JaJuan Johnson has me excited

[5.9.20.34.43]

Reminds me of Chris Johnson tall,lanky, will fill garbage minutes. Hope he works hard and learns some good defense from the team.

[sdceltsfan]

pretty sure if JJJ was anything like Camby, he would have been picked about 15 spots higher or so, and 2 or 3 years ago......not ruling anything out. He is a very athletic big.....i do like the strength he has for his size.....you see a guy like Durant with his build and wonder how he doesn't get thrown around all over the place.......if he had better handle and shooting form, he would have that kind of upside, and wouldn't have fallen this far.

it is going to be tough for him to create the shots you see in his highlight reels in the NBA with a guy in his face with actual size and wingspan to defend it......couldn't have come to a better team to learn from KG and Pierce ala Jeff Green, but is Doc going to play him at all? PF is pretty much on lock down on the depth chart, and Green will be getting all the backup wing minutes, assuming JJJ somehow develops his outside game more. Too bad we couldn't have packaged him, Moore, O'neal and a future 1st to get West! That's the best way he could have contributed to this team, not to be negative....

[RayCeltic]

honestly i don't think he should get bigger if he can handle the ball looks more like kd than kg in my opinion if he cant handle the ball the he should bulk up but a 6-11 sf would be rear but he plays the 4 so he wouldn't have a high learning curve but he could play the 3 in a big line up green at the 2 pierce at the 1  kg n Oneal lol

[TaxiDriver2500]

honestly i don't think he should get bigger if he can handle the ball looks more like kd than kg in my opinion if he cant handle the ball the he should bulk up but a 6-11 sf would be rear but he plays the 4 so he wouldn't have a high learning curve but he could play the 3 in a big line up green at the 2 pierce at the 1  kg n Oneal lol

No i see the Durant comparison
Only difference is KD can shoot lights out from anywhere on the floor. and JJJ didnt even attempt 3's til his senior year and he hit 15/51. a whopping 29.4%

Durant shot 40% from 3 at texas. KD had more rebounds per game in his one year than jajuan had in any year.

but yeah, i think we got the next KD

[Evantime34]

Reminds me of Chris Johnson tall,lanky, will fill garbage minutes. Hope he works hard and learns some good defense from the team.

Johnson + 15 lbs, a jump shot and legit post moves.

[mctyson]

JJJ was a late 1st round draft pick, which in the NBA basically means you are slightly above the cut line in terms of rookie talent

the best the celtics could hope for out of JJJ is that he has a Tayshaun Prince-like career: experienced college player with NBA ready talents (length/athleticism), not-so-NBA rated physique (which is why he was drafted late IMO: you can't be a junior or senior in college and still be a toothpick), who develops into a defensive standout and reliable scoring option, either as a starter or 6th man

[Evantime34]

JJJ was a late 1st round draft pick, which in the NBA basically means you are slightly above the cut line in terms of rookie talent

the best the celtics could hope for out of JJJ is that he has a Tayshaun Prince-like career: experienced college player with NBA ready talents (length/athleticism), not-so-NBA rated physique (which is why he was drafted late IMO: you can't be a junior or senior in college and still be a toothpick), who develops into a defensive standout and reliable scoring option, either as a starter or 6th man

There are lots of good players who are drafted late in the first and make it. There are also lots of good players that get drafted in the second or go undrafted that make it.


JJJ put up great numbers in a major conference. He's 225 now which although is not that thick but it's a not a toothpick either. I expect him to be up to 235-240 within a few years which is plenty big enough. Just look at how KG gained weight.

[dmny5000]

i like johnson...think he could be good...but doc won't give him any run...

I think he'll get some run this year. There's too many back to backs for him to stay on the bench. He'll get minutes because he plays solid D has a great mid range jumper and he's a smart player.

Doc wont play him over Bass or anything but he'll find some minutes cause he can play. You can say he's like Chris Johnson or that he's garbage but that just means you haven't seen him play.

He's the type of player that in my mind is a guaranteed role player in this league. I don't expect it to take that long either. I get that you never know with rookies but he's a four year guy and has a great head on his shoulders. Let people get excited about a rookie every once in a while guys.

[Roy H.]

Jeez, high expectations, anyone?

I've seen this kid compared to Kevin Garnett, Kevin Durant, Marcus Camby and Taj Gibson, and called better than David West.

Gibson, maybe.  The other guys, though, no way is that a fair comparison at this stage.  If it's readily apparent that JJ will be on the level of any of those players, 26 NBA GMs should be immediately fired, because JJ should have gone #1.

[dmny5000]

Jeez, high expectations, anyone?

I've seen this kid compared to Kevin Garnett, Kevin Durant, Marcus Camby and Taj Gibson, and called better than David West.

Gibson, maybe.  The other guys, though, no way is that a fair comparison at this stage.  If it's readily apparent that JJ will be on the level of any of those players, 26 NBA GMs should be immediately fired, because JJ should have gone #1.

I don't think people are really saying that he's going to amount to KG. I think his game is just a lot like KG's but I would be surprised if anyone expects him to be on that level.

GMs passed over Rondo but I don't see them getting fired. They make mistakes all the time. I don't know what he's going to amount to and nobody really does but I like his chance of being a pretty good player.

[indeedproceed]

Personally I'm way more excited about E'twaun Moore. Kind of a young Mitch Richmond, only better. Like a shorter Reggie Miller. Have you guys heard him talk yet? He's smooth like Barry and his voice got bass. A body like Arnold with a Denzel Face.

[Roy H.]

GMs passed over Rondo but I don't see them getting fired. They make mistakes all the time. I don't know what he's going to amount to and nobody really does but I like his chance of being a pretty good player.

The difference is that nobody was arguing that it was readily apparent Rondo would be a top-5 point guard.  Nobody was comparing his passing skills to Deron Williams and Chris Paul.  Basically, Rondo is a surprise.  Those are the guys who slip in the draft.

On here (this thread and elsewhere) people are suggesting that JJ (a college senior) has the very apparent skill set to be in the conversation with a lot of those other guys.  If Celtics fans can see it, but the GMs missed it after watching this guy for four years, then yes, they should all be fired.

That doesn't mean that JJ won't be good, but there's a very, very slim chance that he ever develops into even David West, let alone any of the other names being tossed about.

[Fafnir]

Jeez, high expectations, anyone?

I've seen this kid compared to Kevin Garnett, Kevin Durant, Marcus Camby and Taj Gibson, and called better than David West.

Gibson, maybe.  The other guys, though, no way is that a fair comparison at this stage.  If it's readily apparent that JJ will be on the level of any of those players, 26 NBA GMs should be immediately fired, because JJ should have gone #1.

I don't think people are really saying that he's going to amount to KG. I think his game is just a lot like KG's but I would be surprised if anyone expects him to be on that level.

GMs passed over Rondo but I don't see them getting fired. They make mistakes all the time. I don't know what he's going to amount to and nobody really does but I like his chance of being a pretty good player.

So much of KG's game when he was JJJ's age relied on his handle and elite athleticism. I don't seem them as similar other than both are lanky PFs who can shoot.

[fairweatherfan]

I gotta say, I like the preseason wildly optimistic threads much better than the midseason wildly pessimistic threads.   

Good luck to JJ - he'll get some kind of minutes this year regardless, so I look forward to seeing what he can do. 

[Roy H.]

Jeez, high expectations, anyone?

I've seen this kid compared to Kevin Garnett, Kevin Durant, Marcus Camby and Taj Gibson, and called better than David West.

Gibson, maybe.  The other guys, though, no way is that a fair comparison at this stage.  If it's readily apparent that JJ will be on the level of any of those players, 26 NBA GMs should be immediately fired, because JJ should have gone #1.

I don't think people are really saying that he's going to amount to KG. I think his game is just a lot like KG's but I would be surprised if anyone expects him to be on that level.

GMs passed over Rondo but I don't see them getting fired. They make mistakes all the time. I don't know what he's going to amount to and nobody really does but I like his chance of being a pretty good player.

So much of KG's game when he was JJJ's age relied on his handle and elite athleticism. I don't seem them as similar other than both are lanky PFs who can shoot.

Also, of course, when KG was the same age as JJ, he was averaging 23/12/5 with 1.5 steals and 1.6 blocks in the NBA.