Gigi Datome believes Brad Wanamaker can be important cog for Celtics

https://www.bostonglobe.com/sports/celtics/2018/06/26/gigi-datome-believes-brad-wanamaker-can-important-cog-for-celtics/XZ755sSSq3J5ciVBeHbz4K/story.html



Gigi Datome believes Brad Wanamaker can be important cog for Celtics




Boston, Massachusetts -- 3/11/2015-- Boston Celtics Luigi Datome (C) grabs the ball in front of Memphis Grizzlies Vince Carter (R) and Zach Randolph (L) during the second quarter at TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts March 11, 2015. Jessica Rinaldi/Globe Staff Topic: Celtics-Grizzlies Reporter:

Gigi Datome played 18 games for the Celtics in 2015.
FILE/JESSICA RINALDI/GLOBE STAFF




By Adam HimmelsbachGLOBE STAFF
JUNE 26, 2018



Italian forward Gigi Datome had just a brief stint with the Celtics after being acquired from the Pistons in a February 2015 trade. But with his shaggy beard, lovable first name, and little-known skills, he developed a bit of a cult following as the Celtics charged toward their first playoff berth in Brad Stevens’s tenure.

Datome averaged 5.2 points over 18 games before returning to Europe, where he has been a star for the powerful Turkish club Fenerbahce for the last three seasons. But his short stay in Boston still resonates. Datome said he still exchanges text messages with Stevens and assistant coach Jay Larranaga, and he still tracks the Celtics closely.

“I was cheering for them so bad in these playoffs,” Datome said in a telephone interview from Turkey. “I was so upset when they lost.”

And now, Datome will have another reason to support his former team. The Celtics have agreed to sign Datome’s Fenerbahce teammate, guard Brad Wanamaker. Datome and Wanamaker helped guide Fenerbahce to the EuroLeague final last week, where it fell to NBA lottery pick Luka Doncic and Real Madrid.


The Celtics cannot officially sign Wanamaker, 28, until July 1 and are unable to comment on him until then. But Datome is bound by no such restrictions, and he believes that the physical, 6-foot-4-inch point guard could become an important cog for the Celtics.

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“For him, it’s great to have a system like Boston’s because his IQ is very high and Boston plays very nice basketball,” Datome said. “You need a high IQ to play in Boston for Brad Stevens.

“I’m sure that’s going to help him a lot. It’s tough for me to make comparisons, but I think he has possibilities to stay on the court. He’s going to help, for sure.”

Wanamaker was undrafted after leaving the University of Pittsburgh in 2011. He played for the Atlanta Hawks summer league team that year, but his game has truly flourished overseas in recent years. This season he averaged 11.3 points, 3.8 assists, and 2.7 rebounds per game for Fenerbahce.


“As a point guard, for sure, he was bigger than all the opposite point guards,” Datome said. “He could a lot of times go back to the basket. He could have done it more, but we didn’t use it how much we should have, because really he was bigger than all the opposing point guards.

“He uses his body very good when he drives, when he finishes at the basket. Also he shows his physicality on defense. Of course, it’s the European level, but his physicality was one of his main strengths. He’s a bull.”


Datome said that Wanamaker is a strong, tough defender who is capable of guarding point guards, shooting guards, and small forwards for long stretches.

He said that Wanamaker will always compete on defense, and he emphasized the importance of doing that in Stevens’s system.

Wanamaker is evolving as a long-range shooter. He made just 24 total 3-pointers over his first four seasons in Europe, and shot just 26.6 percent from beyond the arc during that time. This year he made 40 3-pointers and converted 33.3 percent of his attempts.


“It’s not his first option, but it’s not a guy you can back up on,” Datome said. “Nobody was going under pick-and-rolls on him, because if you let him shoot, you’ve got to respect his shot. It’s not his first weapon, but he’s worked a lot on his shot, and pull-up midrange is very effective.”

Datome said it is difficult to gauge how successful players will be when transitioning from Europe to the NBA. But he said that Wanamaker was considered a better EuroLeague player than Shane Larkin, and he pointed to Larkin’s strong play with the Celtics last season as an encouraging sign that Wanamaker could do the same, or even more.

“I think Boston is an organization that knows in Europe there are players that can fit very good in a system, and they’re very smart and very good at finding these players and putting them in the right role,” Datome said. “They don’t take players just to take players. When they take a player, they know they can fit in their system and they can help have success.”


Most of all, Datome said, he is pleased that Wanamaker will finally get the chance he has been working toward since his college career ended.

“I respect him a lot, because his journey to arrive at this level was very long,” Datome said. “It started years ago and he worked a lot. It was definitely a grind.

“He was definitely a leader of our team. Not maybe our vocal leader, but in terms of responsibility. He is a great competitor and he did great for us. I think for sure we wanted to keep him for next year, but I understand of course he wanted to try the NBA.”



bob


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bobheckler wrote:https://www.bostonglobe.com/sports/celtics/2018/06/26/gigi-datome-believes-brad-wanamaker-can-important-cog-for-celtics/XZ755sSSq3J5ciVBeHbz4K/story.html


By Adam HimmelsbachGLOBE STAFF
JUNE 26, 2018

“I think Boston is an organization that knows in Europe there are players that can fit very good in a system, and they’re very smart and very good at finding these players and putting them in the right role,” Datome said. “They don’t take players just to take players. When they take a player, they know they can fit in their system and they can help have success.”



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This is a great point, and another example of the Celtic's innovative thinking.