draft express recent mock 2/24

[Boris Badenov]

That mock draft looks more like player rankings with logos next to them, instead of considering teams' needs.  I don't think there's any way we'll take a PG of any kind, BPA or not.

Yea when I read this the other day it just looked like they took their rankings for the top 60 and then just put the teams that would likely be there at that draft choice.  So I promptly ignored whatever they had said in their mock.

Well, it does say in bold print at the top:

"Team needs have NOT yet been taken into account in this mock draft."

 

Man, this is the Internet - I can't be expected to avoid work, complain, AND read bold text at the same time!   That does make more sense though 

Usually DE does not consider team needs until after the lottery. It doesn't make much sense to re-arrange based on needs until the actual order has been set.

[Yoki_IsTheName]

Although I do like Tony Wroten, I'd rather have Moultrie than him. Fournier could be either a backup scorer or maybe the future scorer of this team. Wroten is a good pick, but for me Moultrie could offer us more, like rebounding and low post prescence.

[Fred Roberts]

Why not Fab Melo? I've never actually seen the kid play, but his name and height make him stand out.

Seems he's projected to go mid to late first round. GM's have slept on big man projects like Marc Gasol and Hibbert in the past. Perhaps there is value here?

[hwangjini_1]

Why not Fab Melo? I've never actually seen the kid play, but his name and height make him stand out.

Seems he's projected to go mid to late first round. GM's have slept on big man projects like Marc Gasol and Hibbert in the past. Perhaps there is value here?

yes, GMs have slept on some big man projects. but there have been at least as many cases of GMs over reaching and draft a big man simply because he is big. and they have lived to regret it.

a few intimate cases in point would be acie earl, eric montross, jerome moiso. also olowakandi?

ainge will not, and should not, draft guys simply because they are big men. that would be a tremendous mistake. if ainge takes a big man late in the first round it is because he believes the player will turn out to be an asset, and height is only one factor.

case in point is perk. ainge saw talent in perk and drafted him because of that. not because perk was tall. other players were taller and ainge did not pick them obviously.

so, maybe ainge will see something in fab melo that others do not see and draft him. maybe he will be a diamond in the rough. but if i were betting my own money, i would bet with ainge and not against him on the draft.

to draft players based upon team need is fools gold.

for every player that is passed over by GM and winds up a good nba player, there are literally hundreds of players passed over GMs who never come close to the nba. the draft is a crapshoot, but most GMs get things right a more than they get them wrong on the draft.

trust in ainge...again. 

[mqtcelticsfan]

I still want Moultrie and either Lamb or Jenkins in the first. Moultrie can rebound the ball and both Lamb and Jenkins seem to have the ability to hit threes off the bench when Bradley is off the court or shifted over to the point.

I think we're better off keeping Johnson and Moore as youngsters than taking on a new second round project, unless a quality big man falls.

[KP43]

http://www.draftexpress.com/profile/Arnett-Moultrie-5754/

"...He pulls in an excellent 5.2 offensive rebounds..."

sign me up

[Celtic#9]

I can't believe Doron Lamb dropped into the 2nd. No way we shouldn't take a flyer on him with the clips pick. I also really like Moultrie. Those are my 2 picks if they are available. Also, anyone else think there is a ton of potential for a lot of lorrery busts?

[Galeto]

I wouldn't mind taking a chance on Fab Melo with the Clippers' pick.  At least he's a legitimate 7 feet with bulk and strength who's also fairly mobile.  He's not a stiff at all.  I'd say he's a more fluid runner than Drummond for instance.  And he can shotblock.  His rebounds per minute weren't great for his size but the 2/3 zone might have depressed his rebounding potential.

There's some off the court stuff that's troubling and I doubt he's ever going to be much of an offensive presence but watching him, I was surprised by how well he passed out of the post.  He didn't rack up many assists or anything but even making simple passes out of the post to spot up shooters is beyond the capability of many big men.  That he didn't have any problems leads me to think that his basketball aptitude isn't bad.  At his size and shotblocking ability, that takes his promise up a notch.

I like the Chicago model of stacking their frontcourt with big guys who can block shots and rebound (with Boozer a half-exception).  It's not novel or anything but I think there's a possibility Melo could play the Asik role a bit.

[Yoki_IsTheName]

I wouldn't mind taking a chance on Fab Melo with the Clippers' pick.  At least he's a legitimate 7 feet with bulk and strength who's also fairly mobile.  He's not a stiff at all.  I'd say he's a more fluid runner than Drummond for instance.  And he can shotblock.  His rebounds per minute weren't great for his size but the 2/3 zone might have depressed his rebounding potential.

There's some off the court stuff that's troubling and I doubt he's ever going to be much of an offensive presence but watching him, I was surprised by how well he passed out of the post.  He didn't rack up many assists or anything but even making simple passes out of the post to spot up shooters is beyond the capability of many big men.  That he didn't have any problems leads me to think that his basketball aptitude isn't bad.  At his size and shotblocking ability, that takes his promise up a notch.

I like the Chicago model of stacking their frontcourt with big guys who can block shots and rebound (with Boozer a half-exception).  It's not novel or anything but I think there's a possibility Melo could play the Asik role a bit.

You make a valid point here. He has NBA Center size and fairly athletic who can come in and be a defensive presence. I won't mind Melo for the Clips pick at all.

[Celtics4ever]

I wouldn't mind taking a chance on Fab Melo with the Clippers' pick.  At least he's a legitimate 7 feet with bulk and strength who's also fairly mobile.  He's not a stiff at all.  I'd say he's a more fluid runner than Drummond for instance.  And he can shotblock.  His rebounds per minute weren't great for his size but the 2/3 zone might have depressed his rebounding potential.

I would mind, as he is vastly over rated.  7.8 PPG with all that ability you claim screams bad news to me.   His RPG are terrible as you note.  He is slow and raw.  He has size but is non-athletic, raw and a project. 

He got ate up in all the games with big players I saw.  Drummond for instance torched him and made him look invisible.  Drummond was 14 Points and 10 Rebounds on 7-10 shooting  against him and I remind you the Cuse plays zone.  The other game was even worse 17 Points and 14 Rebounds on 8-14 shooting and they were playing zone.  13 Points and 7 Rebounds in their last meeting.  All of these meetings he clearly outplayed Melo.  So when Melo plays guys as big as him he wilts despite the zone.  Yancy who is 6'9" ish scored 18 Points and 7 Rebounds against him and the zone.

I think we'd be better off with Stiesmsa than this dud.  I don't see how people get infatuated with him.  I guess this is how guys like Moiso get drafted too though.

[slamtheking]

I wouldn't mind taking a chance on Fab Melo with the Clippers' pick.  At least he's a legitimate 7 feet with bulk and strength who's also fairly mobile.  He's not a stiff at all.  I'd say he's a more fluid runner than Drummond for instance.  And he can shotblock.  His rebounds per minute weren't great for his size but the 2/3 zone might have depressed his rebounding potential.

I would mind, as he is vastly over rated.  7.8 PPG with all that ability you claim screams bad news to me.   His RPG are terrible as you note.  He is slow and raw.  He has size but is non-athletic, raw and a project.  

He got ate up in all the games with big players I saw.  Drummond for instance torched him and made him look invisible.  Drummond was 14 Points and 10 Rebounds on 7-10 shooting  against him and I remind you the Cuse plays zone.  The other game was even worse 17 Points and 14 Rebounds on 8-14 shooting and they were playing zone.  13 Points and 7 Rebounds in their last meeting.  All of these meetings he clearly outplayed Melo.  So when Melo plays guys as big as him he wilts despite the zone.  Yancy who is 6'9" ish scored 18 Points and 7 Rebounds against him and the zone.

I think we'd be better off with Stiesmsa than this dud.  I don't see how people get infatuated with him.  I guess this is how guys like Moiso get drafted too though.

have to agree with you here.  I would much, much rather have Moultrie than Melo, even if it means using the first of the first round picks to get him.  I wouldn't be surprised to see Melo slip to the second round.  If, by chance, he's there when we pick (or if Danny can move up or get an extra one somehow) I wouldn't mind taking a flyer on Melo in the second round since we'd have a much better prospect in the first round.  

[fairweatherfan]

He got ate up in all the games with big players I saw.  Drummond for instance torched him and made him look invisible.  Drummond was 14 Points and 10 Rebounds on 7-10 shooting  against him and I remind you the Cuse plays zone.  The other game was even worse 17 Points and 14 Rebounds on 8-14 shooting and they were playing zone.  13 Points and 7 Rebounds in their last meeting.  All of these meetings he clearly outplayed Melo.  So when Melo plays guys as big as him he wilts despite the zone.  Yancy who is 6'9" ish scored 18 Points and 7 Rebounds against him and the zone.

Playing a zone means that Melo wasn't guarding those guys a lot of the time - on dribble penetration or a postup from the 4, it was usually Melo on the ball.  That's how a lot of teams attack the zone - draw the big to the ball and then dive their center into position for the pass or the rebound.  Drummond had 18 offensive boards across the 3 games, and most of them were with Melo on the opposite side of the lane challenging the initial shot and an undersized 4 like CJ Fair trying to box him out.

I'm not really big on Melo in the pros but you can't take zone results and treat them like one-on-one matchups.

[Celtics4ever]

laying a zone means that Melo wasn't guarding those guys a lot of the time - on dribble penetration or a postup from the 4, it was usually Melo on the ball.  That's how a lot of teams attack the zone - draw the big to the ball and then dive their center into position for the pass or the rebound.  Drummond had 18 offensive boards across the 3 games, and most of them were with Melo on the opposite side of the lane challenging the initial shot and an undersized 4 like CJ Fair trying to box him out.

I'm not really big on Melo in the pros but you can't take zone results and treat them like one-on-one matchups.

Works both ways, bud,  yeah he wasn't guarding them all of the time but he had two other guys helping him.   C's usually post up in the C area of the zone and that was his area.   He is not that good.   I know he is a Big East guy and peeps like him because of that.   But he got ate by decent bigs and that should be a concern for you.

If he was that good would he fall that far in the draft.   He has stiff written all over him.  Other bigs are moving up in the draft but not Melo.

[fairweatherfan]

laying a zone means that Melo wasn't guarding those guys a lot of the time - on dribble penetration or a postup from the 4, it was usually Melo on the ball.  That's how a lot of teams attack the zone - draw the big to the ball and then dive their center into position for the pass or the rebound.  Drummond had 18 offensive boards across the 3 games, and most of them were with Melo on the opposite side of the lane challenging the initial shot and an undersized 4 like CJ Fair trying to box him out.

I'm not really big on Melo in the pros but you can't take zone results and treat them like one-on-one matchups.

Works both ways, bud,  yeah he wasn't guarding them all of the time but he had two other guys helping him.   C's usually post up in the C area of the zone and that was his area.   He is not that good.   I know he is a Big East guy and peeps like him because of that.   But he got ate by decent bigs and that should be a concern for you.

If he was that good would he fall that far in the draft.   He has stiff written all over him.  Other bigs are moving up in the draft but not Melo.

I'm not your bud, friend.  And I watched 90% of Syracuse's games this year, and every year, so I'm pretty sure I know how the zone works and how teams attack it.  This year, they had one legit big and a bunch of 3s masquerading as 4s on the back wings.  So, most smart coaches with experience against the zone, like Calhoun, drew Melo to the ball in the post and either dished to a big or threw it up and took advantage on the boards.  I could probably count the number of times Melo bodied up on Drummond defensively on one hand.  Drummond got his numbers on a lot of offensive boards and a few interior passes, not by overpowering Melo.

Either way, I'm not sure why I should be concerned, since I already said I'm not big on Melo and I don't want the Cs to draft him.  But playing zone full-time does screwy things to numbers, both for players and their opponents. 

[wiley]

Haven't been able to watch lately...but with Steamer's emergence, Wilcox returning and maybe one of Sean Williams Ryan Hollins sticking, plus Bass possibly, KG definitely returning in my book, JJJ getting stronger and maybe a medium to good level free agent big to replace any of the above, I feel we're suddenly not looking so desperate in the bigs department.

Danny would have to really love a big and think he's being undervalued by the rest of the world in order to take one where we're picking over some smaller guys who most likely have excellent potential down the road.  Wroten, Harkless, Fournier, Lamb, even Marquis Teague as a backup to Rondo....this group seems to have more potential than the Moultrie, Melo, Nichols, Ezeli group.

With all that, wouldn't mind giving Moultrie a shot if Danny wants to let a bunch of the above bigs move on (other than must-keep Steamer).

Here's my guess for next year's Celtics bigs:  KG, Steamer, Bass, Sean Williams, JJJ, with a free agent possibly supplanting one of the last 3 on that list. 

Forgot Wilcox, stick him in front of Sean Williams.