What about Randle?

It would seem that throughout the fanfare of Wiggins, Parker, and Embiid, that Randle's name had been drowned out. His stock, still valuable, seemed to pale in comparison to his contemporaries. Well, looks who's having the best NCAA tournament by far. It's none other than Randle himself.

The three aforementioned prospects have all had their teams eliminated from contention. Meanwhile, Randle has been performing at a very high level, culminating in an upset victory over the previously unbeaten Wichita State team. If he is available, should the Celtics take him?

Naturally, this is dependent upon draft position and which players are desired more, but I believe he's making a very strong case to be a difference-maker. The only thing is, there would be yet another logjam at the PF spot. With Sullinger and Olynyk already on the team, someone will end up the odd man out, which could facilitate additional trade talks.

In either case, I thought it was interesting that Randle's been performing better than the others.


KJ

KJ,

I would look at taking Randle if we were to trade both Sully and Bass.  He's an NBA ready player who can score but is slightly small for a PF, which seems redundant of what we have.  If we could get something we need in a trade or trades for Sully and Bass, I think Randle would be a good replacement and ultimately would probably prove to be an upgrade.

Depending on how the ping-pong balls bounce, I still like Parker, Hood, Embiid, Wiggins, Smart or Harris best (depending on who declares).  In the scenario above, however, I'm good with Randle.

Regards

Am I doomed to a future of hearing, "He's a little small for his position, but...?"  Sully's short for his position. Bass is short for his position.  Olynyk has a short wing span for his position.  Bradley's short for his position.  Pressey's short for his position.  Humphries is short for the position he's currently playing.  Bayless is short for his position.  Sometimes I think Danny is running a midget (more correctly known as "little person") farm.  Only a minority of players we get are/were well-sized for their position recently including the Fab and Fav twins, Green, Rondo, Johnson and Babb.

When oh when can we get players who are big enough to dominate physically, or at least hold their own, at their positions?

And none of this is intended as a knock on Randle who, I understand, is a fine player at the college level.

Sam

I think Randle has the best chance of being a go-to NBA scorer in this draft.

he also has an NBA body now, which will help him transition to the pro game.

some have compared him Derrick Coleman.

I see just Randle and Parker as players who will end being 20pt per game scorers in the pro's.

so for me, after Parker (#1) , Embiid( Need) I would pick Randle third based on best player available.

of course Coleman never won any championships either.

In my opinion, I'd like to see the Celtics pick Embiid or Parker. But we don't know where the pick will be, so perhaps Randle may be the "best available" when that time comes.

kdp,

I agree with you about Randle and Parker being NBA-ready.


KJ

Randle disappears for long stretches and seems to have a low basketball IQ.  Coach Cal has to constantly keep on top of him to get him to play his best.  But if recent history with Kentucky players is any indication, he should round out nicely into a good NBA role player.

As for his fit on the Celtics, he is another Brandon Bass IMO.  Very little range outside of 18 feet and a tweener.  He addresses none of the Celtics current issues.

mrkleen09 wrote:Randle disappears for long stretches and seems to have a low basketball IQ.  Coach Cal has to constantly keep on top of him to get him to play his best.  But if recent history with Kentucky players is any indication, he should round out nicely into a good NBA role player.

As for his fit on the Celtics, he is another Brandon Bass IMO.  Very little range outside of 18 feet and a tweener.  He addresses none of the Celtics current issues.

So are you saying you would not select him if the others were not available?

And besides, why do big men need to be great perimeter shooters? What about doing damage in the paint and mid-range? I can see the Bass comparison, but Randle is probably more athletically gifted and has better handle.


KJ

Hes at least 2 inches bigger than Bass and a much better scorer down low and better rebounder, sure everyone wants an Aldridge or Anthony Davis as the prototypical PF, but there aren't alot of those to go around.....most PF's are 6-9" to 6-10" like Love and Blake Griffen and Sully and David West.

All that being said I like what I see in Sully and KO going forward, we need a legit 7 footer and a player I'd take over Randle for us would be Dante Exum, kid looks so smooth and explosive, great handle and athleticism for a SG that can handle like a point.

k_j_88 wrote:
So are you saying you would not select him if the others were not available?

And besides, why do big men need to be great perimeter shooters? What about doing damage in the paint and mid-range? I can see the Bass comparison, but Randle is probably more athletically gifted and has better handle.


KJ

I have no idea who will be available when the Celtics pick - and I guess you do pick the best available player, but the fact that Randel is projected as a #4 or #5 pick - shows how weak this draft is IMO.

Randle does have more upside than Bass - especially with one being 19 and the other having reached his ceiling.  But if you want go back and look -In college Bass was a better scorer, better shooter, and averaged 1 less rebound per game than Randle.  Very similar players.

mrkleen09 wrote:
I have no idea who will be available when the Celtics pick - and I guess you do pick the best available player, but the fact that Randel is projected as a #4 or #5 pick - shows how weak this draft is IMO.

I was just posing this as more of a hypothetical, if selecting Parker or Embiid is not an option.

mrkleen09 wrote:

Randle does have more upside than Bass - especially with one being 19 and the other having reached his ceiling.  But if you want go back and look -In college Bass was a better scorer, better shooter, and averaged 1 less rebound per game than Randle.  Very similar players.

Randle is also a freshman, I think. I do see similarities in their game, which is part of why I was never too high on him before. But he looked very dominant against Wich St. which made me what to give him more consideration.



KJ