darius morris

[wiley]

most of my favorite draft favorites will be gone I think...I don't think they'll slide quite far enough.....

and though I'm not thrilled with this draft for obvious reasons, one has to be careful about throwing an entire draft class under the bus too hastily.

I love tall pg's.  I even still love Orien Greene though he didn't quite make it in the league.  Well, Darius Morris is a tall PG who's going to make it.  I realize we've got Delonte, but I think after the Celtic tradition of one year on the pine, this guy will pay dividends down the road, even allowing Avery Bradley to play his natural two spot....swapping roles on defense.  Morris could also play the 2 spot.  At the very least, drafting Morris could open up some trade possibilities down the road.....

Morris has risen a bit lately, and I'd be happy if we picked him up in the draft.

[saltlover]

I'm a huge Michigan fan, and I think the world of Darius Morris.  That said, he'd be Avery Bradley redux (and I'm still an Avery Bradley fan too.)  While I wouldn't be upset if he were draft by the C's, I'd much prefer us to take someone like Jajuan Johnson if available, who's much more likely to be able to contribute real minutes as a rookie.  It's fun to take project guards every year, and perhaps we want to lure Don Nelson out of retirement, but I'd like a real power forward, and Jajuan Johnson qualifies if available (and as he's a mid-20's guy according to most mocks, he just might be.)

[wiley]

I'm a huge Michigan fan, and I think the world of Darius Morris.  That said, he'd be Avery Bradley redux (and I'm still an Avery Bradley fan too.)  While I wouldn't be upset if he were draft by the C's, I'd much prefer us to take someone like Jajuan Johnson if available, who's much more likely to be able to contribute real minutes as a rookie.  It's fun to take project guards every year, and perhaps we want to lure Don Nelson out of retirement, but I'd like a real power forward, and Jajuan Johnson qualifies if available (and as he's a mid-20's guy according to most mocks, he just might be.)

Jajuan intrigues me...haven't seen him play.  Is he a bit low in the draft due to a particular weakness?  Ball handling?  Could the Celtics hide that weakness?  Would he have good value as a specialist?  If he's a good defender sign me up..

[wiley]

I'm a huge Michigan fan, and I think the world of Darius Morris.  That said, he'd be Avery Bradley redux (and I'm still an Avery Bradley fan too.)  While I wouldn't be upset if he were draft by the C's, I'd much prefer us to take someone like Jajuan Johnson if available, who's much more likely to be able to contribute real minutes as a rookie.  It's fun to take project guards every year, and perhaps we want to lure Don Nelson out of retirement, but I'd like a real power forward, and Jajuan Johnson qualifies if available (and as he's a mid-20's guy according to most mocks, he just might be.)

another question:  isn't Darius Morris a readier and more natural PG than AB?

[saltlover]

Jajuan intrigues me...haven't seen him play.  Is he a bit low in the draft due to a particular weakness?  Ball handling?  Could the Celtics hide that weakness?  Would he have good value as a specialist?  If he's a good defender sign me up..

I think he gets dinged because for the most part what you see is what you get.  He's certain to improve his game a little more, because he's a hard-worker and most players get better as they get older, to a certain point.  But since he's a couple years older than most players entering the NBA these days, he doesn't offer that superstar promise.  Additionally, he doesn't do anything great -- he just does everything well.  He's not going to be a 20/10 guy.  Some people say he's also a little thin, and might get pushed around in the NBA, but I don't agree with that assessment.  He's plenty strong and was arguably the best player in the Big 10, which is a very physical league.

So yeah, I think for the most part he's low because he doesn't appear to have a particular strength, and couldn't be a specialist.  But I think you can get 15 minutes of quality reserve play from him a night, and you won't have so scream at the TV "No, don't pass it Jajuan!"  And that's what the C's need.

As for Morris, he improved a lot as the year went on, but his jump shot is very inconsistent, and he had the tendency to run what we called the Darius-Morris-dribbles-around-for-30-seconds-and-then-shoots-play.  I think he's got the potential to be a very good NBA player some day, but most of Michigan-fandom was very surprised he stayed in the draft, as he really needed another year to keep making improvements to his game.  He's definitely a project, and would be best-served by playing a lot in the D-league next year, since he shouldn't see the floor much except in blowouts.  He's definitely more of a pure point than Bradley is, but he's no more ready for the NBA than Bradley was last year, and perhaps even less.

[wiley]

Jajuan intrigues me...haven't seen him play.  Is he a bit low in the draft due to a particular weakness?  Ball handling?  Could the Celtics hide that weakness?  Would he have good value as a specialist?  If he's a good defender sign me up..

I think he gets dinged because for the most part what you see is what you get.  He's certain to improve his game a little more, because he's a hard-worker and most players get better as they get older, to a certain point.  But since he's a couple years older than most players entering the NBA these days, he doesn't offer that superstar promise.  Additionally, he doesn't do anything great -- he just does everything well.  He's not going to be a 20/10 guy.  Some people say he's also a little thin, and might get pushed around in the NBA, but I don't agree with that assessment.  He's plenty strong and was arguably the best player in the Big 10, which is a very physical league.

So yeah, I think for the most part he's low because he doesn't appear to have a particular strength, and couldn't be a specialist.  But I think you can get 15 minutes of quality reserve play from him a night, and you won't have so scream at the TV "No, don't pass it Jajuan!"  And that's what the C's need.

As for Morris, he improved a lot as the year went on, but his jump shot is very inconsistent, and he had the tendency to run what we called the Darius-Morris-dribbles-around-for-30-seconds-and-then-shoots-play.  I think he's got the potential to be a very good NBA player some day, but most of Michigan-fandom was very surprised he stayed in the draft, as he really needed another year to keep making improvements to his game.  He's definitely a project, and would be best-served by playing a lot in the D-league next year, since he shouldn't see the floor much except in blowouts.  He's definitely more of a pure point than Bradley is, but he's no more ready for the NBA than Bradley was last year, and perhaps even less.

very interesting!  Thanks and TP...

[MBz]

He's definitely a project, but I do like his game.  His shooting did improve from freshman to sophomore year, but it needs to improve a little bit more before he can see time on an NBA court.  They played an NBA style offense at Michigan which focused on Morris running pick and rolls and isolation plays which are a major part of the Celtic's offense which is a plus.