trade both first rounders to get Austin. Would you?

[green7]

no

[slamtheking]

currently (as of 3/27) portland has the 4th,11th, and 41st picks in the draft. The celtics have the 17th, 24th, 40th, and 47th.

If I where danny, I would trade the 17th and 24th for the 11th and 41st. Then take Austin at 11th. If Milwaukee keeps playing well the celtics would then have 3 picks in a strong 2nd round. Going by draft express's mock those picks could potentially be Jae Crowder,Will Barton, and Jeff Withey

Danny could then even package 2 or 3 of the 2nds to move up the the beginning of the 2nd round 31-35 if a 1st round player he likes (Dramond Green/Jae Crowder/Fab Melo) falls out of the first round.

no, god no, hell no, no way no how.

C's have a chance to get 2 rotation-quality players (hopefully starter-quality or at least 1 starter and a 6th man type) in this draft and you want to give that up to speculate on Rivers?  A player projected to fall that far in the draft is not the quality of player you give up another first rounder for.

We only have 1 pick in the second round this year until Milwaukee actually makes the playoffs.  Considering how bad they are even with Ellis, that's being really optimistic.  I wouldn't make that deal banking on that pick coming to us.

IF, and this is a big IF, Rivers is available at any of our current picks AND the BPA on the board at that time, I have no issue picking him if there's no issues raised by Doc or his kid.  Otherwise, grab the BPA at that time regardless of Rivers' availability. 

If this kid's last name wasn't Rivers, he'd fall even further in this draft -- quite possibly to the second round. 

[arambone]

It'd be one thing if Rivers played more like Ray Allen, excelling off the ball in catch and shoot situations. He doesn't.

Rivers doesn't fit into how the Celtics currently play.

If Rondo was a shooting point guard, Rivers could do his 10 second iso dribble routine and kick it back out to Rondo sometimes. That would make sense.

But what's the point of having a playmaking, non-shooting pg like Rondo if he is just going to stand around and watch Rivers dominate the ball. If Rivers isn't dominating the ball, he's below average at everything else. I can't imagine Pierce being happy standing around watching the coaches son taking over his turf either.

Rivers would disrupt the natural flow of the Celtics as currently constructed, keep Bradley sitting on the bench, or just as likely, getting stuck behind Bradley on the bench, pssing and moaning the whole time.

This is a pretty bad idea all around, actually.

If we're going to draft a shooting guard, it should be somebody bigger than Bradley who can shoot lights out in catch and shoot situations, and hopefully play some 3 as well, unlike Bradley and Moore.

I'd bet right now that Bradley will end up being the better NBA player than Rivers, and hopefully we get to see more of Bradley's one on one moves in the remainder of the season.

Rivers will be successfully shut down by the better defenders in the league, including Bradley. I can't wait to watch that.

[lightspeed5]

there a shortage of good shooting guards in the NBA

[lightspeed5]

It'd be one thing if Rivers played more like Ray Allen, excelling off the ball in catch and shoot situations. He doesn't.

Rivers doesn't fit into how the Celtics currently play.

If Rondo was a shooting point guard, Rivers could do his 10 second iso dribble routine and kick it back out to Rondo sometimes. That would make sense.

But what's the point of having a playmaking, non-shooting pg like Rondo if he is just going to stand around and watch Rivers dominate the ball. If Rivers isn't dominating the ball, he's below average at everything else. I can't imagine Pierce being happy standing around watching the coaches son taking over his turf either.

Rivers would disrupt the natural flow of the Celtics as currently constructed, keep Bradley sitting on the bench, or just as likely, getting stuck behind Bradley on the bench, pssing and moaning the whole time.

This is a pretty bad idea all around, actually.

If we're going to draft a shooting guard, it should be somebody bigger than Bradley who can shoot lights out in catch and shoot situations, and hopefully play some 3 as well, unlike Bradley and Moore.

I'd bet right now that Bradley will end up being the better NBA player than Rivers, and hopefully we get to see more of Bradley's one on one moves in the remainder of the season.

Rivers will be successfully shut down by the better defenders in the league, including Bradley. I can't wait to watch that.

rivers would play with the bench. bradley would be his pg, and bradley tends to pass quickly in a set.

[arambone]

So Bradley should only play 10 minutes a game next year? And we should trade 2 first round picks in the deepest draft in years, on a backup shooting guard?

[manl_lui]

So Bradley should only play 10 minutes a game next year? And we should trade 2 first round picks in the deepest draft in years, on a backup shooting guard?

in that case, I rather pass on Austin Rivers, see the thing is Avery Bradley HAVE an offensive game, which before he doesn't have much confidence because of all the veterans...recently you can see hes a lot more confident in his shot and he moves greatly without the ball

the kid obviously plays great defense, I would rather develop AB then get Austin at this point

[Rondo_is_better]

Not at all.

[the_Bird]

I don't see the issue with Rivers (if he lives up to his potential) and Rondo playing together, at least on the offensive end.  I think people are overprojecting what Rivers' career will look like based on how a 19-year old kid is playing right now.  I think it's perfectly reasonable that a basketball-savvy kid will learn how to play off the ball, how to use his athleticism to get himself open.  

Rivers is trying to play like a mini-Kobe; do people not think that Kobe's style would mesh with Rondo?  

I do think there are legitimate concerns about how a Rivers/Rondo pairing would work defensively.  Rivers is a little small for the SG spot, that'll probably mostly manifest itself on the defensive end.  Seems like he could stand to get a little stronger, both for playing D against guys like Wade and also to stand up to the rigors of a full NBA season - but that's pretty common for young players anyway.

And, I like Bradley a lot...  but you aren't *not* drafting Rivers because he's on the roster.  He's not THAT good.

[paintitgreen]

Agree with the Bird completely. I think concerns about Rivers are overstated. But no way would I trade two first rounders for an undersized two guard. Too much risk. I would only trade the two first rounders for a big man.

[arambone]

This thread is about trading both first rounders for Rivers.

Drafting Rivers with one of those picks is another matter entirely.

[the_Bird]

This thread is about trading both first rounders for Rivers.

Drafting Rivers with one of those picks is another matter entirely.

Well, it's a question you can't really answer until the season is over; big difference between trading, say #15 and #16 versus #s 23 and 25.  If both the C's and Clips finish strong, maybe you do try and combine the picks.

The alternative - maybe JJJ and one of this year's first rounders?  If they don't think he's a big man, maybe he's not as valuable to us - maybe you re-sign Jeff Green to be the tweener-forward instead, and trade JJJ for value.

[CFAN38]

We only have 1 pick in the second round this year until Milwaukee actually makes the playoffs.  Considering how bad they are even with Ellis, that's being really optimistic.  I wouldn't make that deal banking on that pick coming to us.

IF, and this is a big IF, Rivers is available at any of our current picks AND the BPA on the board at that time, I have no issue picking him if there's no issues raised by Doc or his kid.  Otherwise, grab the BPA at that time regardless of Rivers' availability.

If this kid's last name wasn't Rivers, he'd fall even further in this draft -- quite possibly to the second round. 

My proposed trade has nothing to do with the Cs getting the Milwaukee pick or not.

To say he could fall to the second round if his name wasn't Rivers is asinine. He was ranked as one of the top players in his high school class. This fact alone made avery bradely a top 20 pick. He played on a Duke team that was very deep at the guard position and average 15pts a game as a freshman. OJ Mayo is a comparable player to Austin and he was the 3rd pick in his draft.   

[paintitgreen]

Another good point, Bird. There's a lot of room for the picks (currently projected for 19 and 22) to move in either direction. Still, I can't imagine I'd trade two picks for one undersized ball-dominant shooting guard. I don't say that because I dislike Rivers, I say that because it's a risky position and the Celtics have failed to acquire a new impact big man in years. Players I'd give up both picks for (unless one is 12-16 and the other is 15-18): Lamb, Drummond, Robinson, Sullinger.

To say he could fall to the second round if his name wasn't Rivers is asinine. He was ranked as one of the top players in his high school class. This fact alone made avery bradely a top 20 pick. He played on a Duke team that was very deep at the guard position and average 15pts a game as a freshman. OJ Mayo is a comparable player to Austin and he was the 3rd pick in his draft.   

I think you're ignoring the possibility that Rivers was such a highly touted prospect in large part because of his last name. And Bradley was a top 20 pick mostly because that was a weak draft in terms of depth. If Bradley was in this draft, he'd likely be projected as a second rounder.

Big credit for Mayo - that's a good comp. About the same size and similar flaws (not quite a 1 because of questionable ability to create for others, lack of consistent defensive effort, a little short for the 2, ego concerns). But Mayo was a better overall shooter (41% to 36.5% on 3s, 80% to 66% on 3s, but only 44% to 43% difference on overall FGs), scored more (20.7 to 15.5), and a little better in other numbers (4.5 boards, 3.3 assists, 1.5 steals to 3.4, 2.1, 1.0) for an overall PER advantage of 22.3 to 16.85. Different circumstances though in terms of college - Austin at the more structured Duke with better surrounding talent but more limitations on his ability to just do what he wanted, OJ playing at USC which let him do what he wanted while asking him to do everything.

In the end, I think you have to look at Mayo's pro career, which has been okay but a bit underwhelming, and wonder would you trade two first round picks for that. I wouldn't. (Though I would love it if the Cs could pick Mayo up relatively cheap.)

[Daedalus]

Picks are far too valuable in this deep draft to go after a player who is slated to go in the mid-teens and is nowhere close to being a sure thing.