Scouts line up to praise Celtics Compliments rain down on Marcus Smart, James Young

BOSTON HERALD

By: Steve Bulpett
 

We left New York believing the Celtics had done pretty well for themselves in the NBA draft. The thought was that they didn’t take any crazy chances in selecting Marcus Smart, a 20-year-old point guard, and James Young, a 6-foot-6 scorer who won’t turn 19 until August.

In terms of building their roster, the Celts may have set up some duplication of services with Smart and Rajon Rondo, but 25-win teams don’t really have the luxury of drafting for need — and point guard could well become a need with Rondo becoming a free agent next summer.

Overall, we thought the Celtics had themselves a good night. But then the messages from college scouts started coming in, and we began contacting some personnel people, as well. What we heard was more than a little surprising.

Apparently, we were underestimating things just a little.

It should be interjected here that no one can be entirely certain of how a player’s skills and mindset will translate to the next level; the 82-game marathon and The Life have tripped up more than many “surefire” prospects. But in the light of the days following the glitzy draft production, the Celtics are being praised for their takeaway.

“I think Boston had the best draft of anyone in the league, hands down,” said one Western Conference scout who spent the year immersed in the college game. “I’m not saying there aren’t guys who won’t be better individually than what they got, but to get two guys of that quality is unbelievable.

“You hope to come out of the draft with one guy who can really help you, and I think they got two. That’s a tough thing to do, but they pulled it off.”

Much of what the Celtics were able to do was based on what remained on the board at the sixth and 17th picks, so, if Smart and Young develop as hoped, there was at least some measure of good fortune involved in their availability.

But another scout who’s been around a while pointed to a well-worn blueprint.

“I think (Danny) Ainge went back to the old Red Auerbach playbook and took the best players available,” he said. “Some other teams reached for guys, and that may eventually work out for them. But I know the guys the Celtics got can play.

“There were a lot of people we liked in this draft, and when we saw who Boston was taking, it really made us wish we had picks up there. Those were some really solid picks they made.”

Said another personnel man, “Look, there were some guys picked in the lottery that I really worry about making it. You could see some busts out of this. But I’m not worried about Smart or Young. Those guys are still young and it might take them awhile, but they should be fine.”

One scout still raves about Smart’s performance in Oklahoma State’s 85-80 win at Kansas in February 2013.

“I was at that game, and I couldn’t believe what he did,” he said of Smart’s 25-point, nine-rebound, three-assist, five-steal effort. “Kansas is a tough place to play, and he went in there as a freshman and got after it. He was all over the place, hitting shots, getting loose balls, getting rebounds. Not a lot of guys have the cojones to do that, and he was a freshman.

“People question his shooting, but I just think he’s too tough to not overcome that.”

Smart’s competitiveness has been well documented, and it came to light while he was playing for U.S. teams in summer events. According to one of his coaches, Smart was not all that excited about taking part in drills. But once any kind of competitive aspect was attached to the work, he became a different person.

Young played just one season of college ball, but his assertiveness in big moments stood out at Kentucky.

“I know (Aaron) Harrison hit some big shots for them,” said one personnel man, “but, if you go over it, every time (coach John) Calipari needed a bucket, he was calling a play for this kid (Young).

“He kind of fell in the Celtics’ lap, but that’s a great get. (Nik) Stauskas, Young and (Doug) McDermott were the best shooters in the draft, and Boston got the most athletic one. McDermott’s a better athlete than people give him credit for, but Young is impressive. He’s a deluxe version of Morris Peterson (an 11-year vet out of Michigan State, who, like Young, was born in Flint).”

It’s a fact that if NBA careers were based on projections, every lottery pick would be a star. But among these several scouts, whose job it is to find the negatives that could derail a player, the Celtics are starting from an encouraging point.

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Kind of leaves a nice warm feeling, doesn't it?  Looking forward to seeing these guys in the Summer League.

Sam

Really good to hear.  Thanks for posting this, Bob.

Sam