Brad Stevens: Smart, Young in my top-11

[BleedGreen1989]

"First of all, we're very pleased that we were able to get these two guys where we got them," Celtics coach Brad Stevens said. "When you look at the draft, going into tonight, I had both of these guys in my top 11. At the end of the day, you can feel really good about that."

Stevens said he envisions Smart meshing well with Rondo in the backcourt.

"I don't think there's any doubt, I think they can play together," Stevens said. I think it will be great for Marcus to have a guy like Rondo to look up to, to learn from. Not many guys get that opportunity, especially early on in the draft like this. Marcus is another guy that I was thrilled that he was there at 6, because physically he's ready to play and he competes every single minute of every single day. That will do nothing but help your team, regardless of what position he's playing. I expect him to play some off the ball, I expect him to play some with the ball. But he's a young guy. He's going to be playing with a guy there that's been in the league for a long time, that can really help him learn about it. I think it's great. I think it'll be great for both of them."

The Celtics also owned the No. 17 pick as part of last year's blockbuster swap with the Brooklyn Nets and took Young, a 6-foot-7 swingman (with a 7-foot wingspan). He's regarded as a scoring wing after averaging 14.3 points per game as a Wildcats freshman. Young is also only 18, suggesting his game still is developing.

"[Young has] got a stroke that -- he's just going to get better and better,"  Stevens said. "He's a young guy. We felt like he was a very, very undervalued scoring wing in this draft. Everybody in this room had him ranked a lot higher than 17, so we were surprised he was available at 17. And thrilled that he was available at 17."

Young was regarded as a potential lottery candidate. The left-handed shooter must improve his 3-point stroke at the NBA level. He shot 34.9 percent beyond the college arc last season, but offers versatility with his size on the wing.

"I've always looked and tried to say, OK, if we have a primary ball-handler on the floor, 2 and 3 are pretty interchangeable in regards to actions," said Stevens. "Depending on who we are playing, we can kinda mix and match. I think he can play some 2, I think he can play some 3 against certain teams. We'll cross that bridge when we get there. But he's a player. And anybody that's a player, who can put the ball on the floor and put the ball in the basket -- we've talked about our struggles to score -- he's a guy that can create offense."

Well if President Stevens likes them...