I'm having a hard time forgiving Danny for not taking Giannis Antetokounmpo

[vinnie]

Olynyk's stock in rookie ratings has been dropping fast as of late and right now his positioning amongst an awful draft class is somewhere just below where he was chosen. Given the quality of the draft class, that is not good.

I could care less about how high a pro basketball players BBIQ is if he doesn't have the talent, skill and physical attributes to be a professional basketball player. I really believe that will be the case for Olynyk and Pressey. Next year should be the last in the NBA for both of them, they are that bad.

But I am not sure anyone needs to be mad at Danny Ainge for selecting Olynyk. This year was a crap shoot of a draft straight from pick #1. It was the worst draft class in a decade or more. Think about all the what ifs people in Cleveland are having right now!!!!

But, but, but....he was a phenom in the summer league. Good basketball IQ should keep him in the league for a half-dozen years.

[obnoxiousmime]

I can't really bash Ainge for not being perfect. A lot of teams passed on Antetokounmpo, not just him. Overall, I'd say his draft record is still above average, especially considering he's almost exclusively picked in the teens and 20s.

You really put your team in a bind if you start missing two years in a row though, especially now that we're rebuilding (I won't get into the lean years where Ainge insisted not having many picks was OK because we were a contender and didn't have the roster spots for guys who didn't play).

Imagine if they missed on the Sullinger draft. The team would have no desirable young assets to speak of. Bradley and Crawford are already 4th year guys and are due raises, lowering their value.

Needless to say, the 2014 draft is even more critical now due to Olynyk being disappointing. Antetokounmpo would have given them an asset with Al Jefferson-level value.

[Tr1boy]

Forgive him bc giannis has ways to go. He cant shoot unless wide open and is not effective and without the ball. His defense is also a question. When he gets moving he can cover alot of ground but the initial burst is not there

[jambr380]

I can't really bash Ainge for not being perfect. A lot of teams passed on Antetokounmpo, not just him. Overall, I'd say his draft record is still above average, especially considering he's almost exclusively picked in the teens and 20s.

You really put your team in a bind if you start missing two years in a row though, especially now that we're rebuilding (I won't get into the lean years where Ainge insisted not having many picks was OK because we were a contender and didn't have the roster spots for guys who didn't play).

Imagine if they missed on the Sullinger draft. The team would have no desirable young assets to speak of. Bradley and Crawford are already 4th year guys and are due raises, lowering their value.

Needless to say, the 2014 draft is even more critical now due to Olynyk being disappointing. Antetokounmpo would have given them an asset with Al Jefferson-level value.

I guess if forced to choose, I would go with Giannis over Olynyk (but not by a lot).

In no way, shape, or form does Giannis have anywhere near the value that Big Al did. Big Al had value somewhere between Greg Monroe and Demarcus Cousins - Giannis is in Iman Shumpert territory...maybe.

[indeedproceed]

Giannis could be really special. So could John Henson. But both guys are turning in their awesome stat lines (well, sporadic highlight plays in Giannis's case) for the worst team in basketball.

If I could choose between anyone taken in the 2013 draft and the 20th pick in the 2014 draft, I'm taking the 20th pick over everyone but Oladipo and MCW.

[fitzhickey]

Giannis will be awesome, and I would of much preferred him to KO. He is so versatile and is still growing, the guy could be a 7ft tall SF. He oozes potential.

[obnoxiousmime]

I can't really bash Ainge for not being perfect. A lot of teams passed on Antetokounmpo, not just him. Overall, I'd say his draft record is still above average, especially considering he's almost exclusively picked in the teens and 20s.

You really put your team in a bind if you start missing two years in a row though, especially now that we're rebuilding (I won't get into the lean years where Ainge insisted not having many picks was OK because we were a contender and didn't have the roster spots for guys who didn't play).

Imagine if they missed on the Sullinger draft. The team would have no desirable young assets to speak of. Bradley and Crawford are already 4th year guys and are due raises, lowering their value.

Needless to say, the 2014 draft is even more critical now due to Olynyk being disappointing. Antetokounmpo would have given them an asset with Al Jefferson-level value.

I guess if forced to choose, I would go with Giannis over Olynyk (but not by a lot).

In no way, shape, or form does Giannis have anywhere near the value that Big Al did. Big Al had value somewhere between Greg Monroe and Demarcus Cousins - Giannis is in Iman Shumpert territory...maybe.

Giannis has way more value than Shumpert, come on.

I'll grant that it's not a perfect comparison, but I needed a parallel that Celtics fans would be more familiar with. Remember, Jefferson was dealt after a few years of development. We don't know what Giannis will be like in a couple years.

I think Monroe is a good comp in terms of value. Cousins is way above those two but his attitude lowers his value a bit.

[slamtheking]

a bit early to give up on KO but admittedly I'm a bit disappointed he's become so gunshy and when he does shoot, he's usually way off.  I still hope he can put it together because he's shown good hands, good passing and can finish around the basket.

[aporel#18]

I think Ainge did a good job drafting Kelly. Let the kid grow, he'll be useful either as a trade piece or a 6th man point center. His scoring has been terrible so far, but he knows where to be on the court, and he's really good setting his teammates up. He's going to be a good offensive player.

His defense is something I'm not so sure of. He's a smart player, and should pick up team defense, but his one on one skills are not so great.

I'm not the biggest Kevin Love fan, but if Kelly and Sully work on his game and bodies as hard as Love has done, they'll be a lot better. If they think they're good as is, their careers won't be too brilliant.

[Moranis]

Olynyk was a terrible pick because he will never be better than Sullinger at anything (except maybe foul shooting) and he can't play any other position.  Sullinger is younger to boot.  It was a terrible selection then and has shown to be an even worse selection now that Giannis has shown to be so good so early. 

[oldtype]

The pick looks bad at the moment because Giannis has progressed faster than expected and Olynyk has progressed slower than expected. Give it time. There's no telling how prospects will turn out eventually.

[obnoxiousmime]

I think the reason Olynyk was taken despite his athletic limitations is basketball IQ. Ainge wants smart players who can shoot and pass because those qualities are becoming more important.

Giannis being a project has an unknown basketball IQ but his "sexy" qualities like measurables and athleticism are off the charts.

This is a good read about evolving offenses against Thibodeau-style Ds:
http://www.grantland.com/story/_/id/9149381/packing-paint-nba-defensive-strategy-forcing-coaches-rethink-their-offense

Here is a passage from that article:

• Shooting. The cat is out of the bag on this one. Players who can't shoot will find it harder and harder to get minutes, unless they bring an elite brand of defense or some other rarely found skill. There are lots of reasons that coaches place greater emphasis on shooting and spacing now, the simplest one being that three is greater than two. But those Thibodeau-style defenses are near the top of the list. Defenders can't stray quite as far off of knockdown shooters, or they might be afraid to do so, even when a team's defensive scheme suggests they should.

"Players are sometimes afraid to leave their own guy," says Micah Nori, a longtime assistant with the Raptors.

• Passing. This is the one that came up over and over in conversations with coaches and executives. Passing is obviously a good thing, and always has been. But the people running teams increasingly value above-average passing at every position, and express a deeper distaste for players — again, at any position — who are either unwilling passers or just don't show a sophisticated understanding of passing, timing, angles, and reading layers of defense. "Passing is just becoming so, so important," Boylan says. "If you want to be a good offensive team, you have to have good passers."

[SHAQATTACK]

So far I'm pleased with Kelly.

He had turf toe after the summer games,  and the  sprained ankle .   He is a green rookie with a green rookie coach all new team mates.

Sully didn't set the world afire. The first half of his rookie season ....plus Sully had more mentors to work with .people said he'd never score a point against the best bigs ....but he has....done well for a 21 year old I think.


I think it's a bit WAY too early to predict Kelly fixture with any accuracy ..........

I think he is going to be a great player one day .


Kelly needs to get healthy and his confidence in his shot will come .....it's a huge challenge .


All this said.....I admitt I was surprised DA didn't go with Giannis. After all the fuss he made over him.

I think one day Kelly will be a valuable big ....I hope he stays.

[tarheelsxxiii]

Know nothing about Giannis... but gut intuition from watching Kelly at Gonzaga, watching him on TV as a Celtic, and seeing him live as a Celtic... He's trash. Would flourish in Europe. Not made for NBA - he is/will be exactly what I expected. Thanks, Danny.

[twistedrico14]

Wow I can't believe someone called KO "trash". I think the guy is going to be a very good NBA player for many years.  He has great basketball instincts and can do a little bit of everything including score.  Excellent pick by Danny.