Remember when.....

[Chris22]

.....someone here bet me a tommy point that the Celtics would finish next to last in the division?

Lay it on me.

[BudweiserCeltic]

Waste of a thread.

[fairweatherfan]

Remember when a year ago around now people were whining that we won 2 of our last 4 games (after losing 14 out of 15 before that) which put us 5th worst instead of 3rd worst?  And how losing a coinflip with Utah for a single Ping-Pong ball meant the team wouldn't be back in the playoffs for a decade? 

Because I do.  Good times   

[Chris22]

Waste of a thread.

Thanks for the bump.

[GetLucky]

Remember when a year ago around now people were whining that we won 2 of our last 4 games (after losing 14 out of 15 before that) which put us 5th worst instead of 3rd worst?  And how losing a coinflip with Utah for a single Ping-Pong ball meant the team wouldn't be back in the playoffs for a decade? 

Because I do.  Good times   

But we could've had Aaron Gordon or Dante Exum!

[Beat LA]

Remember when a year ago around now people were whining that we won 2 of our last 4 games (after losing 14 out of 15 before that) which put us 5th worst instead of 3rd worst?  And how losing a coinflip with Utah for a single Ping-Pong ball meant the team wouldn't be back in the playoffs for a decade? 

Because I do.  Good times   

Hey, at least we would have had a shot at a top 3 pick last year.  Wouldn't you have rather come into this season having Wiggins, Parker, or Embiid instead of what, and who, we have currently?  At least those guys are cornerstones, which is quite a glaring deficiency for us right now, imo.

[fairweatherfan]

Remember when a year ago around now people were whining that we won 2 of our last 4 games (after losing 14 out of 15 before that) which put us 5th worst instead of 3rd worst?  And how losing a coinflip with Utah for a single Ping-Pong ball meant the team wouldn't be back in the playoffs for a decade? 

Because I do.  Good times   

Hey, at least we would have had a shot at a top 3 pick last year.  Wouldn't you have rather come into this season having Wiggins, Parker, or Embiid instead of what, and who, we have currently?  At least those guys are cornerstones, which is quite a glaring deficiency for us right now, imo.

We had a shot at a top 3 pick from 5th place too.  And the 3rd and 4th worst records got the 4th and 5th picks, so we wouldn't have landed any of those guys anyway. 

Moot either way, just contrasting what a sorry place we were in last year to this year.

[crimson_stallion]

Remember when a year ago around now people were whining that we won 2 of our last 4 games (after losing 14 out of 15 before that) which put us 5th worst instead of 3rd worst?  And how losing a coinflip with Utah for a single Ping-Pong ball meant the team wouldn't be back in the playoffs for a decade? 

Because I do.  Good times   

Hey, at least we would have had a shot at a top 3 pick last year.  Wouldn't you have rather come into this season having Wiggins, Parker, or Embiid instead of what, and who, we have currently?  At least those guys are cornerstones, which is quite a glaring deficiency for us right now, imo.

Are they REALLY?

I remember how much everybody was pumping up last year's draft class, saying it was going to be the best draft since 2003 and all the rest of it.

Then at one point everyone gasped in shock when Danny went public saying that this was going to be one of the weakest drafts in a long time.  Everybody thought he was trolling, or trying to manipulate people. 

Now stop for a second and take a look at what has come of this draft.

2014 NBA Draft Lottery - Top 10 Picks
1) Jabari Parker - 12.3 points, 5.5 rebounds, 1.7 assists, 1.2 steals, 49% FG, 25% 3PT.  Parker was being hailed as the next Carmelo Anthony and widely expected to finish the season averaging close to 20 PPG.  Despite playing starter's minutes from the get-go, he finished his season averaging only 12.3 PPG and shooting a pretty nasty 25% from three.  It was unfortuantely that his season was cut short from injury, but what we did see (in a decent 25 game sample size) wasn't in line with what people were predicting he'd be. 

2) Andrew Wiggins - 16.9 PPG, 4.5 RPG, 2.1 APG, 1.1 steals, 0.6 blocks, 43.8% FG, 32% 3PT.   With the season coming to a close, Andrew Wiggins is (quite honestly) the only guy in this draft who has performed even close to the potential people expected from this draft.  He's been a legitimate starting calibre guy and has averaged around 18 PPG since January.  But Wiggins is a guy who people were following for years, and a guy who was being hailed as the next Lebron James...and he certainly hasn't been that good.

3) Joel Embiid - hasn't even played a game, nobody has a clue how good he will or won't be.  Could be great, could be the next Greg Oden.

4) Aaron Gordon - 5.1 points, 3.5 rebounds, 0.7 assists, 0.4 blocks and 0.4 steals.  The guy who was being hailed as the next Blake Griffin has struggled to earn 16 minutes per game on one of the 5 worst teams in the NBA.

5) Dante Exum - 4.7 points, 1.6 rebounds, 2.4 assists, 0.5 steals, 34.7% FG.  This guy, who was being hailed as the next Penny Hardaway, hasn't fared much better than Gordon.  He's managed to get 22 minutes per game on the incredibly mediocre Jazz.

6) Marcus Smart - 7.8 points, 3.3 rebounds, 3.1 assists, 1.5 steals,  36.7% FT.  Smart was hailed as being one of the most seasoned and "NBA Ready" players in the draft.  He's proven to indeed be wise beyond his years, yet his numbers still haven't been anything that exciting.  At least he's managed to earn starting caliber minutes (28 per game) on a playoff team though, which makes him one of the more successful stories in this draft class.  Plus I'm going to go out on a limb and say that he's been (easily) the best rookie in this class defensively.

7) Julius Randle - Played one game, managed 2 points (on 33% shooting) along with 0 rebounds, 0 assists, 0 steals, 0 blocks, 1 turnover in 14 minutes.  Then got hurt and missed the rest of the season. 

8 ) Nik Stauskas - 4.3 points, 1.2 rebounds, 0.9 assists, 0.3 steals, 36.4% FG, 31.5% 3PT.  The guy who was being hailed as one of the top shooters in the class has actually shot worst (from the field AND from three) than Marcus Smart, and he's only managed to play 15 MPG for the lottery bound Kings. 

9) Noah Vonleh - 3.1 points, 3.1 rebounds, 0.2 assists, 0.2 steals, 0.2 blocks, 39.1% FG.  There was a lot of debate about Vonleh, but I'm not about to declare him a bust yet.  Hi was in jured much of the season, and everybody knew he was a raw prospect (interest in him was all about potential, not existing).  Still he was a top 10 pick, so take of it what you will.

10) Elfrid Payton - 9 points, 4.3 rebounds, 6.5 assist, 1.7 steals, 42.7% FG.  That payton (with these numbers!) has been the third best rookie in the top 10 doesn't say much for th rest of the class.  Though his numbers have been pretty decent and he's earned proper starting minutes, he's done so on a pretty poor team.  Still credit where it's due - he's been one of the better players in the draft.

Which of those three guys has shown anything to indicate they are a 'cornerstone' player?  Wiggins, sure...but we if we dropped bottom three we never would have gotten him anyway.  Parker's 12 PPG and Embiid's season full of "DNP" do not exactly indicate cornerstone players.

Actually, looking back, it's pretty ironic because Danny Ainge really was 100% correct.  Take a look at the past decade and see how many drafts have been as horribly weak as this one.  I'll break it down with some of the more noteworthy players from each draft:

Noteworthy players from the past 10 NBA drafts
2004 - Dwight Howard, Emeka Okafor, Luol Deng, Josh Smith, Andre Iguodala, Al Jefferson

2005 - Andrew Bogut, Chris Paul, Deron Williams, Andrew Bynum, Danny Granger, David Lee, Monta Ells

2006 - Lemarcus Aldridge, Rajon Rondo, Brandon Roy, Rudy Gay, Kyle Lowry, Paul Millsap

2007 - Kevin Durant, Al Horford, Mike Conley, Jeff Green, Theddeus Young, Joakim Noah, Marc Gasol

2008 - Derrick Rose, Russell Westbrook, Kevin Love, Serge Ibaka, Goran Dragic, Eric Gordon, Brook Lopez, Roy Hibbert, Omer Asik, Nikola Pekovic, Mario Chalmers, O.j. Mayo, Danilo Gallinari, 

2009 - Blake Griffin, James Harden, Tyreke Evans, Demarr Derozan, Brandon Jennings, Jrue Holiday, Jeff Teague, Darren Collison, Ty Lawson

2010 - John Wall, Demarcus Cousins, Paul George, Gordon Hayward, Eric Bledsoe, Avery Bradley

2011 - Kyrie Irving, Enes Kanter, Kemba Walker, Klay Thompson, Kawhi Leonard, Nikola Vucevic, Kenneth Faried, Jimmy Butler, Chandler Parsons, Isaiah Thomas

2012 - Anthony Davis, Bradley Beal, Damian Lillard, Andre Drummond

2013 - Victor Oladipo, Nerlens Noel, Ben McLemore, Michael Carter-Williams, Kelly Olynyk, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Dennis Schroeder, Gorgiu Dieng,

2014 - Andrew Wiggins, Jabari Parker, Elfrid Payton

Wow...the only draft that really comes close to being as bad as 2014 would be 2013, but even that year probably had more talent because MCW had a better rookie year than anybody from this year's class, and Noel had a much better year then Parker or Payton did.

So all those guys who stressed about Danny not losing enough games and dropping to #2 or #3 (lets be honest, we'd never have dropped below Philly) there you go - you are upset because we missed out on a top 3 pick in what was probably the worst draft of the past 10 years. 

[alldaboston]

To the poster above, nice work, but you forgot Gobert for 2013.

[Beat LA]

Remember when a year ago around now people were whining that we won 2 of our last 4 games (after losing 14 out of 15 before that) which put us 5th worst instead of 3rd worst?  And how losing a coinflip with Utah for a single Ping-Pong ball meant the team wouldn't be back in the playoffs for a decade? 

Because I do.  Good times   

Hey, at least we would have had a shot at a top 3 pick last year.  Wouldn't you have rather come into this season having Wiggins, Parker, or Embiid instead of what, and who, we have currently?  At least those guys are cornerstones, which is quite a glaring deficiency for us right now, imo.

We had a shot at a top 3 pick from 5th place too.  And the 3rd and 4th worst records got the 4th and 5th picks, so we wouldn't have landed any of those guys anyway. 

Moot either way, just contrasting what a sorry place we were in last year to this year.

I know, I'm just saying that those two games might have made a big difference in terms our future. 

[PhoSita]

After seeing the jump the 2013 class made in year two, why are you so ready to declare the 2014 class a failure?

Wait a few years then let's talk about the 2014 class.

[Beat LA]

Remember when a year ago around now people were whining that we won 2 of our last 4 games (after losing 14 out of 15 before that) which put us 5th worst instead of 3rd worst?  And how losing a coinflip with Utah for a single Ping-Pong ball meant the team wouldn't be back in the playoffs for a decade? 

Because I do.  Good times   

Hey, at least we would have had a shot at a top 3 pick last year.  Wouldn't you have rather come into this season having Wiggins, Parker, or Embiid instead of what, and who, we have currently?  At least those guys are cornerstones, which is quite a glaring deficiency for us right now, imo.

Are they REALLY?

I remember how much everybody was pumping up last year's draft class, saying it was going to be the best draft since 2003 and all the rest of it.

Then at one point everyone gasped in shock when Danny went public saying that this was going to be one of the weakest drafts in a long time.  Everybody thought he was trolling, or trying to manipulate people. 

Now stop for a second and take a look at what has come of this draft.

2014 NBA Draft Lottery - Top 10 Picks
1) Jabari Parker - 12.3 points, 5.5 rebounds, 1.7 assists, 1.2 steals, 49% FG, 25% 3PT.  Parker was being hailed as the next Carmelo Anthony and widely expected to finish the season averaging close to 20 PPG.  Despite playing starter's minutes from the get-go, he finished his season averaging only 12.3 PPG and shooting a pretty nasty 25% from three.  It was unfortuantely that his season was cut short from injury, but what we did see (in a decent 25 game sample size) wasn't in line with what people were predicting he'd be. 

2) Andrew Wiggins - 16.9 PPG, 4.5 RPG, 2.1 APG, 1.1 steals, 0.6 blocks, 43.8% FG, 32% 3PT.   With the season coming to a close, Andrew Wiggins is (quite honestly) the only guy in this draft who has performed even close to the potential people expected from this draft.  He's been a legitimate starting calibre guy and has averaged around 18 PPG since January.  But Wiggins is a guy who people were following for years, and a guy who was being hailed as the next Lebron James...and he certainly hasn't been that good.

3) Joel Embiid - hasn't even played a game, nobody has a clue how good he will or won't be.  Could be great, could be the next Greg Oden.

4) Aaron Gordon - 5.1 points, 3.5 rebounds, 0.7 assists, 0.4 blocks and 0.4 steals.  The guy who was being hailed as the next Blake Griffin has struggled to earn 16 minutes per game on one of the 5 worst teams in the NBA.

5) Dante Exum - 4.7 points, 1.6 rebounds, 2.4 assists, 0.5 steals, 34.7% FG.  This guy, who was being hailed as the next Penny Hardaway, hasn't fared much better than Gordon.  He's managed to get 22 minutes per game on the incredibly mediocre Jazz.

6) Marcus Smart - 7.8 points, 3.3 rebounds, 3.1 assists, 1.5 steals,  36.7% FT.  Smart was hailed as being one of the most seasoned and "NBA Ready" players in the draft.  He's proven to indeed be wise beyond his years, yet his numbers still haven't been anything that exciting.  At least he's managed to earn starting caliber minutes (28 per game) on a playoff team though, which makes him one of the more successful stories in this draft class.  Plus I'm going to go out on a limb and say that he's been (easily) the best rookie in this class defensively.

7) Julius Randle - Played one game, managed 2 points (on 33% shooting) along with 0 rebounds, 0 assists, 0 steals, 0 blocks, 1 turnover in 14 minutes.  Then got hurt and missed the rest of the season. 

8 ) Nik Stauskas - 4.3 points, 1.2 rebounds, 0.9 assists, 0.3 steals, 36.4% FG, 31.5% 3PT.  The guy who was being hailed as one of the top shooters in the class has actually shot worst (from the field AND from three) than Marcus Smart, and he's only managed to play 15 MPG for the lottery bound Kings. 

9) Noah Vonleh - 3.1 points, 3.1 rebounds, 0.2 assists, 0.2 steals, 0.2 blocks, 39.1% FG.  There was a lot of debate about Vonleh, but I'm not about to declare him a bust yet.  Hi was in jured much of the season, and everybody knew he was a raw prospect (interest in him was all about potential, not existing).  Still he was a top 10 pick, so take of it what you will.

10) Elfrid Payton - 9 points, 4.3 rebounds, 6.5 assist, 1.7 steals, 42.7% FG.  That payton (with these numbers!) has been the third best rookie in the top 10 doesn't say much for th rest of the class.  Though his numbers have been pretty decent and he's earned proper starting minutes, he's done so on a pretty poor team.  Still credit where it's due - he's been one of the better players in the draft.

Which of those three guys has shown anything to indicate they are a 'cornerstone' player?  Wiggins, sure...but we if we dropped bottom three we never would have gotten him anyway.  Parker's 12 PPG and Embiid's season full of "DNP" do not exactly indicate cornerstone players.

Actually, looking back, it's pretty ironic because Danny Ainge really was 100% correct.  Take a look at the past decade and see how many drafts have been as horribly weak as this one.  I'll break it down with some of the more noteworthy players from each draft:

Noteworthy players from the past 10 NBA drafts
2004 - Dwight Howard, Emeka Okafor, Luol Deng, Josh Smith, Andre Iguodala, Al Jefferson

2005 - Andrew Bogut, Chris Paul, Deron Williams, Andrew Bynum, Danny Granger, David Lee, Monta Ells

2006 - Lemarcus Aldridge, Rajon Rondo, Brandon Roy, Rudy Gay, Kyle Lowry, Paul Millsap

2007 - Kevin Durant, Al Horford, Mike Conley, Jeff Green, Theddeus Young, Joakim Noah, Marc Gasol

2008 - Derrick Rose, Russell Westbrook, Kevin Love, Serge Ibaka, Goran Dragic, Eric Gordon, Brook Lopez, Roy Hibbert, Omer Asik, Nikola Pekovic, Mario Chalmers, O.j. Mayo, Danilo Gallinari, 

2009 - Blake Griffin, James Harden, Tyreke Evans, Demarr Derozan, Brandon Jennings, Jrue Holiday, Jeff Teague, Darren Collison, Ty Lawson

2010 - John Wall, Demarcus Cousins, Paul George, Gordon Hayward, Eric Bledsoe, Avery Bradley

2011 - Kyrie Irving, Enes Kanter, Kemba Walker, Klay Thompson, Kawhi Leonard, Nikola Vucevic, Kenneth Faried, Jimmy Butler, Chandler Parsons, Isaiah Thomas

2012 - Anthony Davis, Bradley Beal, Damian Lillard, Andre Drummond

2013 - Victor Oladipo, Nerlens Noel, Ben McLemore, Michael Carter-Williams, Kelly Olynyk, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Dennis Schroeder, Gorgiu Dieng,

2014 - Andrew Wiggins, Jabari Parker, Elfrid Payton

Wow...the only draft that really comes close to being as bad as 2014 would be 2013, but even that year probably had more talent because MCW had a better rookie year than anybody from this year's class, and Noel had a much better year then Parker or Payton did.

So all those guys who stressed about Danny not losing enough games and dropping to #2 or #3 (lets be honest, we'd never have dropped below Philly) there you go - you are upset because we missed out on a top 3 pick in what was probably the worst draft of the past 10 years.

First of all, TP for going to all of that trouble, and you're probably right about the cornerstone players who I mentioned, while I'm likely wrong about them, lol. I would only like to add two players to the 2014 list, if that's okay. 

1). Doug McDermott - I still don't understand why he was a lottery pick or why so many people wanted him in the first place, never mind why the the defense-first Chicago Bulls actually TRADED FOR HIM; and people really thought that he'd get playing time.  Really?  On that team?  With that coach, and with his defensive deficiencies?  Deng.

2).  Zach Lavine - all I can say is wow.  He's definitely in the upper echelon of his class and could very well turn out to be a critical member of Minnesota's foundation moving forward.  I'll admit, I didn't really look into him, mainly because he reminded me, at least body-wise, of Tyler Honeycutt, but I should have listened to Bob Ryan, lol. The dude had 37 points the other day, and against the Warriors in Golden State, no less. Sigh.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=smdmWb-mlQs

Vonleh also played really well on Sunday, notching 16 points and 12 rebounds in 29 minutes off the bench for Charlotte.  Sure, he's raw, but he's only 19, and I'd love him here, lol. He did not have a good game tonight against the Rockets, however, but in fairness, this is also the first time that he's gotten consistent minutes all season.  Still, me likey.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RMjWnbHACRk