Are you happy so far ?

[mef730]

Not thrilled but, then again, I liked Jordan Mickey, so take it for what it's worth.

Mike

[Atzar]

You don't think Pritchard is ready as a backup PG?  Everything I've seen, including age, experience, etc..says he's ready for that.

The only things I know about Pritchard:


(1) He was very good in college for four years in a reasonably competitive conference.

(2) He was expected to go in the second half of the second round of the draft.



Maybe he's Luke Ridnour?  I dunno.  It's funny, I thought of Luke Ridnour without realizing that Ridnour also went to Oregon.


I have no expectations for Pritchard.  Carsen Edwards was also awesome in college and wasn't able to do much of anything at the G-League level, let alone the NBA. 

Pritchard seems like he's more of a well-rounded guard prospect than Edwards was, so that makes me think that perhaps he has a better chance of actually earning minutes.


Maybe he's Carlos Arroyo.

Fred VanVleet, Jalen Brunson, Aaron Holiday.

There are enough recent precedents for similar players carving out roles that we can't just write Pritchard off. 

He's a smart, ultra-competitive player with a sweet shot.  We'll see if he can defend in the NBA, and I don't expect him to finish inside the arc very well, but there are enough reasons for interest, if not optimism.

[Kuberski33]

I'm happy that they tried to address their biggest need - the fact that no one outside of their best 5 players can put the ball in the basket consistently.  But there's a lot of work still to be done - maybe - depending on what happens this afternoon.

[PhoSita]

It's possible I'm being too optimistic.  But I tend to think that elite ball handling separates guys....
Payton has it, if the advertising is correct...

The highlights I watched of him last night after the pick looked good to me.  Seems like Oregon played a pretty open style and he looked really natural and comfortable running up and down the court, attacking gaps in the defense, finding bigs running parallel to the rim.

But most guys look awesome in highlights.

[tonydelk]

The draft was never gonna be the make or break for this off-season.

What happens with Hayward?  If he goes (seems likely) do they find a way to use his departure to get more assets?

Who do they sign with whatever cap exceptions they have?


This is a very good team that without Hayward playing at all swept the Sixers and beat a very good Raptors team in 7.   Their main weakness in the playoffs was fourth quarter execution more than it was a roster issue.



I'll be very happy and enthusiastic about next season as long as Danny makes some moves to shore up the bench. 

They needed to upgrade backup point from Wanamaker, who just doesn't have enough scoring juice.  They needed to upgrade back wing minutes from Semi Ojeleye, who is simply not tall enough or a big enough threat to score.  They needed to shore up the backup center position, because Enes Kanter is a regular season player with very limited value in the post-season.


I think the draft has mostly addressed the backup wing issue.  Between Pritchard and Waters, they probably have a solid third string point.  Still need to find a better backup point.

If Hayward leaves, ideally they would find somebody who can start so that Smart can slide back to a 6th man role.  However, I think it would be OK if he remains the starting 2 since he should be out there in crunch time anyway.


If Rob Williams stays healthy and can become a bit more consistent, he and Theis should be all the Celts need to fill out the minutes at the 5.  Grant Williams should continue to be a solid 15-20 minute option at the 4 who can fit in nicely with the starters as necessary.



Langford getting healthy and actually contributing as a defensive 2/3 with some ability to attack the basket would be nice, but I don't know how realistic that is.

TP Good post.

I agree with a lot of this.  The C's lot to Miami because the bench was bad.  No consistent scoring.  I prefer Marcus coming off the bench.  I think the team is better that way.  I'm happy so far because the C's addressed bench scoring.  I love Nesmith.  I wanted the C's to get him, Hayes or Haliburton.  This guy is going to help tremendously with bench scoring.  The issue is that we will lose Hayward.  Those are big shoes to fill and the team is not better without him.  We will not get anything in return, IMO, that will be as good as Gordon.  Losing him set's the team back from being a favorite to 3rd/4th in the East unless Tatum and Brown make another leap and Kemba returns to form which I am not confident in.  I am very happy with the draft but the offseason depends on Hayward and who the C's can sign with the non tax payer MLE.  If the C's have the MLE to use then we will be able to get a good player since outside of a few bad teams not many contenders can offer what the C's can.

There are a lot of If's for the c's this year that will dictated how good they will be.  Robert Williams and Romeo are needed to be productive and make a leap.  We can't count on the rookies to perform like Tyler Herro but one of them will need to excel quickly to take a leap. 

Needs
another bench scorer
another big to replace Kanter

Roster turnover
Green, Wannamaker, Kanter, Poirier, Possibly Semi, Hayward - 6-7 open spots.  2 go to rookies, 2 possibly to Tacko and Waters, 1 for a trade candidate in the Hayward deal and someone on the MLE and BE if we have it.

[GreenWarrior]

Are you happy so far ?

Nope.

 In fact I hate the fact that the fan base either doesn't care or they actually think that us participating in this draft was a good thing.

It didn't matter who we draft! The core of this team is right there, ready to contend. They need to be surrounded by role players that have been doing it for yrs., not guys that are learning on the job thrust into spots they're not ready for.

Teams don't win championships with a roster of 1st, 2nd & 3rd yr. players.

This team and it's fan base are delusional. We're taking a step back this season if tatum isn't a clear cut mvp candidate and brown isn't a high all star level player... And even then we still might take a step back.