Can Pressey be a starter in the NBA?

[slamtheking]

almost anyone can be a starter -- the quality of the team shows whether they should be a starter though.

I'd be happy if Pressey improved his play enough to become a solid backup PG to Rondo.  that's plenty for him to strive for.

[cman88]

for a bad team like the celtics are right now maybe....but the kid looks like a legit NBA player who could back up rondo long term

and thats more than you can ask for from an undrafted rookie

[2short]

if he can hit the outside shot consistently he can play in the nba (if that happens I'd like him as backup)
the nba is so water down now that if he did develop the outside shot he maybe could start somewhere in league

[Bankshot]

Love me some Pressey.  Doesn't hurt that he's cute too.

[Monkhouse]

Love me some Pressey.  Doesn't hurt that he's cute too.

Me too! Looks exactly like his dad 

[Tr1boy]

Pressey has elite quickness, high iq, strong defense and nice passing skills. Just only these things makes him a quality backup.

We have seen also he can handle stress of a close game a d If he can hit the open jump shot imo that propels him to be a potential starter in the nba.

[manl_lui]

If he plays like he did tonight, absolutely.

However, that's just not sustainable.  I think his upside is a career rotation player, which wouldn't be bad at all.

being undrafted and producing like he did - I see some JJ Barea in him. If he can be more consistent, I see him as a great backup to Rondo.

He will be out of the league the second when the Celtics decide they want to actually compete for something. The nifty passes are nifty, but on the balance, he hasn't looked like an NBA player to me.

and when is that going to be? next year? or the year after? Even if we do not keep him, the way he is playing and if he keep improving, I don't see how he will not end up in other teams. Look at Stiemsma, nobody knew him before we got him fromt he D-League, then he hopped to the Wolves then the Pelicans. We'll see how well he plays for the rest of the season, and as most people already said, he's cheap.

[SHAQATTACK]

Great effort and impact for the the money spent .

[kozlodoev]

If he plays like he did tonight, absolutely.

However, that's just not sustainable.  I think his upside is a career rotation player, which wouldn't be bad at all.

being undrafted and producing like he did - I see some JJ Barea in him. If he can be more consistent, I see him as a great backup to Rondo.

He will be out of the league the second when the Celtics decide they want to actually compete for something. The nifty passes are nifty, but on the balance, he hasn't looked like an NBA player to me.

and when is that going to be? next year? or the year after? Even if we do not keep him, the way he is playing and if he keep improving, I don't see how he will not end up in other teams. Look at Stiemsma, nobody knew him before we got him fromt he D-League, then he hopped to the Wolves then the Pelicans. We'll see how well he plays for the rest of the season, and as most people already said, he's cheap.

The league has very little use for small guards who have neither great speed/quickness nor great shooting ability. That has nothing to do with who knew him and who didn't, it has everything to do with what he gives a team on the court. Sorry, but that's just the way it is.

[fairweatherfan]

I saw a lot of Missouri games last year and I'm honestly astonished Pressey has been able to stick on a roster so far, even one that goes through guards like we have.  He looked pretty lousy for the most part in those college games, and of course he's really small to boot.

So I'm not expecting much more from Pressey in the long run.  Gabe Pruitt got some minutes and made some plays too, for a while.  But I'm always happy to be wrong about Celtics 

[hwangjini_1]

echoing the points above about pressey's shooting and height, i am not convinced, yet, that pressey is either able to make the roster of a good team, or, even the nba after this season. i said yet....

one of the virtues of this season is that ainge and stevens can roll the dice and give players such as pressey, olly, and johnson some real minutes. let's see what they can do. since patience is a virtue, this may be one of the few times cb can be virtuous. 

this season, the celtics are losing games regardless of whether the kids play, so why not play the kids and see if ainge bought a winning lottery ticket?

let's revisit this question at the end of the season. that may provide a better gauge of pressey's abilities.

[Bankshot]

I saw a lot of Missouri games last year and I'm honestly astonished Pressey has been able to stick on a roster so far, even one that goes through guards like we have.  He looked pretty lousy for the most part in those college games, and of course he's really small to boot.

So I'm not expecting much more from Pressey in the long run.  Gabe Pruitt got some minutes and made some plays too, for a while.  But I'm always happy to be wrong about Celtics 

Maybe you didn't see as many games as Ainge?  Ainge obviously saw something in the kid that you didn't.

[krumeto]

If he plays like he did tonight, absolutely.

However, that's just not sustainable.  I think his upside is a career rotation player, which wouldn't be bad at all.

being undrafted and producing like he did - I see some JJ Barea in him. If he can be more consistent, I see him as a great backup to Rondo.

He will be out of the league the second when the Celtics decide they want to actually compete for something. The nifty passes are nifty, but on the balance, he hasn't looked like an NBA player to me.

and when is that going to be? next year? or the year after? Even if we do not keep him, the way he is playing and if he keep improving, I don't see how he will not end up in other teams. Look at Stiemsma, nobody knew him before we got him fromt he D-League, then he hopped to the Wolves then the Pelicans. We'll see how well he plays for the rest of the season, and as most people already said, he's cheap.

The league has very little use for small guards who have neither great speed/quickness nor great shooting ability. That has nothing to do with who knew him and who didn't, it has everything to do with what he gives a team on the court. Sorry, but that's just the way it is.

It is indeed a hard life for small guards in the league but some survived. JJ Barea comes as an example - 36% FG, 29% 3P%, under 1 APG, 2,4 PPG on under 6 min in his rookie year on a very strong Dallas team. Not looking very good.

Dallas left him on the roster and the guy went on to become a capable back-up on a championship team. Looking at his rookie year numbers he was neither a great shooter nor he was or is faster than Pressey.

JJ was sent to the D-League for a while, but that's the "beauty" of this Celtics team. We basically have a D-year.

[ScubaSteve]

If Pressey continues to improve his shooting I don't see any reason why he can't be on the same level as Isaiah Thomas of the Kings. They are both very undersized but have great court vision and are solid perimeter defenders. Obviously Thomas' 3-point shooting was way better than Pressey's when he entered the league, but shooting is arguably the easiest skill to improve over an offseason.

[kozlodoev]

If he plays like he did tonight, absolutely.

However, that's just not sustainable.  I think his upside is a career rotation player, which wouldn't be bad at all.

being undrafted and producing like he did - I see some JJ Barea in him. If he can be more consistent, I see him as a great backup to Rondo.

He will be out of the league the second when the Celtics decide they want to actually compete for something. The nifty passes are nifty, but on the balance, he hasn't looked like an NBA player to me.

and when is that going to be? next year? or the year after? Even if we do not keep him, the way he is playing and if he keep improving, I don't see how he will not end up in other teams. Look at Stiemsma, nobody knew him before we got him fromt he D-League, then he hopped to the Wolves then the Pelicans. We'll see how well he plays for the rest of the season, and as most people already said, he's cheap.

The league has very little use for small guards who have neither great speed/quickness nor great shooting ability. That has nothing to do with who knew him and who didn't, it has everything to do with what he gives a team on the court. Sorry, but that's just the way it is.

It is indeed a hard life for small guards in the league but some survived. JJ Barea comes as an example - 36% FG, 29% 3P%, under 1 APG, 2,4 PPG on under 6 min in his rookie year on a very strong Dallas team. Not looking very good.

Dallas left him on the roster and the guy went on to become a capable back-up on a championship team. Looking at his rookie year numbers he was neither a great shooter nor he was or is faster than Pressey.

JJ was sent to the D-League for a while, but that's the "beauty" of this Celtics team. We basically have a D-year.

As you've indicated, Barea barely got any playing time in his rookie year. Pressey has, and I just don't see it in what he's shown. He has all the signs of waiver wire fodder.