Drafting for locker room presence and work ethic

[arambone]

So it sounds like the Celtics locker room has a great vibe this year, and it sounds like that camaraderie is boosting the on court play.

It would be great to add 2012 rookies that are hard workers and good locker room guys, like E Moore and J Johnson. Hopefully with more in-game impact, of course.

Do any of the prospects in the 2nd half of the draft stand out as exceptionally positive or negative from locker room and work ethic perspectives? Here's some research I did on a few prospects.


Royce White, as much as I love his game, has exhibited some pretty sketchy/Edited.  Profanity and masked profanity are against forum rules and may result in discipline.y/entitled behavior in the past, never mind the anxiety disorder which appears to involve some OCD symptoms like keeping his locker perfect at all times. Also overweight, so work ethic could be an issue as well.

Fab Melo had the bad grades, and though he lost a lot of weight last summer, it could balloon up ala Big Baby if Fab doesn't work his buttt off.

It sounds like both White and Melo have a lot of interests outside of basketball. They also both have immense potential to be all-stars/borderline all-stars.

Andrew Nicholson, Canadian, seems like a very humble and intelligent kid, majoring in physics. He also only started playing basketball as a junior in high school, yet has the most advanced post moves in this draft outside of Jared Sullinger. He also shot around 50% from 3 at high volume in his last 7 games of the season.

"I sat him and his parents down his freshman year and told him he could play in the NBA," Schmidt said. "They had no idea. For them, it's books, books, books. That's how his parents approach things, so that's what he does. The idea of a basketball career never really occurred to any of them. I had to explain that he had a legitimate chance. He's got size 19 shoes, hands as big as a table and he had no idea. He's such a breath of fresh air."

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/columns/story?columnist=oneil_dana&id=5755563

Nicholson has a laid-back personality, "almost too laid back" in his words 2 years ago, but he's incredibly refined offensively, which doesn't happen without tons of hard, and Smart practicing.
He's also gained 15-20 pounds in the last year, up to 235-240 from 220. He gained the weight in his upper body, so still room for lower body strength and potentially he could give an NBA team spot time at center. Wingspan 7'3" @ 6'9" tall.


Festus Ezeli seems awesome from both locker room and work ethic perspectives:

"how Did I Get Here?"
On his journey from Nigeria to Nashville, Vanderbilt center Festus Ezeli started late, then conquered doubts and nerves to become the nation's most improved player
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1182629/1/index.htm


Does anybody else in our projected range stand out as really good or bad from an intangibles perspective?

[ianboyextreme]

Royce White's anxiety and OCD are a knock on his character? Wow, thats unwarranted. He seems like a pretty stand up guy if you watch any interviews with him. Fab Melo doesnt seem to have all star potential to me.
But, in response to the thread title, Evan Fournier is a guy to look at. 6'7" wing from france with intangibles. http://www.draftexpress.com/profile/Evan-Fournier-5719/

[arambone]

No, the anxiety disorder and ocd are in addition to his character flaws - as much as I like his game.

Word came down earlier this week that White was caught stealing $100 in merchandise from the Macy’s in Mall of America.  When confronted with the theft in the store by a security guard, White repeatedly pushed the guard until he forced his way out of the door.  He was later stopped by Bloomington police, and was forced to return the stolen shirt and pants.

This is not the first incident for White, who was expelled from De La Salle High School in Minneapolis last year for academic misconduct.  Specifically, White cheated on a test, which as we all know, happens all the time in high school.  But when caught and confronted by his teacher about the cheating, he probably put the last nail in his own coffin when he responded with a number of profanities directed at the teacher.

When he got expelled from De La Salle one of the things he reportedly said to the teacher when confronted with the cheating was; ‘I’m f****** Royce White.’

http://www.thesportsbank.net/minnesota-golden-gophers/royce-white-finds-trouble-yet-again/

White was initially a suspect in a November laptop computer theft incident,[12] but he was not formally charged with trespassing until January.[13] When he was charged in the incident involving allegations of laptop theft from a university dorm, he left the University of Minnesota in February 2010.[11][15][16] He had unofficially announced his departure from Minnesota via YouTube in November,[17] but had not formally notified the athletic departement.[18] Despite his legal difficulties, White achieved better than a 3.0 grade point average in his first semester at Minnesota.[19] While suspended from the team, he spent some of his extracurricular time on his music career.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royce_White#Minnesota

[EDWARDO]

No, the anxiety disorder and ocd are in addition to his character flaws - as much as I like his game.

Word came down earlier this week that White was caught stealing $100 in merchandise from the Macy’s in Mall of America.  When confronted with the theft in the store by a security guard, White repeatedly pushed the guard until he forced his way out of the door.  He was later stopped by Bloomington police, and was forced to return the stolen shirt and pants.

This is not the first incident for White, who was expelled from De La Salle High School in Minneapolis last year for academic misconduct.  Specifically, White cheated on a test, which as we all know, happens all the time in high school.  But when caught and confronted by his teacher about the cheating, he probably put the last nail in his own coffin when he responded with a number of profanities directed at the teacher.

When he got expelled from De La Salle one of the things he reportedly said to the teacher when confronted with the cheating was; ‘I’m f****** Royce White.’

http://www.thesportsbank.net/minnesota-golden-gophers/royce-white-finds-trouble-yet-again/

White was initially a suspect in a November laptop computer theft incident,[12] but he was not formally charged with trespassing until January.[13] When he was charged in the incident involving allegations of laptop theft from a university dorm, he left the University of Minnesota in February 2010.[11][15][16] He had unofficially announced his departure from Minnesota via YouTube in November,[17] but had not formally notified the athletic departement.[18] Despite his legal difficulties, White achieved better than a 3.0 grade point average in his first semester at Minnesota.[19] While suspended from the team, he spent some of his extracurricular time on his music career.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royce_White#Minnesota

Other than that, great kid. If you disagree, you can go put your $@&$&@ in a &$@&$.  I'm freakin' EDWARDO!

[illestmcsgt]

I disagree about drafting for the locker room or whatever the title says. We got a veteran team that not everybody was perfect but did their part. Rasheed Wallace had problems, Stephon Marbury had problems, Big Baby had problems, and so on. Still they worked with the team and even contributed for us on the floor.

I feel if one of these kids had problems in the past that they can turn it around in the NBA. Don't always take a negative and not look at the positives as well. I seen players mature like Rondo into a leadership role for a championship.

I rather take raw talent and potential in this draft for the future than play it safe for the locker room. Remember we got Doc and he can turn a player into a star because he brings out the best in his guys.

[aporel#18]

The Celtics will have 3 or 4 picks in this draft, two of them late first rounders. I hope Danny can get Festus Ezeli or Nicholson with the Clippers pick, and someone out of Terrence Jones/Quincy Miller/Royce White with our own pick.

But it's still the draft, you don't know if those players are going to be in the league after their rookie contracts, so I'm ok with whoever Danny picks. I didn't like the Bradley pick, I wanted Anderson, and right now we all love Avery.

In my opinion, you have to draft the more talented player you can, and try to make him buy into your working culture. Then it's all on the players, they are people after all, and they react in their own way. You could see potential in Gerald Green, Rajon Rondo, Big Al, Tony Allen or Delonte West, and they've had very different careers due to their respective talent and caracter. I don't care if they have "caracter issues" if they are talented and willing to improve for the team.

[clover]

I disagree about drafting for the locker room or whatever the title says. We got a veteran team that not everybody was perfect but did their part. Rasheed Wallace had problems, Stephon Marbury had problems, Big Baby had problems, and so on. Still they worked with the team and even contributed for us on the floor.

I feel if one of these kids had problems in the past that they can turn it around in the NBA. Don't always take a negative and not look at the positives as well. I seen players mature like Rondo into a leadership role for a championship.

I rather take raw talent and potential in this draft for the future than play it safe for the locker room. Remember we got Doc and he can turn a player into a star because he brings out the best in his guys.

I think the character and hard work of the Big Three was critical in enabling the team and Doc to absorb, well direct and well use less focused peripheral players.

And what's so very important in what has emerged over the past six weeks is that that culture is successfully passing to the green shoots of the next generation.  All three of the key elements of the last five years are being perpetuated with the new generation:

1) the defensive identity, which Doc actually had to help instill in two thirds of the Big Three,

2) the hard work and professional focus that the Big Three led with by example, and

3) the closeness and positive locker room dynamic which was originally formed in that preseason in Italy.

The emergence of Bradley and, however improbably, Stiemer as cornerstones of that identity and ethic, with reinforcement of vets like Dooling, Sasha and Pietrus, and the buy-in of vets like Bass and Hollins are all confirmation of the strength of that culture.

I would submit that KG is the one player who embodied all three elements coming in five years ago, and it is no accident that he is at the center not only of the team's on-court success this season, but of the mentoring and training of the new generation.

Had Danny kept Baby and even succeeded in bringing in, say, a tandem of Dwight Howard and Josh Smith, I think that culture could be at risk.  But he didn't and it isn't.

Now, like Belichick and the Patriots, the team probably has the core strength to tweak and redirect a slightly wayward player here or there and most rookies still need acculturation. 

When it comes to drafting, they probably rightly value the hard work and 'dedication to craft' that KG talks about, though talent is still critical.  And though I'm sure they'd overlook transgressions here or there, I don't see them investing in a player like Royce who seems to have fundamental, repeated character issues.

[wiley]

I like high character guys, but I also like hard workers, even if their personal lives are not so smooth.  Two of my favorite Celtics of the past years are Delonte West and Tony Allen.  Both have been soundly ridiculed for off court issues, but both worked their butts off for the Celtics, played as hard as an NBA player can play, and waved the towel when they were on the bench.  Tony in particular worked unbelievably hard to get back from pretty devastating injuries.  Much rather have those two back than Wallace, Baby or Marbury (though Marbury did try and played hard). 

So, certainly don't go looking for problems, but focus on who will be the hard working, motivated type, preferably driven by a distaste for losing...

I definitely believe in intangibles.  Those are the types that usually give effort on the defensive side of the ball.

[wiley]

I like high character guys, but I also like hard workers, even if their personal lives are not so smooth.  Two of my favorite Celtics of the past years are Delonte West and Tony Allen.  Both have been soundly ridiculed for off court issues, but both worked their butts off for the Celtics, played as hard as an NBA player can play, and waved the towel when they were on the bench.  Tony in particular worked unbelievably hard to get back from pretty devastating injuries.  Much rather have those two back than Wallace, Baby or Marbury (though Marbury did try and played hard). 

So, certainly don't go looking for problems, but focus on who will be the hard working, motivated type, preferably driven by a distaste for losing...

I definitely believe in intangibles.  Those are the types that usually give effort on the defensive side of the ball.

Baby played hard too...happy for his recent good games, but happier with Bass as a Celtic.

[LooseCannon]

I wouldn't say you draft for work ethic and locker room presence, but I think that you shouldn't overvalue athleticism.  It would be a mistake to go after players who possess elite athleticism but little between the ears.  Given the Celtics' problems earlier this season, I think some fans are desperate to do just that, showing a desire at the trade deadline to make deals for youthful, athletic knuckleheads when the team's system requires a certain degree of on-court maturity.