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.