Grade the Celtics draft.

 It makes more sense to see how the players in action before trying to put a grade on it.  

 It makes more sense to see how the players in action before trying to put a grade on it.  

Yea it is hard to grade a draft without seeing how these players play a single NBA game yet, but if it was graded based off need and players available I would give them and A. Smart provides a need if they trade Rondo or loose Bradley in FA, if not he would be the first gaurd off the bench and can back up both positions. Young give them and good size SG that they need. He prob will not will have an immediate impact since they have alot of gaurds fighting  for PT.

Yea it is hard to grade a draft without seeing how these players play a single NBA game yet, but if it was graded based off need and players available I would give them and A. Smart provides a need if they trade Rondo or loose Bradley in FA, if not he would be the first gaurd off the bench and can back up both positions. Young give them and good size SG that they need. He prob will not will have an immediate impact since they have alot of gaurds fighting  for PT.

I give it two grades value and fit. The value was an A the fit was a C.  The only spot solidified on the celtic roster was at pg so they draft another pg who is a stronger version of Rondo great value bad fit. Young was good value and need so that was an A on both accounts.

I give it two grades value and fit. The value was an A the fit was a C.  The only spot solidified on the celtic roster was at pg so they draft another pg who is a stronger version of Rondo great value bad fit. Young was good value and need so that was an A on both accounts.

 I actually think they had a great draft.  I would give them an A-.  Mahcus Smaht is going to be a fantastic player for them (not going into the whole "will they move Rondo" convo).  He’s a heady player who plays with passion.  He’ll give them some energy and leadership typically not seen with most rookies.  At 17, they take James Young who I felt was the best player at the Final Four.  He’s young and raw, but at 17 on a rebuilding team, you must go with upside, and that is exactly what Young is.  Great size for a wing.  I also think his shooting percentages will get better in the NBA.  At Kentucky, he had to take some ill advised shots just so he could actually get some stats with all of those other stars there.  If he plays within the flow of the game a bit more and takes the time to develop, he could be a very good value that late in the draft.

 I actually think they had a great draft.  I would give them an A-.  Mahcus Smaht is going to be a fantastic player for them (not going into the whole "will they move Rondo" convo).  He’s a heady player who plays with passion.  He’ll give them some energy and leadership typically not seen with most rookies.  At 17, they take James Young who I felt was the best player at the Final Four.  He’s young and raw, but at 17 on a rebuilding team, you must go with upside, and that is exactly what Young is.  Great size for a wing.  I also think his shooting percentages will get better in the NBA.  At Kentucky, he had to take some ill advised shots just so he could actually get some stats with all of those other stars there.  If he plays within the flow of the game a bit more and takes the time to develop, he could be a very good value that late in the draft.

I give them an A.  Before the draft I said they needed to pick the players with the highest upside and with the best chance of reaching that upside.  The way the draft played out it came down to Smart and Randle.  I think both will be good pros, but only Smart can be a force on D.  While I liked the upside of Vonleh and LaVine, I’m glad Danny took the safer player.  In the NBA you take the best player, you never draft for need.  As for James Young, the only other player I would have considered was Gary Harris, who seems to be a lot like Bradley.  Danny took Young, who has more upside then Harris.  I think it was the right pick.  Young has a lot of boom or bust potential, but his ceiling is all star.  Harris doesn’t seem to have all star potential.  This is the single reason I wouldn’t give them an A+, the risk of Young not reaching his potential.  Still when you have a chance to get an all star player at 17 you have to go for it, even if it means passing on a very solid two way prospect in Harris.  In my mind Young was the last player picked in the draft that has all star potential and a decent chance of reaching it, after him the chance is very slim.

Also wanted to add that Kentucky prospects were all underrated a little bit.  With so many Alpha males on the team, it limited what each player could do.  If you put either one of those players on a team like UMASS, they would have been 20 ppg scorers.

I give them an A.  Before the draft I said they needed to pick the players with the highest upside and with the best chance of reaching that upside.  The way the draft played out it came down to Smart and Randle.  I think both will be good pros, but only Smart can be a force on D.  While I liked the upside of Vonleh and LaVine, I’m glad Danny took the safer player.  In the NBA you take the best player, you never draft for need.  As for James Young, the only other player I would have considered was Gary Harris, who seems to be a lot like Bradley.  Danny took Young, who has more upside then Harris.  I think it was the right pick.  Young has a lot of boom or bust potential, but his ceiling is all star.  Harris doesn’t seem to have all star potential.  This is the single reason I wouldn’t give them an A+, the risk of Young not reaching his potential.  Still when you have a chance to get an all star player at 17 you have to go for it, even if it means passing on a very solid two way prospect in Harris.  In my mind Young was the last player picked in the draft that has all star potential and a decent chance of reaching it, after him the chance is very slim.

Also wanted to add that Kentucky prospects were all underrated a little bit.  With so many Alpha males on the team, it limited what each player could do.  If you put either one of those players on a team like UMASS, they would have been 20 ppg scorers.

I have a few problems with Boston, but not necessarily the players. Smart was a surprising pick for them. Rajon Rondo needs the ball. Marcus Smart needs the ball. Neither is a particularly good shooter to play off the ball. Add to that now, Avery Bradley just received $32 million over four years, and while it is nice that he has improved as a shooter to allow him to be a 2-ish guard, is not an ideal fit next to Smart. Jeff Green has never been a great perimeter shooter, and last year was not one of his better ones. Young is a nice prospect, and seems to be a better fit to play off a ball dominant guard like Rondo or Smart, but he is going to be behind $17 million in players at the 2 and 3 with the possibility of Smart also trying to get minutes at the 2 as well. I see a lot of commitment to the perimeter, but not necessarily a clear vision for how things fit together in the short or long term.

I’m also cautious of overvaluing guys who play big roles on awful teams, and they have given Green and Bradley financial commitments that signify them being being important players when the team wins despite their resumes. Bradley’s shooting numbers really jumped when the team was playing out the string in lower intensity games. It is possible if Smart and Young fare well that those deals become difficult to move. 

Beyond this, they have no real center, and a collection of pieces trying to stick. Sullinger lacks height to play the center spot effectively and Olynyk lacks the weight to bang inside. They tried to get Sullinger to test his range to no avail. This was not the ideal draft for them to get size. Vonleh is a project. He has the physical traits, but he played with those traits last year and was a middling player on a bad Big Ten team. If he improves, Charlotte could have a player. It is also possible, he goes the way of Al-Farouq Aminu, Marvin Williams, Chris Singleton, Earl Clark, etc where the potential tantalizes and keeps them in the league but the reality of their abilities never allows them to live up to their draft status. One cannot know for sure which path he goes down. Randle does not have much range, overly reliant on his left-hand, and not overwhelming defensively. Payne was gone by the 17th pick. He already has the range they saught from Sullinger, but so be it. McGary has injury concerns as well as a resume of just a handful of good games over two years. This leads me to wonder if Plan B, C, D, or E is to eventually shop Rondo for a big man. When they go star hunting this summer, they need to have Rondo on the roster to separate itself from Philadelphia and Orlando. I think that much is clear. If that fails, however, maybe it is the road they go down. 

I have a few problems with Boston, but not necessarily the players. Smart was a surprising pick for them. Rajon Rondo needs the ball. Marcus Smart needs the ball. Neither is a particularly good shooter to play off the ball. Add to that now, Avery Bradley just received $32 million over four years, and while it is nice that he has improved as a shooter to allow him to be a 2-ish guard, is not an ideal fit next to Smart. Jeff Green has never been a great perimeter shooter, and last year was not one of his better ones. Young is a nice prospect, and seems to be a better fit to play off a ball dominant guard like Rondo or Smart, but he is going to be behind $17 million in players at the 2 and 3 with the possibility of Smart also trying to get minutes at the 2 as well. I see a lot of commitment to the perimeter, but not necessarily a clear vision for how things fit together in the short or long term.

I’m also cautious of overvaluing guys who play big roles on awful teams, and they have given Green and Bradley financial commitments that signify them being being important players when the team wins despite their resumes. Bradley’s shooting numbers really jumped when the team was playing out the string in lower intensity games. It is possible if Smart and Young fare well that those deals become difficult to move. 

Beyond this, they have no real center, and a collection of pieces trying to stick. Sullinger lacks height to play the center spot effectively and Olynyk lacks the weight to bang inside. They tried to get Sullinger to test his range to no avail. This was not the ideal draft for them to get size. Vonleh is a project. He has the physical traits, but he played with those traits last year and was a middling player on a bad Big Ten team. If he improves, Charlotte could have a player. It is also possible, he goes the way of Al-Farouq Aminu, Marvin Williams, Chris Singleton, Earl Clark, etc where the potential tantalizes and keeps them in the league but the reality of their abilities never allows them to live up to their draft status. One cannot know for sure which path he goes down. Randle does not have much range, overly reliant on his left-hand, and not overwhelming defensively. Payne was gone by the 17th pick. He already has the range they saught from Sullinger, but so be it. McGary has injury concerns as well as a resume of just a handful of good games over two years. This leads me to wonder if Plan B, C, D, or E is to eventually shop Rondo for a big man. When they go star hunting this summer, they need to have Rondo on the roster to separate itself from Philadelphia and Orlando. I think that much is clear. If that fails, however, maybe it is the road they go down.