Somebody sell me on Steven Adams...

[BleedGreen1989]

Been so back and forth in this kid. Can't seem to get an opinion. One video I watch and the potential flashes. Another video he looks like a kid from "Dazed and Confused".

Are there any fair comparisons? Omar Asik? Nikola Vucevic? Andre Drummond?

I know there are Steven Adams lovers out there!

[lantinm]

Been so back and forth in this kid. Can't seem to get an opinion. One video I watch and the potential flashes. Another video he looks like a kid from "Dazed and Confused".

Are there any fair comparisons? Omar Asik? Nikola Vucevic? Andre Drummond?

I know there are Steven Adams lovers out there!

I'm not one of them.  Shabazz or bust!   Seriously though, there's NO way Danny is going to keep two long-term projects at Center on this roster.  I think he'd take Plumlee, Dieng, or Withey over Adams.

[Celtics18]

I'll give it a go.

http://www.draftexpress.com/profile/Steven-Adams-6301/

I'm sure you've seen his draft profile, but, believe it or not, the two numbers that jump out at me (in combination with the videos I've watched on this kid) and make me want Danny to draft him are 255 and 6.7.  The thing about 19 year old seven footers is there aren't a whole lot of them who are 250 lbs. of pure muscle with decent speed and athleticism to go along with it. 

How often to you hear or read the quote, "he's a great prospect, but he's just got to fill out his frame and get stronger"?  Steven Adams' frame is already filled out.  That doesn't mean he's a sure fire prospect.  He's still got a lot of work to do on his game, but his physical capabilities should give him a chance to get minutes early in his career. 

Couple his physical profile with the fact that he seems to recognize that his ability to be a defensive presence and rebounder is what the success of his NBA career will rely on, and I say he's well worth a shot.

Scal made the Omer Asik comparison.  I think it's a good one.   

[Monkhouse]

I don't like Steven Adams, but you can't deny the potential greatness he has.

Nice frame, 250 pounds and probably more by now, and the fact his stock is rising due to how well he's been playing and working out.

I don't see the Celtics drafting him if Fab is still here. If Fab is still here, I see us drafting a shooting guard or Center that is proven ready like Dieng, or Whitey.

[PhoSita]

Whitey.

I just want to say, I love the Freudian slip that I keep seeing when people type Jeff Whithey's name.

Jeff Whitey.  Haha.

[ianboyextreme]

I would say Andre Drummond is a fair recent comparison.

He has a good motor and runs the floor VERY well. He has the kind of attitude where I dont think hes particularly intimidated by many situations mostly because I dont think he takes the game all that seriously. Kind of like Shaq's demeanor. I think he likes playing and it also helps him help his family. That is not always a bad thing as long as there are other people on the team (rondo, Bradley) who do take it very seriously. Kevin Mchale had a similar attitude.

He has the size and athleticism/ coordination that make the team better when he is on the floor for the simple fact that if you are big, tall, and can jump, you produce easy baskets.

Not a great rebounder but solid. I think he has the most potential in his offense. He has the natural gifts to become a serious scorer.

I think his worst case scenario is busting out of the league. His best case scenario is being a go to offensive center who can hedge the pick and roll and block shots.

[ianboyextreme]

Its hard to gague him because he is a high potential player. I diddnt think Andre Drummond would have any effect last year but he did. I hope that if we draft him, he would have a similar effect.

[Boris Badenov]

Whitey.

I just want to say, I love the Freudian slip that I keep seeing when people type Jeff Whithey's name.

Jeff Whitey.  Haha.

I'm starting to feel like Ol'Whitey is such a punching bag that he's verging on underrated. I'm seeing mocks that have him in the second round.

[Monkhouse]

Whitey.

I just want to say, I love the Freudian slip that I keep seeing when people type Jeff Whithey's name.

Jeff Whitey.  Haha.

Ha meant to type Withey. Lol, I keep doing that!

[Evantime34]

Been so back and forth in this kid. Can't seem to get an opinion. One video I watch and the potential flashes. Another video he looks like a kid from "Dazed and Confused".

Are there any fair comparisons? Omar Asik? Nikola Vucevic? Andre Drummond?

I know there are Steven Adams lovers out there!

He has the size and athleticism to be every bit the defender Perk was in our system. He plays good post defense, hedges well on pick and rolls and boxes out well.

In contrast to Perk, he has already shown an improving jump shot and doesn't take ten years to gather and go up for a dunk.

He is pretty quick and can run the floor and be a recipient of fast break buckets. I think his ceiling is Omer Asik with an offensive game, but realistically I see him being Asik but a slightly worse defender/rebounder and a much better offensive player.

[Yoki_IsTheName]

Everyone is talking about his NBA ready size and mobility and how he's 19 and has a ton upside. But I will try to sell you on one skill that everyone probably has not seen.

Im sure you have seen this Draftexpress scouting video but I'll put it in anyway. But I want you to look at a particular skill and not the entire clip. Let's forget about how he's raw offensively but he has upside, let's toss that aside for a minute and look at a part of this clip.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mmdpZD61dUw

Under his "Defensive Potential" strength, watch at the 4:13 mark.

He may be raw, but that foot speed and footwork CANNOT be taught. His mobility to hard show screens, preventing guards to drive to the lane at the same time recovering pretty effectively is my selling point. While Dieng can do that as well, Adams has room to grow, and his pick and roll defense is NBA ready.

Remember how Felton killed us on PnR, yeah? If we can develop Adams' already good defense, we won't have to worry about pick and roll's in the near future.

That and his potential to be a starting level Center is what I'm trying to sell you.

[Jeff]

he's like Melo, only better! LOL

[Jeff]

seriously though, here's something

Chad Ford's roundtable asked who had the most upside but required the most "polish" and 2 of the 5 Insiders picked him

Elhassan: Steven Adams. He comes from an athletic background (his sister is an Olympic gold medalist in the shot put and one of his brothers played pro ball with Pitt coach Jamie Dixon), and he's lived a tough life. His basketball IQ is underdeveloped, but he's got a chance to be something special if it all comes together.
Telep: Steven Adams. Nerlens Noel once said Adams was the toughest guy he guarded. Adams never unpacked his bags at Pitt, and his game was more down than up. He's physically on the high end. Way more prospect than player, his game required more reps and seasoning.

[Tr1boy]

a hs Noel would of said a hs adams would be tough.  Prob any hs centers would

Bc the thing is Adams has had the height and strength even from his high school days. The problem is that he hasn't really evolved from there. Like almost everyone has said, he really needed to stay at least one more year in college.

When you watch some videos of him (you can even tell from the Draftexpress video) , he demands frequent touches of the ball on the offensive end.  But the thing is, he doesn't have the skill to warrant these many touches. Back to the basket game is weak, passing is only avg, jumper is inconsistent. He doesn't have a faceup game and mainly likes to use his right hand. 

See this is a part of his game, i'm not too fond of. I mean, i like the enthusiasm but i don't like that he doesn't know his limits. Its not only sort of selfish but not good for your team. In the nba if he leaves the back to the basket game for a bit , or at least until he can develop, plus just do all the other things to help a team win, he could still be effective.  Again i just don't know if he can handle a simple task.

So for me, i can't sell you Adams. Not right now anyways

[Galeto]

When you watch some videos of him (you can even tell from the Draftexpress video) , he demands frequent touches of the ball on the offensive end.

How you can possibly tell that from highlights or non-full game video?  You can absolutely not tell from the draftexpress video how frequently he demands touches because they're just cutups.  If you just went by the draftexpress video, it'd look like he demanded a touch 100 percent of the time.  I've seen a bunch of his games.  He definitely did not demand frequent touches/shots nor did he get them. 

Adams is very tantalizing on paper and if he doesn't bust, he could be a big defensive presence on a very good Celtics team in four or five seasons.  On the downside, he could be another Mozgov.