[valentine]

 I think everyone can agree that the Celtics will most likely have a top 3 pick, I think we can also agree that Isiah Thomas has the Celtics PG and Avery Bradley has SG, I think we can all lastly agree that the top 5 players in this draft saying Fox is better than Jackson, should the Celtics take Jackson early or should they trade it, Brings up the interesting issue of the Lakers who have Jordan Clarkson and D-Russ. What should these potentially top two picks do.

[Magic JordanParticipant]

 Celtics are in a different type of situation because they are already so good, they don’t necessarily have to draft BPA they could go for fit.  However, that is not to say that they won’t or shouldn’t draft BPA, just that they are pretty loaded right now.

Lakers on the other hand are in dire need of any talent, they can’t be picky and mix and matching players.  They take BPA if they are smart.  Clarkson is a career 6th man.  Fultz and Russell could play together.  BPA for the Lakers is the only option.

 

[D7H7NParticipant]

 BPA is what they should do. More than likely they will take Lonzo Ball no matter what if he’s available.

LA guy, loudmouth dad probably wants him to stay at home, Luke Walton can be done of experimenting Ingram at point guard and trying to turn Randle into Draymond Green. Ball is perfect for Luke Walton. Catch and shoot positionless guard who will always make the right pass.

 

[Magic JordanParticipant]

 Lakers should go Fultz, Jackson, Markannen in that order if they keep their pick.  I am not a Balliever of Lonzo with a top 3 pick.  Especially next to Russell.  See what I did there?!

[D7H7NParticipant]

 Ball compliments any guard that can shoot. Bryce Alford went from a pick and roll point guard to a catch and shoot shooting guard because of him.

Also there’s a huge crossover between UCLA and Lakers fans. The city of LA is in love with Ball, the story is too perfect.

 

 

[For_Never_EverParticipant]

 Celtics will take best player available regardless of position. Yeah, the Celtics are good with great coaching and culture, but no one would say they are championship contenders. Isaiah Thomas is a scoring machine that gets completely hidden on the defensive end, and can get neutralized offensively because of his size. He gets away with it on the regular season. However in the playoffs when teams focus on him or put a top end defensive player on him he’s in trouble.

By the way I really like Jaylen brown he is a two position player like Butler, Derozan, Iggy and pg13. He will be good at defending either SG/sf position. I’ll wait to see untill next season how good he will be offensively to say more on that end. He isn’t quite as tall as people make him out to be or a freak athlete. He is a very good athlete with size at 6’6, but not elite like people make him out to be.

[BleedGreen808Participant]

 His handle is what’s holding him back from being a major threat when slashing.  Especially when he tries to push the ball up the court on a fast break.  

[For_Never_EverParticipant]

 I’ll wait until next season on Jaylen. He is the guy I wanted all along. He has huge potential, but he is a rookie still. However, I really do have high hopes for him. 

 

[BleedGreen808Participant]

 I have high hopes for him as well.  He’s shown Brad Stevens and his teammates that he wants to be great.  He puts in the work and hopefully it pays off for him and the Celtics.  Handle and a more consistent jumper are what I want to see improve the most.  

[BleedGreen808Participant]

 If Boston has the #1 pick I’d take Fultz regardless.  He’s capable of playing both guard spots and being on or off the ball.  The Celtics like to have IT off the ball coming off of screens and hand offs making it harder to defend him.  Plus Fultz would add height to a short backcourt rotation (IT 5’9, AB 6’2, Rozier 6’1, Smart 6’3).

If they are picking 2nd I would probably want Josh Jackson despite drafting Jaylen Brown last year.  Brown has already shown an ability to play 2 guard and can take advantage of smaller guards in the post.  He would add to a group of strong wing defenders.  Shooting is the main concern with Smart and Brown also being below average from 3.  

This all changes if a star is available at the time of the draft.  Depending on the asking price trading the pick for a star might be the better option.  Also if they are picking anywhere lower than 2nd I’d be more willing to trade out or trade down.  

[terrancebowerParticipant]

 I think Fultz can play off the ball, and is big enough to guard a lot fo SGs, so it seems like a solid fit to me. Realistically he can back up both Bradley and Thomas and still get close to 30 mins per game in a 3 man rotation.  A solid option might be to target someone like Jonathan Isaac and trade down a few spots, picking up another asset in the process, but I would probably take Fultz if the draft were today and if I was Danny Ainge. Just because it’s the 1st pick doesn’t mean whoever is chosen is guaranteed/deserving of a starting spot in the lineup, especially a potential 50 win team. Basically, what I’m saying is he won’t be paired exclusively with IT even if he is chosen by the Celtics, and besides that pairing seems fine. I think Dennis Smith would be tougher to pair with Thomas.

[BallerScriptParticipant]

 Trading down for a player like Malik Monk or waiting a year to grab a player like Troy Brown (who reminds me of Evan Turner) would be interesting for the Celtics.

[binetParticipant]

 I don’t think the Lakers should or would mind moving Clarkson to the bench. It’s not like he is ever going to be one of the top 30 guards in the league, so he fits more as a good backup than a bad starter anyway. Taking the best player is the move.

The Celtics are in a position where they could also decide to trade down if they like a non-guard prospect. It’s possible they could get a nice package for number 1 if they decide to trade down, especially from a team like the 76ers who could give away the Sac 2019 pick + a high lottery in 2017. They could also trade for a star player, but if that’ the plan I think we should know by the trade deadline.

 

 

[Magic JordanParticipant]

 Clarkson already comes off the bench….

[HitsterParticipant]

 I would agree that the Celtics take BPA, I just don’t see them passing on a Fultz or Ball type player. Teams run 2 PG combos and assuming with Thomas and Bradley as their starting backcourt, the draftee can come from the bench. It might mean flipping Smart or Rozier but there will be minutes to go around.

A guy like Fultz could be an amazing 6th man from the get go for Boston and using him as an impact player against 2nd units could cause match up issues for the opponents.

Ntilikina would also be a decent fit for Boston, they could use his defensive ability to put on opposing guys across positions 1 to 3, so would give them options there.

I can see Boston working out a load of guys, fielding calls for trades, testing the waters etc but I don’t see Ainge making any final decision until draft night.

 

 

 

[Ahkasi ClayParticipant]

 I am not sold on Russell, for every game that he looks like he might have been worth being the #2 pick, he has 3 games where he looks like he is lazily playing in a pick up game. ( I can live with that for a project player)  What gets me is his poor Locker room behavior and lack of leadership skills,  ( if you are so immature that you make Swaggy P. look like the responsible person, something is wrong.

[Magic JordanParticipant]

 That’s pretty sweet that you get to hang out in the locker room and see these guys behavior first hand….

Any inside scoops?

……

 

 

 

[mgreener_34Participant]

 A lot of good input in this thread, but I’m curious as to what people have to say regarding the current contracts of IT, AB, and Crowder? After next year Celtics have a couple big decisions to make. Right now IT and AB are on literally bargain contracts, #2 and #3 in the league right behind Stepg Curry. When you have to pay these guys are you really going to feel comfortable giving IT almost 30 mil a year? How about AB? For some reason that just don’t sit right with me, so you go BPA and probably look to trade one of IT or AB next year for a big man. 

Celtics would have to be absolutely crazy to trade this pick for a player not name Demarcus Cousins or Paul George. Lets just forget about the current contract situation of our core right now, and look at the roster. Smart, Olynyk, Brown, Rozier and the two bigs stashed in Europe are really our future. Adding a player like Fultz, Ball, Jackson, or even Tatum (idk why, but Celtic fans are in love with this dude…) would go a long way for us. Honestly the hope is to draft these guys, and then hope that they develope into a solid core, and our current core becomes the glue that holds it all in place. Personally I rather see a roster in two years of:

Horford-Zizic

Yas- Olynyk

Brown-Crowder

AB-Smart

Fultz/Ball-IT

than anything else. If we draft a PG, and they become an all-star, moving IT to the bench would honestly fix most of our problems, and our roster would fit so much better. Unfortunately ego’s exist 

 

 

 

 

   

 

[Meditated StatesParticipant]

 of the best players in the L right now. He does not belong on the bench. He kept us in the Toronto game early. He brought us back from 18 down.

[mgreener_34Participant]

 I understand that, but you also need to realize that at the end of the game the Celtics had to sub him out for defensive purposes multiple times. You can’t be one of the best players in the league if you can’t be trusted to play every possession in the 4th quarter. 

I’m easily the biggest Celtics homer on this site, and even I can see that you won’t win a ship with IT as your starting pg. For that to be possible we would need to add a Gobert like defender at C or PF, and someone else who can score at will. I think we can get the scorer, but not the center any time soon. 

If we were to get one of either Fultz/Ball and they do pan out, I think having easily the best 6th man in the NBA would benefit us greatly, and add more flexability to our roster. IT forces Smart to play out of possition, AB to always be undersized and we lose his best defensive attribute (his ability to guard PG’s is what gave him regocnition throughout the league), and literally forces the team to play his game.

Maybe it seems strange to fans of other teams, but coming from a franchise that had Kevin McHale, a top 50 player all time, come off the bench for 571 of his total 971 games for us, it doesn’t seem wrong, it seems right. 

 

 

 

[machu46Participant]

If I’m Boston, I take Fultz if they get the #1 pick. Honestly, I’d consider trading Isaiah if they could get a haul for him. Fultz is easily the #1 player in the draft IMO, and I wouldn’t want to pay Isaiah $200 million to share the backcourt with another PG, especially with Isaiah’s defensive woes. If they could take Fultz and swing a trade to move Isaiah for Jimmy Butler or something, that’s something I’d seriously consider.

[BeastMode716Participant]

 Lakers – if they keep their pick & it’s a Huge If – b/c it looks like the lowest they’ll get is the 3rd worst record & at that point it’s actually about 54% chance they lose it. But if they get in the Top 3 they absolutely must take one of these PG’s

Celtics must do the same. I Luv IT but they’ll never win a Chip or even come close w/ IT as their primary ball handler. Bradley is an Excellent trade piece & Smart is a decent back up. But they should move IT to the 2/SG & put Ball, Fultz, Smith Jr or Ntilikina at the 1/PG

And don’t sleep on Phila. Embiid has sat 9 of the last 10 games for a Knee bruise??? And they have no intention of putting him back in & Ben Simmons had a Jones fracture which in a Worse case scenario the player is On the Court in 14 weeks. It’s been 18 weeks, Simmons is healthy & he has not even started practicing yet. This team is Tanking again but someone getting Zero grief from the Media. 

Am I hating??? Fook Yea I’m hating!!! – I want the Lakers to get that pick & if Phila lands the #1 & #4 picks after leaving 2 young Healthy Super Stars in the training facility I’ll throw up in my mouth! 

I don’t think we’ll know the real order until teams do private work outs in that 6 week stretch after the Draft Lottery & before the actual Draft. I’m not convinced Fultz is a lock for #1. 

 

 

[markfitz14Participant]

I think they just have to move either Smart and or Bradley if they land the noumber one pick and take Fultz. The guy will be better than either of those two guys.

I would think the same happens if they get Jackson since he could prbly play SG.

  

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