Saddiq Bey and Patrick WIlliams ae both 6'8 w/ 7'0 wingspan. I would be ok with either at 17 if the pick had to be a wing.
There are a good amount of full size rotation quality bigs in this draft and I really hope we take a shot on two. I think center and power forward are areas of concern so I think we need to double down on big men.
i understand your point, but i would disagree on drafting a lesser player for need when better players are on the board, particularly a "big". as theis and baynes have shown us, a good back up center/pf can be had through free agency, trade etc.
timelord has contributed little in his time with the celtics, much due to injury, but some due to being a rookie.
so drafting a lesser player based on need gets you a lesser player as a rookie, and such rookies take time to develop. and even when they finally do develop, they are, by definition, a lesser player.
ainge will draft the BPA and worry about the roster later. trades and free agency can fill needs at backup.
We don't have the cap space to get what we need in FA. We don't have cap relief coming. We don't have any meaningful draft capital after this draft. Unless we want to trade Smart or Brown, we don't have any really desirable players to trade. Theis, Kanter, Poirier only have one year left under contract and Kanter is a player option. R. Williams can't stay healthy for more than 30 games and when healthy he's only playing like 10 minutes. Maybe he never get any better than 3rd string. Maybe his 4th year option isn't picked up. Ojeleye is not guaranteed for next season. Hayward could be gone after next year and if he's not how much are we paying him? Edwards looks like the speed of the NBA may be too fast for him even though he killed it in summer league and preseason. The team may want to look at a scorer off the bench and there are players that can be had that can be as good if not better than what the league minimum can get us in free agency. Kanter was the best big we could get last season and the FA big crop at our price point doesn't look much better going forward. We need to be smart about this draft and our team needs.
Look at what we can be confident about having as our roster after next year.
1st team 2nd team
PG: Kemba PG: Smart
SG: Brown SG: Langford
SF: Tatum SF:
PF: PF: G. Williams
C: C:
Our depth at guard doesn't really open up a pathway to starters minutes, for the next 2-4 years, for any pick we can make but our depth at PF/C provides a path to starters minutes after a year.
I ain't giving up on Robert Williams even though he has been plagued with injuries. He's still a very talented player and capable of becoming our future starting center.
For centers the market hasn't exactly been good the last few years, I'm doubtful that even if Theis keeps up the level he has been playing that some team will offer him big money. For depth (presumably Kanter coming season) you need a 3rd center, but I have faith that the combo Timelord/Theis can be sufficient (even for a contender) where ideally Timelord takes over the starting position in time.
To me the biggest needs are an excellent shooter (guard/wing) and an allround defensive PF. Unfortunately Edwards doesn't seem to be that shooter we hoped him to be and Langford can become a good player, but shooting right now is a huge weakness in his game. I find Ojeleye okay to have on the roster, but he's more a SF. On the other hand Grant Williams is too small to me to expect him to ever being able to guard and rebound against the best power forwards in the game (like Antetokounmpo, Davis, Williamson, Siakam, Adebayo, Collins).
To not derail this topic. Grant Williams doesn't have a sufficient wingspan for his position and that's a big problem. You definitely should use BPA as guideline and not just take the player that could theoretically become a good NBA player, because then you end up drafting someone like Marquese Chriss. However Grant Williams is a player who definitely can play, but his below average length puts a low ceiling on him (according to me).
If I look back at recent drafts ('13 to '18) there are some players outside the lottery that have clearly outperformed their draft position and those are primarily players that were either a bit older, had injuries that lowered their draft stock or international players. So what we should be looking at are just players that are being overlooked, perhaps from lesser NCAA teams?
Theis and Kanter are both only costing us 5 million, so it may not take much for us to be out bid on Theis. Is 8-10 million a year big money, no but it may be too much? I'm more confident that R. Williams will be back for his 4th year than I am that Theis will comeback after next year. And even then I worry about Williams' ability to consistently make the right plays and play 20+ minutes a night.
I never understood the fascination with Marquese Chriss but I think it is the same mentality that elevates guys like Precious Achiuwa and Jaden McDaniels. They have great physical tools and nice highlights but I don't see them making it. I can see a guy like Paul Reed ending up a better PF than both of them and keeping with the theme of the post he has a 7'2 wingspan, but only shot 31% from 3. Also he is from DePaul so not a big time school, which could be affecting his draft position in our favor.
If he doesn't end up a bust Aleksej Pokuševski will out play his draft position. He is basically anywhere from Bender to varying levels of good to really good. He has a 7'3 wingspan but only 32% from 3. He has a 1.5 million dollar buyout if he's drafted in the top 20. I also read somewhere that he may have a promise in the back end of the 1st round (us maybe?)
If the biggest needs are an excellent shooter (guard/wing), I mentioned Saddiq Bey and his 7'0 wingspan, but he also shot 45% from 3. Devin Vassell another shooter has a 6'10 wingspan and shot 42% from 3, but is not likely to be available to us.
Daniel Oturu is from Minnesota which hasn't had a 1st round pick in ages, so scouts may be overlooking him some because of that. He has a 7'3 wingspan and shot 37% from 3. I would really like to draft Oturu or Jalen Smith who only has a 7'1.5 wingspan but shot 38% from 3. Not bad for two 6'10 guys.
Udoka Azubuike is an interesting big for the 46th pick. He is not quick enough to defend well in space so he would need to be dropped down in a zone, but he is 7'0 270 lbs and has a 7'7 wingspan, yeah he's not shooting 3s. (I like him more than Tacko, two way contract go!)
Maybe Hayward and Theis stay on the team and maybe R. Williams develops but maybe not. Either way we are in a good position to fill some real needs this draft with players that have length. But watch us draft undersized, short armed, poor shooting, ACC Defensive player of the year Tre Jones with one of our picks because that's how the C's roll.
Topic: Please make wingspan a priority in this draft (Read 4605 times)