11.9% chance of winning the draft lottery as of today

[Donoghus]

It doesnt drop significantly. Parker and smart are considered similar talents

I'd disagree with that.

[Tr1boy]

The top 6 then there is a drop off

Embiid
Wiggins
Parker
Smart
Exum
Randle

And parker is the worse defender right now out of the 6

[fairweatherfan]

It doesnt drop significantly. Parker and smart are considered similar talents

Even if I agreed (I don't), that trade would probably require moving Rondo, and good luck getting a good offer if other teams know we have to move him.  Not a fan of major trades that require follow-up major trades to fit into place.  And again I'd rather have Parker regardless.

[Tr1boy]

The love for parker is incredible to see. Defense is a bigger factor in winning championships not all out offense.

If we drafted parker and wanted offense I would trade him for someone like him later (kyle anderson) and get some extra on top of that

[Tr1boy]

I would like to see someone tell me why parker is alot better than anderson.

[BleedGreen1989]

The percentage to land a Top 3 pick would be where my real interest lies.

That's what I am interested in as well.

I think there has been a clear separation of talent from Wiggins, Embiid and Parker and the rest of the field. 1-3 is all I care about as I am not too excited over the prospects of landing Randle(we already have a young PF), Exum, Smart(we already have a PG that can pass lights out, rebound and can't shoot) or Gordon(IMHO, the biggest chance of a total bust in the top 10 players).

If we don't end up in the top 3 I hope Danny trades the pick.

I agree with the above and mostly the bolded part.

Similar to 2007, I think the draft lottery may dictate the direction Ainge goes.

If the pick falls in the top-3, I could see Ainge being more palpable to moving Rondo and deciding to build around Parker/Wiggins/Embiid.

If the pick falls out of the top-3, I believe (or hope) Ainge trades it and decides to build around Rondo and the acquired star.

[Donoghus]

The love for parker is incredible to see. Defense is a bigger factor in winning championships not all out offense.

If we drafted parker and wanted offense I would trade him for someone like him later (kyle anderson) and get some extra on top of that

This team needs a scorer...bad.  There is clearly a scoring deficiency right now.  Parker would fill a HUGE void in that aspect not to mention that players in the mold of Pierce & Melo don't come along every draft.  Parker fits that mold, IMO.  He can create his own shot which is sorely lacking.

Defense be [dang]ed at the moment.  I'm fine with the Celtics compensating in different ways and I think its way too early to consider a bust on the pro level defensively.

[BigAlTheFuture]

I would like to see someone tell me why parker is alot better than anderson.

Who is Anderson?

[PhoSita]

The percentage to land a Top 3 pick would be where my real interest lies.

That's what I am interested in as well.

I think there has been a clear separation of talent from Wiggins, Embiid and Parker and the rest of the field. 1-3 is all I care about as I am not too excited over the prospects of landing Randle(we already have a young PF), Exum, Smart(we already have a PG that can pass lights out, rebound and can't shoot) or Gordon(IMHO, the biggest chance of a total bust in the top 10 players).

If we don't end up in the top 3 I hope Danny trades the pick.

I agree with the above and mostly the bolded part.

Similar to 2007, I think the draft lottery may dictate the direction Ainge goes.

If the pick falls in the top-3, I could see Ainge being more palpable to moving Rondo and deciding to build around Parker/Wiggins/Embiid.

If the pick falls out of the top-3, I believe (or hope) Ainge trades it and decides to build around Rondo and the acquired star.

See, I'm just not convinced that there are going to be really good stars available by the time of the draft. 

I would be unhappy if Ainge traded a top 5 pick in this draft to acquire anything less than a perennial All-Star and potential MVP candidate.

Maybe Melo will be available in a S+T kind of situation, but I'm skeptical. 

[fantankerous]

The love for parker is incredible to see. Defense is a bigger factor in winning championships not all out offense.

If we drafted parker and wanted offense I would trade him for someone like him later (kyle anderson) and get some extra on top of that

Boy am I glad you don't work in the front office.

[PhoSita]

The love for parker is incredible to see. Defense is a bigger factor in winning championships not all out offense.

If we drafted parker and wanted offense I would trade him for someone like him later (kyle anderson) and get some extra on top of that

This team needs a scorer...bad.  There is clearly a scoring deficiency right now.  Parker would fill a HUGE void in that aspect not to mention that players in the mold of Pierce & Melo don't come along every draft.  Parker fits that mold, IMO.  He can create his own shot which is sorely lacking.

Defense be [dang]ed at the moment.  I'm fine with the Celtics compensating in different ways and I think its way too early to consider a bust on the pro level defensively.

In this league, it's much harder to find elite volume scorers than it is to find solid defenders.

Focus on getting an unguardable scorer (or two) first, and then surround them with defensive role players.

Other than maybe Embiid, it's not like there are guys available in this draft (or via trade) that are dominant on the defensive end, anyhow.

[nickagneta]

While Parker isn't playing the greatest defense in college, he does have the tools to be a very good defender. He has excellent footwork and his lateral movement is very good. He also has elite initial burst forward to close out on people. Physically, he's 6'8", solid and strong with a 7 foot reach means that with work, he should be a very good defender in the right system and with the right coaching.

[Fafnir]

While Parker isn't playing the greatest defense in college, he does have the tools to be a very good defender. He has excellent footwork and his lateral movement is very good. He also has elite initial burst forward to close out on people. Physically, he's 6'8", solid and strong with a 7 foot reach means that with work, he should be a very good defender in the right system and with the right coaching.

He looks awful for Duke, but they're most playing him at PF and C. He's clearly lost playing as a "Big" on defense. Doesn't handle post ups or defending the pick and roll well.

[PhoSita]

While Parker isn't playing the greatest defense in college, he does have the tools to be a very good defender. He has excellent footwork and his lateral movement is very good. He also has elite initial burst forward to close out on people. Physically, he's 6'8", solid and strong with a 7 foot reach means that with work, he should be a very good defender in the right system and with the right coaching.

Yeah.  It's not like Pierce was an amazing defender early in his career.

[BleedGreen1989]

The percentage to land a Top 3 pick would be where my real interest lies.

That's what I am interested in as well.

I think there has been a clear separation of talent from Wiggins, Embiid and Parker and the rest of the field. 1-3 is all I care about as I am not too excited over the prospects of landing Randle(we already have a young PF), Exum, Smart(we already have a PG that can pass lights out, rebound and can't shoot) or Gordon(IMHO, the biggest chance of a total bust in the top 10 players).

If we don't end up in the top 3 I hope Danny trades the pick.

I agree with the above and mostly the bolded part.

Similar to 2007, I think the draft lottery may dictate the direction Ainge goes.

If the pick falls in the top-3, I could see Ainge being more palpable to moving Rondo and deciding to build around Parker/Wiggins/Embiid.

If the pick falls out of the top-3, I believe (or hope) Ainge trades it and decides to build around Rondo and the acquired star.

See, I'm just not convinced that there are going to be really good stars available by the time of the draft. 

I would be unhappy if Ainge traded a top 5 pick in this draft to acquire anything less than a perennial All-Star and potential MVP candidate.

Maybe Melo will be available in a S+T kind of situation, but I'm skeptical.

Yeah, it's nearly impossible to tell who would be available but names like Love or Melo are always mentioned.

I'm just not very high on guys outside the top-3.

That being said, I wanted Shabazz Muhammed this year so my draft scouting is about as accurate as Chris Broussard's "rumors".