Not sure why so many people like Semih Erden...

[2short]

Its not like he's a top pick.  I see him as a development guy down the road, this year I can't see him on the c's unless its to work with our bigs.  How about Clifford Ray as his personal coach??
To me Gaffney fills the need in terms of posistion and I like his defense.  With the amount of offense we have our 3rd string sf, repeat 3rd string sf doesn't need that much of an offensive game.  I'm sure all the end of bench or bubble guys Ainge would trade in a heartbeat to improve team anyways.  Erden  I don't think he'll ever have the rebounder heart to be an nba starting center but he's young so who knows.

[Moranis]

Gaffney is not a 12th man, if he makes the team it will be as a 15th man, same as Erden.  So if you are going with a guy that is going to be in a suit most nights, wouldn't it make the most sense to take the big man with mobility over a dime a dozen wing that you can find pretty much anywhere.

[wdleehi]

Gaffney is not a 12th man, if he makes the team it will be as a 15th man, same as Erden.  So if you are going with a guy that is going to be in a suit most nights, wouldn't it make the most sense to take the big man with mobility over a dime a dozen wing that you can find pretty much anywhere.

That's my read.  Gaffney and Lafayette would have to show a lot more on the court to take Erden off the 15th man spot.  The GM did pick him.  He has size and good feet.  There is potential there to be a role player in the future. 

[LooseCannon]

The guy who Gaffney is competing with for a roster spot is really Harangody, not Erden.  Gaffney might also make it if Delonte West or Von Wafer blows up mentally.

I think the Celtics almost have to keep Erden until at least the trading deadline because he has a much better chance than Gaffney or Lafeyette of developing into a trade asset, since he doesn't actually have to produce; he just has to look tall and athletic to someone who is willing to gamble.

[wdleehi]

The guy who Gaffney is competing with for a roster spot is really Harangody, not Erden.  Gaffney might also make it if Delonte West or Von Wafer blows up mentally.

I think the Celtics almost have to keep Erden until at least the trading deadline because he has a much better chance than Gaffney or Lafeyette of developing into a trade asset, since he doesn't actually have to produce; he just has to look tall and athletic to someone who is willing to gamble.

Again, he would have to show a lot to knock off one of Ainge's draft picks this year. 

[kozlodoev]

The guy who Gaffney is competing with for a roster spot is really Harangody, not Erden.  Gaffney might also make it if Delonte West or Von Wafer blows up mentally.

I think the Celtics almost have to keep Erden until at least the trading deadline because he has a much better chance than Gaffney or Lafeyette of developing into a trade asset, since he doesn't actually have to produce; he just has to look tall and athletic to someone who is willing to gamble.

No, not really. I don't see a scenario in which Erden makes the team, and Harangody doesn't.

[LooseCannon]

I can absolutely see Ainge wanting to hold onto Erden as a big man project, even if he thinks Erden is extremely unlikely to play anything more than garbage minutes this season, because he has concerns about Perk's health and ability to fit into a more up-tempo post big-three offense built around Rondo.

I think the only way Erden doesn't make the roster is if he demonstrates he lacks the physical tools to play in the NBA, if he proves to be uncoachable, or if the Celtics find a young 7-footer with more upside to carry as a project.

[nickagneta]

I honestly do not see the Celtics coming out of training camp with Erden, Gaffney or Lafayette on the team, none of them showed me they really had any redeeming NBA qualities about their games this summer.

I could see someone unexpected making this team on a make good contract rather than these guys. Heck, I'm not so sure how secure Von Wafer should feel about making this team.

[Celtics18]

Semih Erden is an agile, athletic seven footer with an incredibly long wing span.  Guys like that are simply not easy to find. 

He had a very good world championships, being the best big on the silver medal team. 

I'm not blind to the fact that he's got some flaws, but you'd have to be insane to cut this guy in training camp. 

Personally, I'm hoping Wafer gets the axe to make room for Gaffney (I'd even be perfectly willing to accept letting Harangody loose, but I don't think that's likely).

[KobeGotRondoD]

Semih Erden is an agile, athletic seven footer with an incredibly long wing span.  Guys like that are simply not easy to find. 

He had a very good world championships, being the best big on the silver medal team. 

I'm not blind to the fact that he's got some flaws, but you'd have to be insane to cut this guy in training camp. 

Personally, I'm hoping Wafer gets the axe to make room for Gaffney (I'd even be perfectly willing to accept letting Harangody loose, but I don't think that's likely).

He's got good qualities for the European game but his skills don't translate over to the NBA. Just watch. He's going to average more turnovers than rebounds and blocks combined. Then he's going to get waived and no one's going to want him... back to Europe.

[GreenEnvy]

Semih Erden is an agile, athletic seven footer with an incredibly long wing span.  Guys like that are simply not easy to find. 

He had a very good world championships, being the best big on the silver medal team. 

I'm not blind to the fact that he's got some flaws, but you'd have to be insane to cut this guy in training camp. 

Personally, I'm hoping Wafer gets the axe to make room for Gaffney (I'd even be perfectly willing to accept letting Harangody loose, but I don't think that's likely).

Ehhh.... He didn't even start.

[nickagneta]

He had a very good world championships, being the best big on the silver medal team. 

No he was not the best big on the Turkish team. It's arguable he wasn't even the third best big on that team since Hedo Turkoglu played so much power forward.

[Celtics18]

Semih Erden is an agile, athletic seven footer with an incredibly long wing span.  Guys like that are simply not easy to find. 

He had a very good world championships, being the best big on the silver medal team. 

I'm not blind to the fact that he's got some flaws, but you'd have to be insane to cut this guy in training camp. 

Personally, I'm hoping Wafer gets the axe to make room for Gaffney (I'd even be perfectly willing to accept letting Harangody loose, but I don't think that's likely).

He's got good qualities for the European game but his skills don't translate over to the NBA. Just watch. He's going to average more turnovers than rebounds and blocks combined. Then he's going to get waived and no one's going to want him... back to Europe.

I disagree.  I actually think his game will translate better to the NBA than Europe.  His size and athleticism will come in handy over here.  He won't be asked to be a big offensive threat for the Celtics, but he has the foot speed and the length to be a decent pick and roll defending big.  This will be the attribute that keeps him around.  

The only things that can derail him, as far as I'm concerned, are his work ethic or toughness.  We'll see about those.  My observation was that he seems to have some kind of an attitude.  We'll find out if that attitude ends up working in his favor or against him soon enough.

[Celtics18]

Well guys, if you include Turkoglu and Ilyasova as "bigs", Erden clearly wasn't Turkey's best big.  However, I was counting those two more as 3/4 combo guys, not really "bigs".  Even though, Asik started (he will be in the NBA next year, himself, by the way), Erden played slightly more minutes, and was more productive offensively.  It can certainly be argued that Asik showed more interior toughness, but I thought Erden made more big plays in big moments.  Savas was useful, but clearly third string, behind those guys.

[jdub1660]

From the 2 games I watched of him, and a few highlights, he looks very mobile for a big. Which is why he was able to convert on his post moves. His length and size are great for defending, but he'll need veteran advice on timing(where's Dikembe when you need him, or maybe BR will stop by and give him a few pointers)

I look forward to seeing him get a chance at running full scrimmage against the team, and earning minutes in preseason. Maybe there we can see if he will be above the preseason units, or will he be outperformed by other late draft picks like Dexter Pittman