, and is a pretty solid defender though he should be better. He also has a nice stroke from 12-15ft, though he rarely used it. Working with Clifford would be a huge benefit to Devon.

[LongTimeFan]

I'd have to agree with Bill on this re Powe v Baby.

However, I think we need another center and we may have to move up quite a bit to get the guy DA wants. Powe is a legit starting PF. A proven NBA PF. We have his full Bird rights. This is not another GM overpaying by giving up a high pick.

Personally, my wife just got over West being traded. I'll have another year of mourning if Powe gets traded. He's one of my favorites.

Baby we only have his little Bird rights. He has a serious weight issue.

[hiphop1]

We should make every reasonable attempt to resign posey. As for backup centers at #30 we should be able to get a decent backup big like hardin, plaisted or thompson. Granted I agree about needing a vet big will the C's consider signing pollard for the minium again. He knows the system and should be healthy and for the minium there won't be any learning curve. As far as free agent bigs brian skinner, jake voskuhl, david harrison, adonal foyle. I don't know ifthese guys are any better than pollard perhaps harrison but he is lazy has an attitude and isn't worth the hassle.

Well. Juwan Howard is out there and he and KG are great friends. Also Jamal Maglorie, Theo Ratliff, Kurt Thomas are all FA's. Diop would be ideal but he will command all the MLE and that should go to Posey. My pick if he is still there is Thompson, although I would not be upset if we got Hardin.

[Red2]

I agree that pj and sam are gone. Not sure about pollard. I would love to have pj back but now that he has hhis ring I don't see him signing up for the long haul. who knows maybe he joins us again next spring! Pollard is signed I think and he is a vet. we're not going to get anyone in the draft who is ready to go although I certainly would take a shot on a big man who we can develop like perk. Cassell interestingly said he wants to come back but I don't see it. He started to play better team ball near the end of the playoffs but he is still a poor defender and he appears to have back and other injury problems. If neither pj nor pollard are back then danny needs to find a veteran big man and he may need to use tony ,veal and baby plus picks as bait. priority number 1 is posey and number 2 should be eddie. as for the 2 picks if we keep them I would draft a big man and a shooting guard

[P2]

One thing I can say for sure is, we won't draft an undersized PF or a nother PG!

[billfromBoston]

Bill Walker, Robin Lopez, maybe Courtney Lee, Joey Dorsey, pat calathes. I have a weird feeeling we will pick Joey Dorsey.

I wouldnt mind Dorsey, but my pick if he is available at thirty is Jason Thompson. He can play PF or C and is a great shot blocker. Also has a shot out to 15-17 feet, good post moves as well. He did play in a sub par conference(MAAC) but he has skill you can see it when he plays. If Cliff Ray gets ahold of this kid watch out. He reminds me of a poor man's KG.

...i'm very intrigued by Thompson too, the main issue is that this is a defensive team and Thompson has not displayed any great desire to work on that end...very good offensive skills and mobility to work the court on both ends, but a real "nice-guy" type too, so getting the mean streak to show is the real trick...

[canman1971]

One thing people are forgetting, or at least I haven't read yet, is Ainge is very unlikely to go into the season with a full 15 man roster. Barring a trade, and the general consensus is Brown, Cassell and Pollard are gone, that leaves 12 players, and 11 if you let Allen go. House and Posey, I assume will be resigned, so that effectively leaves room for 1, maybe 2 additions. The way I see it now, and this certainly probably isn't what Ainge is thinking, but we can sign our 1st rounder and 1 FA if Allen goes. I think Ainge likes the flexibility for mid-season additions.

[sox839]

I don't think Hardin is all that. I think he is overrated he is super athletic but he reminds of the center version of kedrick brown. He never got better at CAL look at his stats there not anything spectacular. I like trent plaisted or ryan thompson at pick #30. Both thompson and plaisted are athletic maybe not as athletic as hardin but are better basketball players than hardin.

[Pogue Mahone]

The answer is Richard Hendrix. And don't surprised if Ainge makes a move for another 2nd RD'er -- I am looking at you George Hill/Jamont Gordon. At pick #60, if he lasts, Ainge is thinking James Mays. If Mays is not there, look for Sasha Kaun, I wanna rock you Sasha at #60. Dan Gadzuric at the end of the 2nd RD is incredible value so long as he is used properly.

Or maybe that is what I am thinking and projecting onto Ainge. Why quibble over small details.

Hendrix is bigger than most realize. He is incredibly productive in a strong conference. He will come in and produce immediately. For all intents and purposes, he is the same size as Hardin (both have a 7'3 inch wingspan and Hardin is 1.5" better in standing reach.) Hardin has better overall defense and ups, but Hendrix has a more mature game, is a better offensive contributor and is quicker and faster. People are going to penalize Hendrix for his short neck. Ainge needs to capitalize on that market inefficiency.

[Parasite]

I'd like to get Othello Hunter from Ohio State. He's listed at 6'8 but he plays like a 7 footer. He's unbelievably long and a great athlete. Will be a shot-blocking and rebounding force. Won't give you much offense but is capable of hitting the 15 footer at times. EXTREMELY hard worker too. He is a better fit for this team than Big Baby because Powe and Baby are kinda redundant.

Oh, and don't discount Scot Pollard coming back. I think he could possibly be our P.J. Brown next year.

[Marley2Hendrix]

Sitting at thirty Rush would be a nice pickup, but it looks increasingly like there is no chance for him to fall this far, so my new hope of potential slippage is for the Chris Douglass-Roberts to make his way to Celtic green. He would benefit tremendously playing behind RayRay and Pierce, and I think he could log meaningful regular season minutes providing relief at the 2/3. I'm not worried about his weight at all. CDR is who I want, though we can only hope he lasts.

moving on, Hibbert is even less likely to be around than CDR, but in the unlikely event CDR is gone and Hibbert is around, we have to take him. He's an intelligent cat and has no star potential, just a 7fter who could be plugged in, fully understand our defensive scheme and rotations, and strengthen the interior. Big Z has damn near no athleticism any more but still proves to be consistently disruptive downlow to opposing 4/5s, Hibbert will do much the same.

For my next favorite at 30, props to pogue baby, my boy Richard Hendrix from bama. Again, intelligent guy with incredibly underrated bulk/length. Might seem redundant w/ Baby/Powe, but absolutely possesses a different skillset. His defensive potential is vastly underrated. This is an ainge pick.

Next choice is a guy who's been well discussed here, Billy Walker. He will be around despite others speculating otherwise, but he's not to high up around here.

& finally be it 30, 60, or a trade down to like 34 & 38 for 30 or something, I inexplicably am intrigued by St.Joes Calathes. He's got the size and drive to be a tremendous hustle guy/disruptor off the bench. CALATHES!