If not Embiid, will Danny draft Vonleh based on needs?

[Tr1boy]

I think he should. If Vonleh will indeed have a Chris Bosh potential, you don't want to miss that.

But you dont want to play him at Center. If we are drafting a PF, we have to use the other pick and out other young PF's (KO, Sully) or Bass and move it for a Center (Asik is of course THE target) or move up to draft one (Nurkic).

I disagree.  I think he will be better suited to defend the center position. His quickness is very good for a center but only mediocre for a pf. A little quicker than KO but not Ibaka quick.  If he had to guard Ibaka/Griffin imo he would be in trouble.  Now you have him guard Perkins or Asik, you stand a better chance.

The way he operates on the offensive end is more like a center also.  You are not seeing him blazing to the basket for emphatic dunks.  Or running hard/fluid in transition.  Imo vonleh screams center. He is like a Bosh you see today (not the peak explosive version).  A Bosh version of today for the next 10 years without his performance dropping. Imo thats a still a pretty decent player

He's not even good enough to play defensively, period. Slow rotations on pick and rolls, not challenging jumpers, and now you want to add extra pressure on him by putting him against the biggest dudes in the league? His only 6'9" 1/2 in shoes (per ESPN NBA Draft Combine), Pekovic is going to eat this boy alive. Brook Lopez will have a field day on him. Heck, I think Andrew Bogut will have a haul against him. Him as a PF, he'll have the size and enough athletic ability to atleast have a chance. Against 7 footers, ugh, I'd rather keep Sully and draft someone else instead.

BTW, even the best PF's have a hard time guarding Blake Griffin. Lets not use him as a measurement of as to how a PF will do well in the NBA.

Why would Bogut, Pekovic eat him alive?  Do these guys man handle Bosh or KG (last year version)?

Also his PnR defense is decent. Like KO he will get better once he learns the system/adapts to nba speed. Challenging jump shots is a minor problem that can be easily fixed

Because he's undersized. He's going to give up so much effort just to try and take a rebound against these guys. Bosh is 6'11 1/2 in shoes, 2 inches taller than Vonleh. You're about measurements, that 2 inches makes a difference.

yeah but Bosh is also like 235 pounds. KG the same. 235-240.  Vonleh will be 255 by the end of the summer.   He has a strong lower body and not easily pushed around

I do agree 2 inches makes a difference but he has a long wingspan and 9'0 reach to help him out

IF KO (7 ft tall) was 260 you think he could defend Bogut/Pekovic any better than Vonleh?  No way. I bet Vonleh would do a better job containing them in the defensive end even if he is only 6'9.5.  Measurements count but not compared to everything else

[Yoki_IsTheName]

I think he should. If Vonleh will indeed have a Chris Bosh potential, you don't want to miss that.

But you dont want to play him at Center. If we are drafting a PF, we have to use the other pick and out other young PF's (KO, Sully) or Bass and move it for a Center (Asik is of course THE target) or move up to draft one (Nurkic).

I disagree.  I think he will be better suited to defend the center position. His quickness is very good for a center but only mediocre for a pf. A little quicker than KO but not Ibaka quick.  If he had to guard Ibaka/Griffin imo he would be in trouble.  Now you have him guard Perkins or Asik, you stand a better chance.

The way he operates on the offensive end is more like a center also.  You are not seeing him blazing to the basket for emphatic dunks.  Or running hard/fluid in transition.  Imo vonleh screams center. He is like a Bosh you see today (not the peak explosive version).  A Bosh version of today for the next 10 years without his performance dropping. Imo thats a still a pretty decent player

He's not even good enough to play defensively, period. Slow rotations on pick and rolls, not challenging jumpers, and now you want to add extra pressure on him by putting him against the biggest dudes in the league? His only 6'9" 1/2 in shoes (per ESPN NBA Draft Combine), Pekovic is going to eat this boy alive. Brook Lopez will have a field day on him. Heck, I think Andrew Bogut will have a haul against him. Him as a PF, he'll have the size and enough athletic ability to atleast have a chance. Against 7 footers, ugh, I'd rather keep Sully and draft someone else instead.

BTW, even the best PF's have a hard time guarding Blake Griffin. Lets not use him as a measurement of as to how a PF will do well in the NBA.

Why would Bogut, Pekovic eat him alive?  Do these guys man handle Bosh or KG (last year version)?

Also his PnR defense is decent. Like KO he will get better once he learns the system/adapts to nba speed. Challenging jump shots is a minor problem that can be easily fixed

Because he's undersized. He's going to give up so much effort just to try and take a rebound against these guys. Bosh is 6'11 1/2 in shoes, 2 inches taller than Vonleh. You're about measurements, that 2 inches makes a difference.

yeah but Bosh is also like 235 pounds. KG the same. 235-240.  Vonleh will be 255 by the end of the summer.   He has a strong lower body and not easily pushed around

I do agree 2 inches makes a difference but he has a long wingspan and 9'0 reach to help him out

IF KO (7 ft tall) was 260 you think he could defend Bogut/Pekovic any better than Vonleh?  No way. I bet Vonleh would do a better job containing them in the defensive end even if he is only 6'9.5.  Measurements count but not compared to everything else

He's still 6'9", if he's Dwight Howard then there's no contest, but he's not. If we learned anything from last season, is that you cant play Sully at Center because he's undersized. Vonleh's is more athletic than Jared, I know that, but he's still giving up 2 to 3 inches against the average NBA center. And ugh, against Roy Hibbert, who we have to play, i don't know, three of four times a year? Taller guys will still  have an advantage, he's an easy hook shot against Brook Lopez, man.

ANd you're right. he can get stronger so he wont get pushed around easy, but he's still 3 inches shorter than a 7 foot Center, which is mostly the norm. As athletic as he is, those 7 footers jump for the rebounds as well. And these are not AJ Hammonds type Centers, most of them are elitte rebounders. Jesus Christ, I can't imagine him going up againts a 6'11" DeAndre Jordan and taking a rebound away from him.  There's your disadvantage.

Why put him at Center when he can flourish at the PF spot, and not have any disadvantage when it comes to size? Is it because he's not quick enough to defend Ibaka or Griffin? News flash, not every PF in the NBA is quick enough to defend those two.

[SHAQATTACK]

I see Vonleh as a PF ......not much more than Sully has to offer as a center.
We would still need Gortot, Asik , or such.

Gordon isn't a center either .


I think if your picking in the. Top five .....you take the best talent available ,  regardless the position.

I think our pick will be 5 th or 6 th......no Embiid , he is gone.

If DA can't get Exum or Randle ,  he may as well trade sell or trade the pick.

I would try for the big European guy Nuric as a project center or Stauksas if available with the #17


Winning those last two games .....I'm still scratching my head......why?

[Who]

I think Vonleh is big enough to play center. I just don't think he is smart enough. Low IQ player on both ends of the court who doesn't make his teammates better.

[Celtics18]

I think Vonleh is big enough to play center. I just don't think he is smart enough. Low IQ player on both ends of the court who doesn't make his teammates better.

Eighteen.

[cltc5]

vonleh is gonna be abust.  i wish people would get over him already

[notthebowler]

vonleh is gonna be abust.  i wish people would get over him already

He'll be a poor man's Cliff Rozier.

[The One]

Hasheem Thabeet...2014 style.

[Snakehead]

I think he can play C, but that would be a reach that Danny wouldn't and shouldn't make.  Our team has multiple positions of need.  I think we desperately need a wing or guard who can create their own offense just as badly (Wiggins, Exum, Parker) so that doesn't make much sense to me.  Not a fan of needs based drafting anyways.

[Sizzlack]

Not a big fan on Vonleh.

If we're on the board at 5 and Parker, Wiggins, Embiid, Exum are all gone, I'd trade the pick. Drop back a few spots, and see if you can pick up a future asset.

I just honestly don't see a huge different in the Gordons, Vonleh, Smart you can get at 5-10, and the guys later on. There's a ton of depth in this draft, if you're not getting one of the top 4, there's more value in picking twice in the 10-20 range.

[lon3lytoaster]

I still get the Ekpe Udoh level career vibe from him.

[footey]

I think he should. If Vonleh will indeed have a Chris Bosh potential, you don't want to miss that.

But you dont want to play him at Center. If we are drafting a PF, we have to use the other pick and out other young PF's (KO, Sully) or Bass and move it for a Center (Asik is of course THE target) or move up to draft one (Nurkic).

I disagree.  I think he will be better suited to defend the center position. His quickness is very good for a center but only mediocre for a pf. A little quicker than KO but not Ibaka quick.  If he had to guard Ibaka/Griffin imo he would be in trouble.  Now you have him guard Perkins or Asik, you stand a better chance.

The way he operates on the offensive end is more like a center also.  You are not seeing him blazing to the basket for emphatic dunks.  Or running hard/fluid in transition.  Imo vonleh screams center. He is like a Bosh you see today (not the peak explosive version).  A Bosh version of today for the next 10 years without his performance dropping. Imo thats a still a pretty decent player

He's not even good enough to play defensively, period. Slow rotations on pick and rolls, not challenging jumpers, and now you want to add extra pressure on him by putting him against the biggest dudes in the league? His only 6'9" 1/2 in shoes (per ESPN NBA Draft Combine), Pekovic is going to eat this boy alive. Brook Lopez will have a field day on him. Heck, I think Andrew Bogut will have a haul against him. Him as a PF, he'll have the size and enough athletic ability to atleast have a chance. Against 7 footers, ugh, I'd rather keep Sully and draft someone else instead.

BTW, even the best PF's have a hard time guarding Blake Griffin. Lets not use him as a measurement of as to how a PF will do well in the NBA.

Why would Bogut, Pekovic eat him alive?  Do these guys man handle Bosh or KG (last year version)?

Also his PnR defense is decent. Like KO he will get better once he learns the system/adapts to nba speed. Challenging jump shots is a minor problem that can be easily fixed

Because he's undersized. He's going to give up so much effort just to try and take a rebound against these guys. Bosh is 6'11 1/2 in shoes, 2 inches taller than Vonleh. You're about measurements, that 2 inches makes a difference.

yeah but Bosh is also like 235 pounds. KG the same. 235-240.  Vonleh will be 255 by the end of the summer.   He has a strong lower body and not easily pushed around

I do agree 2 inches makes a difference but he has a long wingspan and 9'0 reach to help him out

IF KO (7 ft tall) was 260 you think he could defend Bogut/Pekovic any better than Vonleh?  No way. I bet Vonleh would do a better job containing them in the defensive end even if he is only 6'9.5.  Measurements count but not compared to everything else

He's still 6'9", if he's Dwight Howard then there's no contest, but he's not. If we learned anything from last season, is that you cant play Sully at Center because he's undersized. Vonleh's is more athletic than Jared, I know that, but he's still giving up 2 to 3 inches against the average NBA center. And ugh, against Roy Hibbert, who we have to play, i don't know, three of four times a year? Taller guys will still  have an advantage, he's an easy hook shot against Brook Lopez, man.

ANd you're right. he can get stronger so he wont get pushed around easy, but he's still 3 inches shorter than a 7 foot Center, which is mostly the norm. As athletic as he is, those 7 footers jump for the rebounds as well. And these are not AJ Hammonds type Centers, most of them are elitte rebounders. Jesus Christ, I can't imagine him going up againts a 6'11" DeAndre Jordan and taking a rebound away from him.  There's your disadvantage.

Why put him at Center when he can flourish at the PF spot, and not have any disadvantage when it comes to size? Is it because he's not quick enough to defend Ibaka or Griffin? News flash, not every PF in the NBA is quick enough to defend those two.

I think Vonleh's best upside as a center is Horford. Which is not chopped liver, but is not the rim protector that we need from that position.

[Tr1boy]

I think Vonleh is big enough to play center. I just don't think he is smart enough. Low IQ player on both ends of the court who doesn't make his teammates better.

50 percent of centers in the league have mediocre iq.
Vonleh is still very young and can learn to better reconize when a double team is coming and pass the ball etc. Also raise his hands to contest jumpers

[Tr1boy]

I still get the Ekpe Udoh level career vibe from him.

Udoh has little to no offensive skills.  Vonleh on the other hand is pretty skilled on the offensive end

I can see why you made the comparison though. Both have mediocre iq and feel for game.

[CM0]

The Celtics need to take the best available player regardless of position with the first pick. A good argument could be made that both picks should go to best-available player, but using the #17th at a position of need isn't a terrible idea.

The Celts might think Vonleh is the best available when they pick (I think he's about the 6th or 7th best player overall), but he's not any more of a C than Sully and he certainly doesn't fill a particular void for the Celtics.

There are a number of true centers with high upside other than Embiid available in this draft: Nurkic, Porzingis, Austin. At least 2 of those guys will be available at 17 and may even be available through a trade down from 17 to 20-25.