4 days out, time for us to make our draft picks?

some links for player profiles:

https://www.nbadraft.net/ranking/bigboard

https://www.si.com/nba/2019/nba-draft-big-board-top-100-player-rankings



mine today:


14. M. Kabengele
20. Bol Bol or Nic Claxton
22. Cam Johnson or Ty Jerome

Kabengele has been a favorite of dboss for a while and he probably won;t be there with our later picks. Picking him at 14 allows me to roll the dice on Bol is he is there or select Claxton. Why two big men?

this will be Baynes and Yabusele's final year in Boston I draft accordingly.

Johnson or Jerome could develop into rotational players faster than most in our backcourt, though we are really looking towards the next season.

interested in what others here would do with this draft.

I totally agree with 14 and 20, if we got 2 out of those 3 I’d be very happy.

Kdp59

I have no problem with those picks.  The Bol pick is a low risk gamble and you cannot teach a 7' 7" wingspan.  Throw in his eye opening ability to make 3 pointers and bounce the ball more than twice and you have yourself and interesting addition.  I love the kid Jerome and Johnson's 45% shooting including how deep he can make shots is very appealing.  There are obviously other options for drafting 3 players but your selections are pretty solid.

I also like Claxton.

yea..but I want to know what YOU guys picks are!!

I previously mentioned Ty Jerome as a PG that may be a good fit for Boston. I like his size at 6' 5" and his 3 pt shooting was 39.9, 37.9 and 39.7 three solid years. He helped Virginia win the NCAA championship putting up solid numbers of 16.5 PPG, 6 assists and 5.2 rebounds.

He is not particularly athletics but he does have solid skills and he can run Brad's offense. He is pretty crafty with the ball.

see his NCAA tournament highlights here

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IOQJhymCuuE

kdp59 wrote:yea..but I want to know what YOU guys picks are!!

I would have went with yours...!!! Lol

If we got any combination of 2 of those 3 bigs and one of those 2 wings, with RW I’d be very excited about this young edition of Celtics!!

Go Danny go!!!

Please no Tyler Hero

14: Trade (in a package for a big, or for future draft considerations)
20: Daniel Gafford
22: Ty Jerome

Ok so here are my picks.  You already know I believe our top need is for a long athletic PF who can also play center.  But I am doubling down on this need as both Horford and Baynes are getting older.  Neither represent a long term future for Boston.  This wing oriented team cannot compete against big strong physical teams.  It is time for Boston to realize that we need to become a team with power in the frontcourt.

14.  Mfiondu Kabengele  

Checks most of the boxes and plays 2 positions.  Love his physical profile, basketball IQ and upside potential.

20. Cameron Johnson

One of the best shooters in the draft at 46% from deep.  He has perfect form, a quick release and NBA+ range.  Also shot 50% overall and 82% from the line.  He would be the best pure shooter that Danny has ever drafted.  Stay away from fringe shooters.  Get a guy that is clearly exceptional (5.8 3PA per game at 46%) = WOW.

22. Bruno Fernando

My surprise pick is Bruno Fernando.  I could go PG at this point but it is hard to pass up a big who put up 22 double doubles.  He is an old school low post guy that can score over either shoulder and he averaged 10 rebounds per game and 2 blocks.  He is a physical presence on the block.  Not much of an outside shooter but not bad from the line at 78% on 4 attempts per game.  Runs the floor very well and did well in the agility
https://stats.nba.com/draft/combine-strength-agility/#!?sort=POSITION&dir=-1&SeasonYear=2019-20

Over the most recent rebuild beginning in earnest when PP and KG were traded, Boston has been able to secure solid guards and wings from the draft.  They have yet to address their frontline in any meaningful way.  RW is the most athletic big man that Boston has drafted but he has very little to offer in the way of offense.  I think he still has a chance to develop into a very good defensive bigman but he is not a very good rebounder.  I think he very well may have a low basketball IQ.  I know that sounds cruel but he cannot even find obvious rebounding space that is open.

51.  Jalen Lecque This would be a flyer.  He did not attend college and turned 21 this month.  Big hands, 6 ' 4" frame with a 6' 8.25" wingspan, 43" maximum vertical (#1 at combine)  A project to be sure.  I also like the other J, Jaylen Hands.

Here is a highlight reel on Bruno.

All the highlights we see focus on all the good stuff. Still I see a lot of skills here for a big, quick and physical player. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZOZV9GWAeWw

Think of the great Abba music the Garden could play when Fernando scores.

14- Mfioundu Kabengele - 20 , P J Washington -22 , Ty Jerome.

I expect Williamson, Barrett, Morant, Culver, Reddish, Hunter, Garland, White, Doumbouya, Hayes, Hachimura, and Bitadze are taken prior to our first selection. If any are available, I’d certainly consider them. I’d expect to go with a wing/guard at 14. 1) Nickeil Alexander-Walker, 2) Tyler Herro. Little will be gone by 20 and likely Langford as well. Taking Alexander-Walker would allow us the opportunity to target another wing if available. Some big who can be developed will be there at 20 and likely 22 as well (Washington, Bol, Clarke, Claxton, Kabengele, Fernando).

In my mock:
14: Nickeil Alexander-Walker
20: Brandon Clarke
22: Bol Bol

KyleCleric wrote:I expect Williamson, Barrett, Morant, Culver, Reddish, Hunter, Garland, White, Doumbouya, Hayes, Hachimura, and Bitadze are taken prior to our first selection. If any are available, I’d certainly consider them. I’d expect to go with a wing/guard at 14. 1) Nickeil Alexander-Walker, 2) Tyler Herro. Little will be gone by 20 and likely Langford as well. Taking Alexander-Walker would allow us the opportunity to target another wing if available. Some big who can be developed will be there at 20 and likely 22 as well (Washington, Bol, Clarke, Claxton, Kabengele, Fernando).

In my mock:
14: Nickeil Alexander-Walker
20: Brandon Clarke
22: Bol Bol

interesting take, you must feel we have a greater need at guard OR its simply more bang for the buck at #14.

kdp59 wrote:

KyleCleric wrote:I expect Williamson, Barrett, Morant, Culver, Reddish, Hunter, Garland, White, Doumbouya, Hayes, Hachimura, and Bitadze are taken prior to our first selection. If any are available, I’d certainly consider them. I’d expect to go with a wing/guard at 14. 1) Nickeil Alexander-Walker, 2) Tyler Herro. Little will be gone by 20 and likely Langford as well. Taking Alexander-Walker would allow us the opportunity to target another wing if available. Some big who can be developed will be there at 20 and likely 22 as well (Washington, Bol, Clarke, Claxton, Kabengele, Fernando).

In my mock:
14: Nickeil Alexander-Walker
20: Brandon Clarke
22: Bol Bol

interesting take, you must feel we have a greater need at guard   OR its simply more bang for the buck at #14.

I think the draft is shaping up for getting better value out of picks 20 and 22 by taking a guard/wing at 14. There would still be quality big options available at 20 and 22. If some of those that I expect to be selected prior to 14 aren’t, there’ll be some surprise value to draft a different way.

If Kyrie leaves, Boston will need to look at getting another PG for their rotation however having Marcus and Terry Rozier makes getting a PG with our top selection a nonstarter. It is not our # 1 need.

If Boston was going to trade Brown or Tatum they would need to prioritize drafting a SG/SF.

If the Celtics resign Marcus Morris who plays more like a wing than a PF we would still need to upgrade the front line with an influx of young talent. So I do not think that Boston keeps Morris because (1) it will provide them with more Cap flexibility and (2) he is over matched going up against all the bigger faster PF in the league.

My thinking about drafting begins with prioritizing team needs and then from there I look at the best available talent regardless of position. Sometimes a guy is so good that needs can and should be overlooked.

Building your team around team needs however is the only way you get to play for a title. With that in mind let's review what we know as far as deficiencies.

#1 Boston was 25th in rebounding
#2 Boston was 26th in Points in the paint
#3 Boston was 29th in Free throw attempts

I see these 3 areas as being related.

A guard does not fix this for you. There are guards to be had late in the draft and their are big men to be had later in the draft but it should be clear that Boston's #1 need is clearly in the frontline, For this reason...

You have to go big with the 14th pick. The Boston Celtics will never win a championship if Al Horford is your top frontline player and you have no one that can rebound, score in the post and get to the line.

Bottom line, we need a beast in the frontline.

There are a few ways to address those issues. Playing bigger lineups where Theis and Horford are playing the 4 would be one solution. Redistributing shots from the point guard spot to wings and bigs would be another. A guard who can shoot but who is working to get the ball into paint situations would help. I don’t expect there to be equivalent guards/wings at 20 or 22. I do expect that there will be equivalent bigs. Again, though, we should have an idea of which way the draft is trending by the 14th pick. If we find that there are more bigs taken prior to our pick than expected, taking the next one would likely be the right move.

and this draft is not a great one for bigs..such is our luck.

I mean Hayes or Bitadze look to be the top two bigs

kdp59 wrote:and this draft is not a great one for bigs..such is our luck.

I mean Hayes or Bitadze  look to be the top two bigs

There isn’t an Anthony Davis in this draft but there is a bunch with skill sets that translate well. If Bitadze or Hayes fell to 14, definitely would consider taking either of them.

KyleCleric wrote:There are a few ways to address those issues. Playing bigger lineups where Theis and Horford are playing the 4 would be one solution. Redistributing shots from the point guard spot to wings and bigs would be another. A guard who can shoot but who is working to get the ball into paint situations would help. I don’t expect there to be equivalent guards/wings at 20 or 22. I do expect that there will be equivalent bigs. Again, though, we should have an idea of which way the draft is trending by the 14th pick. If we find that there are more bigs taken prior to our pick than expected, taking the next one would likely be the right move.

Kyle with all do respect, the Celtics do not have the personnel to address the 3 glaring deficiencies that I mentioned.

Horford is simply not a low post scoring option and neither is Theis and neither is Baynes.  None of them are beasts on the glass.  FTA are 1.4, 1.2 and 1.2 because none of them have post up games.  

This team was built at both ends of the floor to shoot the 3 and defend the 3.  

We have seen this one play out before our eyes.  We struggle to score in the paint and we struggle to defend the paint.

There is no guard that will be available to us that can change the reality associated with our deficiencies as a team.  However there are big guys who can and I see no good reason to sleep on an opportunity to get one because another guard is also available.  

Taking a big if a trend appears where bigs are being snatched up is irrelevant.  When we get to 14 we should draft the best available big at that point in the draft.  It can be a PF or a center.  It does not matter to me as long as that big can rebound and also score in the paint and can make free throws from the line.  Defensive abilities must also be present.  Can he defend.