Why Not Douglas Roberts? Why Not Chalmers?

[PerkinsERA43]

I don't know much about Giddens, but I know he's had character issues and had to transfer from Kansas. He's a great athlete as well, but honestly, I think Chalmers or CDR would've been a much better pick. Chalmers could've been that backup point guard from the get go. CDR could've contributed off the bench quite well. The guy I really wanted was Courtney Lee, but with Orlando grabbing him at 22, I think CDR or Chalmers were far and away the best two option for us.

[murphman]

yeah, who the heck knows.

[BrickJames]

My guesses:

Chalmers:  Rondo is a PG keeper.  Cassell/Pruitt/House are in line, and we're also shopping veteran PGs (Hinrich? Duhon? Tinsley? etc.)

CDR: I like him, but he's redundant w/Posey, and he choked 2 potentially game-sealing free throws on the NCAA's biggest stage which cost his team the game.  If I remember correctly, he also bricked a few open threes in the closing 90 seconds as well.

[BudweiserCeltic]

I don't know, but off the bench, I'm kinda liking this Giddens pick. He seems to play with a ton of energy, and he seems to have more role-player-like skills than some of the other choices. I wanted Walker myself, but there might be a reason why these guys like Walker and CDR dropped like they did. This has been speculated for quite some time that they might slip, so their workout might've not been impressive.

But Giddens looks like a really tough kid that can defend and be an extremely good rebounder. That's very good to have. He's athletic, which we were missing, etc.

[Cman]

CDR and Chalmer both fell, as did the young PF/C. 
That said, I think the Giddens pick is good.  I like it.
The biggest riser of the night is George Hill, and my hat off to him for it....
I love it when unexpected things happen in the draft (unfortunately I am now only catching the tail end of it bc of family obligations!!!!!).

Giddens: Welcome to Beantown!

[johnnyrondo]

It's a little perplexing because Danny made such an issue this past year about only adding "character guys" to the roster, but I'm willing to give JR Rider...I mean Giddens a chance. Danny does make mistakes on draft day though (Gerald, Marcus, trading the Brandon Roy pick), so who knows. I'd be more peeved if I was a Hornets fan and they just lost Arthur, so Geaorge Shinn could pocket a million dollars.

[BrickJames]

I don't know, but off the bench, I'm kinda liking this Giddens pick. He seems to play with a ton of energy, and he seems to have more role-player-like skills than some of the other choices. I wanted Walker myself, but there might be a reason why these guys like Walker and CDR dropped like they did. This has been speculated for quite some time that they might slip, so their workout might've not been impressive.

But Giddens looks like a really tough kid that can defend and be an extremely good rebounder. That's very good to have. He's athletic, which we were missing, etc.

BC c'mon dude - maybe I'm being overly presumptuous, but I highly doubt you are a Lobos fan.  

To everyone don't talk about how he "looks" from a 10 second highlight reel on ESPN.  Let's wait to see what he can do.  Without him, we are NBA championships.  No need to deliberate over this pick's skills until we see him play.  All you'll achieve in doing that is over-hyping and setting yourselves out for a let-down.

Better to be pleasantly surprised.

[cordobes]

cordobes said:

I like CDR, but he's being overrated here. He benefited immensely from the system Calipari runs in Memphis, with all that penetration and kick out (Brokeback Mountain, as Phil said). Perimeter defenders in the NBA are much more quick recovering than those that CDR faced in college, so it won't be so easy for him to step past them or take open shots. I think this question has merits: would he be such a good slasher without a pg that didn't demand so much help defense in the lane like Rose did? Also, he'll have to read screens and post up in the NBA and I don't know if he's good doing that. I mean, can he create his own shot in another type of offense? I don't know... and neither does he, I guess. Anyway, if we draft him, I'll watch his games again to form a more solid opinion, as I was more interested in Rose the first time.

My educated guess: CDR is not as good as he looks. If I was giving him a workout, I'd like to see how well does he screen, posts, reads screens, how really good is his first step, etc. If he didn't workout well, I can easily understand why he fell.

Chalmers...because they like Pruitt.

I've never seen JR Giddens play and I don't like to form opinions by reading public reports. I know he was conference co-Player of the Year with Cummard and I know Cummard is a good basketball player.

[Chris]

Well, Chalmers just is not a fit...and I think he went from underrated to incredibly overrated in the last couple of weeks.  He is a solid backup PG in this league...thats about it.  I think Pruitt will be a better player.

With CDR, it is tougher.  I think it comes down to the fact that Giddens is simply more talented than CDR.  If you remove the questions about his character, Giddens is a far superior prospect.  So I am assuming the C's were either very impressed with his personal growth over the last couple years...or they just felt it was worth the roll of the dice.

[flexilexi]

I am going to reserve judgment b/c I've seen CDR and Chalmers a good amount and maybe seen Giddens play once.  The Celts have 2 young PGs so I don't they need or wanted another one.  I think CDR will be a good NBA player but I gotta trust DA 

[BudweiserCeltic]

I don't know, but off the bench, I'm kinda liking this Giddens pick. He seems to play with a ton of energy, and he seems to have more role-player-like skills than some of the other choices. I wanted Walker myself, but there might be a reason why these guys like Walker and CDR dropped like they did. This has been speculated for quite some time that they might slip, so their workout might've not been impressive.

But Giddens looks like a really tough kid that can defend and be an extremely good rebounder. That's very good to have. He's athletic, which we were missing, etc.

BC c'mon dude - maybe I'm being overly presumptuous, but I highly doubt you are a Lobos fan. 

To everyone don't talk about how he "looks" from a 10 second highlight reel on ESPN.  Let's wait to see what he can do.  Without him, we are NBA championships.  No need to deliberate over this pick's skills until we see him play.  All you'll achieve in doing that is over-hyping and setting yourselves out for a let-down.

Better to be pleasantly surprised.

Err, how am I overhyping. Did I say he was a great player, or anything to that account? I just think he has the skill sets to be a good role player when called upon, when compared to other possible picks we could've had for that position. Everyone is putting the pick down because we didn't pick CDR or Walker or Chalmer. Who cares who we didn't pick, but focus on why we picked the person that we did. Was simply trying to point out what skills this guy has to be picked over the other dudes, as the question was asked in the thread.

He's an extremely good rebounder. Fact. Extremely athletic. Fact. Plays defense. Fact. How is stating those things overhyping. Simply said that he could be useful right away, in no shape or form do I expect him to be a superstar, but I can see him filling in case of injury etc.  All those 3 facts I mentioned about him tells me that he can be useful from the bench immediately, as opposed to some other players that are great offensively but lack in other fundamental areas.  That the kid can rebound and plays defense are already a great plus at the moment. Rebounding and defending are great skills to have from a bottom of the rotation guy, I don't think many here would refute that.

Bottom line is that I see some positive in this that we can develop and use. I think that's just about all I've said... not the awful pick many have said it is.

All season long I've said I've wanted an athletic guy in our team that can come in and dunk on anyone, and now we picked one that does that. Is Giddens going to be a great player in the NBA? Who knows, but the current skill sets he has are precisely the ones I've wanted from our draft pick. Rebounds, defends, energy, athletic. Let's see how it all plays out.

[PerkinsERA43]

Well, Chalmers just is not a fit...and I think he went from underrated to incredibly overrated in the last couple of weeks.  He is a solid backup PG in this league...thats about it.  I think Pruitt will be a better player.

With CDR, it is tougher.  I think it comes down to the fact that Giddens is simply more talented than CDR.  If you remove the questions about his character, Giddens is a far superior prospect.  So I am assuming the C's were either very impressed with his personal growth over the last couple years...or they just felt it was worth the roll of the dice.

yeah I don't hate the Giddens pick-- I just think the other two guys are safer picks, and possibly better. Here is my thinking:

Chalmers:

His stock rose a great deal in the past few weeks, to the extent that he became overrated. He is nothing more than a solid backup PG. That being said, isn't that exactly what the C's need? I know management might be high on Pruitt, but he's a couple years away from being able to take that backup spot. chalmers fills that time gap. The thirieth pick gets a two year deal, I believe. What could be better for us than to get a cheap, two year deal for a PG who bring all the things a vet FA would bring to the table out of this draft? Chalmers Ds up, can hit the 3, and has great ballhanding skills. If Pruitt eclipses him in a year or two, whats the harm? Chalmers is an NBA ready piece that could've filled a hole in our roster.

CDR:

CDR is a guy who may have dropped because of below average workouts, as you stated. If that is the case, then I can assure the drop was about as unwarranted as Darrel Arthur's kidney-spawned swan dive. Workouts mean very little, and CDR is just the kind of guy who proves that. He may not be the athlete Giddens is, but he was the leading scorer on arguably the best team in college ball last season. He has a varied game, and it is not based on either deep threes (eric gordon, 2008 bust of the year, mark my words) or huge dunks (giddens). CDR will be a solid reliable scorer, either off the bench or as a 4th option for a team with other, higher profile options on the court (that's us.)

Either one of those guys fills a legitimate for us need better than Giddens does and makes more sense a draft pick for the Celtics. That is my humble opinion. I am out.

[P2]

Doc said Danny has liked Giddens for a long time, so I guess Danny knows what he gets from someone who should've gone in the middle of the 2nd. It's just something behind that. And why not Chalmers? Heck, we got Rondo and Pruitt, there is no room for any more young PG. Pruitt is better than Chalmers anyway. But why not CDG? Because Danny thinks Giddens will help more, and I trust him (Powe, Baby, Rondo).

[rondofan1255]

Chalmers didn't make sense to me. I actually wanted Douglas-Roberts, but the more I think about it, the Celtics don't have that Athletic-factor, and Giddens is athletic, and could give a spark sometimes. When the Celtics faced Atlanta, it must have influenced DA's decision.

Definitely not Deandre Jordan.

That's just what I think.

[cmoney]

cordobes said:

I like CDR, but he's being overrated here. He benefited immensely from the system Calipari runs in Memphis, with all that penetration and kick out (Brokeback Mountain, as Phil said). Perimeter defenders in the NBA are much more quick recovering than those that CDR faced in college, so it won't be so easy for him to step past them or take open shots. I think this question has merits: would he be such a good slasher without a pg that didn't demand so much help defense in the lane like Rose did? Also, he'll have to read screens and post up in the NBA and I don't know if he's good doing that. I mean, can he create his own shot in another type of offense? I don't know... and neither does he, I guess. Anyway, if we draft him, I'll watch his games again to form a more solid opinion, as I was more interested in Rose the first time.

My educated guess: CDR is not as good as he looks. If I was giving him a workout, I'd like to see how well does he screen, posts, reads screens, how really good is his first step, etc. If he didn't workout well, I can easily understand why he fell.

Chalmers...because they like Pruitt.

I've never seen JR Giddens play and I don't like to form opinions by reading public reports. I know he was conference co-Player of the Year with Cummard and I know Cummard is a good basketball player.

He's got 3 years of great production by every metric available (almost every advanced stat dude loves him), whereas Gidden has 4 years of bad production by the same metrics.

Epic fail.