Chad Ford: "Wouldn't rule out C's drafting Ledo, Could be sleeper of draft"

[rondohondo]

Fernboy ((Arlington, VA))


Do you see Danny Ainge taking Ricky Ledo at 16? If he played this year, he would have been a lottery pick. He has the talent and the veteran core would be great for him. He could learn from PP and then take over for him, and even back up Rondo.
Chad Ford
  (1:23 PM)


I wouldn't rule it out. Several teams believe he is THE sleeper in this draft. A lethal scorer who would've been a lock for the lottery had he been eligible to play this year. The talent is clearly there. The issue is that he has a number of things in this off-the-court life that have teams running scared right now. But Ainge is the type that would roll the dice. The Celtics need talent and I could see Ledo doing what Lance Stephenson has done this year if he can get his life on track.

http://espn.go.com/sportsnation/chat/_/id/48097/nba-insider-chad-ford

I want Danny to take the highest upside guy on the board. If it is Ledo, I would be happy with the pick.

[indeedproceed]

I hate the idea, but like you trust Danny. If he believes Ledo is a legitimate steal and sleeper, go for it.

But Id rather he attempted to deal for an early 2nd

[PhoSita]

I'm all for looking for market inefficiencies.  Guys with lots of talent who are passed up because off-court stuff are one of them.

The problem is, off-court stuff can be meaningful, if it points to personality issues that could affect on-court stuff (e.g. chemistry with teammates, work ethic). 

But I trust Danny to make smart decisions about that sort of thing.

[ManUp]

I hate the idea, but like you trust Danny. If he believes Ledo is a legitimate steal and sleeper, go for it.

But Id rather he attempted to deal for an early 2nd

Bingo, at 16 I hate the pick, but late 1st/early second I like it.

[tarheelsxxiii]

Danny is a clown. Doubt he will draft a lottery talent at 16, in a bust of a draft, for that reason. But, he should. We need talent more than anything. We have a strong locker room, organization, etc. to bring up young men. He ought not to be stupid. Unfortunately, he will. And if this kid is as good as stated, he isn't lasting till the 2nd round.

But maybe he'll scoop up another Jajuan Johnson-type (e.g., a 6'10" outside shooter, with the body of a pre-teen girl, when we desperately need both bigs and talent) before Jimmy Butler, Chandler Parsons and Norris Cole are scooped up.

Edit: Wasn't Fab Melo incapable of reading? This is in no way different, minus the fact Ledo has serious upside, talent, and can walk straight.

Edit 2: What I loved most about that was he picked Melo prior to Sullinger. I appreciate the subtext, and can't wait to see what we become once our HOFers are gone, Rondo jumps ship, and we have no old friend (e.g, McHale) to rely upon. We're in good shape, fellas.

[WeMadeIt17]

I am just ready for the draft to get here already. Celtics have been linked to so many players now its scary.

[tarheelsxxiii]

I hate the idea, but like you trust Danny. If he believes Ledo is a legitimate steal and sleeper, go for it.

But Id rather he attempted to deal for an early 2nd

Bingo, at 16 I hate the pick, but late 1st/early second I like it.

Who do you want at 16? I can't think of a single contributor. I'd go as far as to say non-bust...

[ManUp]

I hate the idea, but like you trust Danny. If he believes Ledo is a legitimate steal and sleeper, go for it.

But Id rather he attempted to deal for an early 2nd

Bingo, at 16 I hate the pick, but late 1st/early second I like it.

Who do you want at 16? I can't think of a single contributor. I'd go as far as to say non-bust...

Caldwell-Pope (probably won't be there) or trade the pick. I really don't like this draft and would be willing to trade out into 2015 even.

[jdz101]

 6'6 providence guy with a handle like that....

count me as intrigued.

[sofutomygaha]

I hate the idea, but like you trust Danny. If he believes Ledo is a legitimate steal and sleeper, go for it.

But Id rather he attempted to deal for an early 2nd

Bingo, at 16 I hate the pick, but late 1st/early second I like it.

I agree with you completely on this.

[bfrombleacher]

ANOTHER guard

Always go for BPA for sure. But hopefully we don't keep all our guards.

[crimson_stallion]

If he has potential aas well as the ability to contribute some right away, then I'm happy with the pick. 

We get a guy on a cheap rookie contract, and the acquisition puts us in a position to send Lee and Crawford out in trades for a backup PG or Center.  This makes me happy because I don't those either of those guys has the right professional attitude for this team, and the only guards I want to see back here next season are Rondo, Terry, Bradley and T-Will. 

If there is a solid big then that's preferable, followed by a solid PG, but failing that I'm happy enough with this pick.   

[Eddie20]

Danny is a clown. Doubt he will draft a lottery talent at 16, in a bust of a draft, for that reason. But, he should. We need talent more than anything. We have a strong locker room, organization, etc. to bring up young men. He ought not to be stupid. Unfortunately, he will. And if this kid is as good as stated, he isn't lasting till the 2nd round.

But maybe he'll scoop up another Jajuan Johnson-type (e.g., a 6'10" outside shooter, with the body of a pre-teen girl, when we desperately need both bigs and talent) before Jimmy Butler, Chandler Parsons and Norris Cole are scooped up.

Edit: Wasn't Fab Melo incapable of reading? This is in no way different, minus the fact Ledo has serious upside, talent, and can walk straight.

Edit 2: What I loved most about that was he picked Melo prior to Sullinger. I appreciate the subtext, and can't wait to see what we become once our HOFers are gone, Rondo jumps ship, and we have no old friend (e.g, McHale) to rely upon. We're in good shape, fellas.

By the numbers...

Danny is a "clown"? Yet he has a great track record for acquiring talent with picks outside the top 10.

Many GM's missed on Butler and Parsons, not just Ainge. Norris Cole will turn 25 in a couple of months so there were always questions about his long term upside. 

A lot of people were actually very high on Johnson's potential following the draft and felt the only thing he needed was adding bulk. However, let's not act as though he was a top 5 pick. The guy was the 27th pick in the draft.

Who said Melo was incapable of reading? The guy is Brazilian and undoubtedly had trouble making the adjustment to academics/learning a new language. However, I'd wonder how well you'd pick up Portuguese and do academically in a Brazilian university after only being in the country for about 3 years. Perhaps Brazilians would think you too were "incapable of reading".

Sullinger was picked one spot ahead of Melo, not the other way around as you suggested.

[CFAN38]

From what Ive read on Ledo he seems like a worth while project. He has great SG size and a PG handle. His ability to score in isolation already would set him apart from the Cs current guards.

However I would hope that DA trades down a few picks for him and

[nickagneta]

Danny took a shot at a guy like Ledo before. Lottery level talent, but off court stuff(intelligence and work ethic) made him awful. That player is Gerald Green.

I doubt Danny gets burnt twice on such a similar type situation. Talent and great measurements are not everything. Sometimes its the other stuff that is more important.