Draft Picks Drop Like Flies

Does anyone realize the disturbing trend of the Celtics organization in recent years (at least the last 2) Walker, Hudson, Pruitt, & Giddens have all been cut, or traded. One of the essentials traditionally in keeping a franchise strong is drafting and developing young talent. With the exception of Perk, Rondo and maybe Davis, Doc has done nothing in this regard. Walker could have had a real shot at eventually replacing Pierce. Sadly Bill was shown the door as trade bait!

I don’t get you MD….are you ever happy?

You complained all day long that the team was going nowhere – and then when DA tries to make a deal to help them win this year, you pan him for it.

Oh the irony.

To: mrkleen09-The last time I was REALLY happy was 6/17/08: Final Score-Celtics 131, Lakers 92. After that there was no ring around our Posey (no Posey), and later we got noticeably POWE-ER!-Now we just lost our House!-We can but speculate on in-nate ability!-MD.

Winning is great, but just being in the thick of it all is good enough for me.

I enjoy the ride not just the final destination.

MDCeltsfan,

"With the exception of Perk, Rondo and maybe Davis, Doc has done nothing in this regard." So, with the exception of two starters (one of whom has become a 24-year old all-star and championship team leader despite only playing 2 years of college ball) and an undersized PF (who was a second round pick) who had no outside game until Doc pushed him, Doc hasn't done anything? What % of a team that is expected to compete for a championship do you think should be young, developing draftees? You just listed 25% of the active roster! How many lower first round and second round draftees has Phil Jackson developed? How about Mike Brown, Mike D'Antoni or any other coach you'd like to name? The only ones that come to my mind are Larry Brown, who is an exception in that he LIKES to coach young players and maybe Mike Woodson (but what has he won yet?).

JR and Walker have shown very little, as far as being able to play at the NBA level.

JR was the #30 pick. Picks that low have maybe a 20% chance of staying in the league. Maybe. JR just had knee surgery. Not good when you're still trying to prove you can play against some of the best athletes in the world.

Walker has had multiple knee operations and only played about 1 1/2 years of college ball. That may explain why he was a #47 draft pick. His defense is suspect and he has virtually NO outside game. His offense consists of a spin move in the paint. That doesn't work as well for 6'6", 220# forwards in the NBA as well as it does in college, especially once the scouts figure out that's all you have. Athletic, to be sure, but so was Gerald Green. I couldn't wait for the Celtics to get rid of Green (every coach who has had him since has agreed with me). Walker had a chance to replace Pierce? Paul Pierce is a future HOFer. Due to the limitations of Bill Walker's game (and possibly his knees) he will probably never be anything other than a bench player. I'd rather have Ryan Gomes, another late second round draftee that Doc developed, than Bill Walker and I wouldn't feel good about our future if it involved Ryan Gomes becoming "Paul Pierce's replacement" either and we KNOW Gomes can play in the NBA. We don't know that about Walker.

Hudson was the #46 pick. Picks that low probably have less than a 1% chance of making a team. He was picked that low, in part, because the competition he shined against in college wasn't top shelf. Furthermore, he's undersized. How do you fault somebody for not sticking with a player that every other GM in the league not only passed over once but (with the exception of LA and Cleveland) passed over twice? He has played in 8 games for Memphis. They picked him up because he's a "hometown boy" to them. He's shooting 38% from the field and has more turnovers than assists.

What about Leon Powe? He went from a player who played spotty defense and had trouble learning Doc's playbook into a coveted quality player. LIKE JR AND WALKER, he wasn't retained due to his knee surgeries. Those decisions are NOT made by Doc but his advancement as a player IS due to Doc. And please don't tell me it was Clifford Ray or Armand Hill or one of the assistant coaches and not Doc. They work for him (Clifford Ray could EASILY get a job working for another NBA head coach, but he chooses to work for Doc). Unless you're expecting the head coach to personally do everything. If so, I have to point out to you that the days of Red Auerbach, when the head coach was the "chief cook and bottle washer" are long gone. They are now leaders of a team of coaches. What about Al Jefferson? Was he "nothing" until Kevin McHale got him?

bob

MD,

Look at some of the players drafted by the Celtics. I would have to say that after the top 10 in any given year, the rest of the picks are crapshoots.

Rondo taken 21st only one year after Gerald Green was taken 18th. How'd that work out?

Ryan Gomes (50), Orien Greene (53), Leon Powe (49), Justin Reed
(40!!) Hudson (56th?) More crap than crapshoot!!


1997-2005:

http://www.nba.com/celtics/draft/recent-draft-history.html

Pruitt (32) Davis (35) and JR (30) One out of three.

Who the heck is Kris Clack? Jerome Moiso?

Give the Celtics praise for the ones who they got lucky on and live with the failures.

If a draft pick is used as an asset to obtain a better asset, that (in my mind) doesn't signify failure. That would be a success.

You have to remember, we are in the hunt for #18, not rebuilding from lottery land. Our needs are different from earlier this decade.

gyso