Which SG would you take with the 17th pick?

[obnoxiousmime]

I was curious what people thought about the SG prospects who might be available with our second pick. Not that I'm tied to taking a 2 in this draft, but I feel like it's a position of need and this draft is very weak on center prospects.

This is how I see it:

Harris/Stauskus: Would love to take either one but they most likely will not be there when we pick. Either would seem like a lock for Minnesota since shooting is their biggest need.

Zach LaVine: Can he play SG? He's listed at 6'5'' but then I see in 2012 he was measured at 6'3'' in shoes at two separate camps. Did he grow two inches? He sounds like more of a project and he doesn't shoot the 3 but he definitely has the athleticism to succeed in the NBA. I would bump his rating up if he's tall enough to legitimately play SG.

PJ Hairston: I like that he's playing against more talented opposition in the D-League, and his reputation of being a hard-nosed player doesn't hurt. Also, he has 3 pt. range and he's a respectable 6'6''. His low assist rate is a potential red flag for his potential, though. At 21 he's a little older than the other one-and-dones, which means this could be close to as good as it gets with him. Possible character questions for taking gifts and money while at UNC but that doesn't concern me as much as things like anger issues or partying/laziness. Has had weight issues in the past.

James Young: Great size at 6'7'' (he's also listed as a SF) and apparently scouts love him. He doesn't get a lot of stats other than scoring, though, and his shot selection has been criticized. Maybe his basketball IQ is not great? He's one of the younger freshman so he's another "potential" pick. I wouldn't be upset if he was the guy.

Rodney Hood: He's usually listed as a SF but Ford has him as a 2. He can shoot 3s and has the athleticism and size to potentially become a good 3 and D guy. He doesn't project to be a versatile guy on offense, however.

CJ Wilcox/Bogdan Bogdanovic: Projected late lottery guys who I don't think the C's would consider. Wilcox is already 23 years old so despite his shooting ability his ceiling is low. Bogdanovic (warning: NBA comp on nbadraft.net is Celtics legend Jiri Welsch!) may not be coming over in awhile despite his versatile skill set. The Cs almost never take foreign players anyway, especially ones that are "stash" candidates.

Teams that will probably be targeting a SG are the Sixers (10), Minnesota (13), Phoenix (14), Atlanta (15), and Chicago (16). That may be bad news if the Celtics are considering a 2, with so many teams picking right before them needing SGs and shooting in general. In fact, in Chad Ford's mock all these guys are taken before the C's pick (Clint Capela). That would be unfortunate, though I'd be really excited if they took PG Elfrid Payton.

So I guess the conclusion is I'd take Young first, though LaVine is also in there if he's really 6'5''. I wouldn't be opposed to Hairston necessarily but it wouldn't exactly excite me. All the other guys probably aren't good or valuable enough to be taken purely on need, so I'd start considering other redundant positions more seriously at that point.

[footey]

I'm with you on Young.

[Mr October]

If any of Stauskas, Hood, Harris, Young slide to 17, i would be super happy to select them, and probably in that order.

Hairston and Lavine might be a small reach at 17, but it really depends on who is available here. They both have good reasons to be picked as you said in the OP.

[celticmania]

Zach Lavine. He is unbelievably athletic and he is actually a really good shooter.

[Mr October]

Zach Lavine. He is unbelievably athletic and he is actually a really good shooter.

His speed on the drive is amazing. But his feel for the game is really raw. In some ways he reminds me of a shorter Gerald Green, with better ball handling.

If he works hard, and efficiently he could be a great combo guard. Among the guards and forwards expected to be available around 17, he might have the highest ceiling and lowest floor.

[pokeKingCurtis]

James Young is 18 and quite talented. I like.

Another guy I like is Kyle Anderson.

Would like to take a moment to comment on how stupid a recent ESPN draft article was. The one that had us take Kyle Anderson, citing the recent success of Michael Carter Williams as a reason for GMs to be feeling good about tall PGs.

Not many tall guys can play PG well, idiots. Rare talent is rare.

MCW's success isn't going to change a lot. Sometimes, I feel they're just saying things to fill up the word count and churn out an article.

[Lucky17]

Teams that will probably be targeting a SG are the Sixers (10), Minnesota (13), Phoenix (14), Atlanta (15), and Chicago (16). That may be bad news if the Celtics are considering a 2, with so many teams picking right before them needing SGs and shooting in general. In fact, in Chad Ford's mock all these guys are taken before the C's pick (Clint Capela). That would be unfortunate, though I'd be really excited if they took PG Elfrid Payton.

So, is Harris likely to be the pick at #10?

I wonder if the Celtics could somehow move up from #17 to get Harris before he comes off the board.

[obnoxiousmime]

Teams that will probably be targeting a SG are the Sixers (10), Minnesota (13), Phoenix (14), Atlanta (15), and Chicago (16). That may be bad news if the Celtics are considering a 2, with so many teams picking right before them needing SGs and shooting in general. In fact, in Chad Ford's mock all these guys are taken before the C's pick (Clint Capela). That would be unfortunate, though I'd be really excited if they took PG Elfrid Payton.

So, is Harris likely to be the pick at #10?

I wonder if the Celtics could somehow move up from #17 to get Harris before he comes off the board.

As the highest-rated SG after Wiggins, I don't think he'll get by Minnesota at the latest. Philly could also use a SG to place next to MCW. Of course, it depends on who Philly drafts with their first pick. If they take Wiggins then I could see them targeting a SF like McDermott or even James Young.

That would give them a starting 5 of: MCW, Wiggins, McDermott/J. Young, T. Young, Noel.

If they end up with Parker, they could end up with: MCW, Harris, Parker, T. Young, Noel.

At 4 they'd probably take Exum and slot him at SG. If they're really unlucky and end up 5, that's when there isn't an obvious selection and maybe they take the BPA.

The Celts don't have any other later picks this year so it might be hard to trade up. We could give the rights to their 2015 pick(s) back I guess!

[nzea]

Zach Lavine and James Young. Both of those guys would be great next to Rondo, and would give us some real leverage with Bradley.

James Young can step in and start Day 1 if Bradley leaves, Lavine is a little more of a long shot but has the highest ceiling out of all the picks at 17.   

[Birdman]

Im a UK fan, so of course im gotta say Young