If we keep the 6th pick, depending on the pick, how it affects the lineup

[Tr1boy]

Gordon - Definitely one of Green or Wallace has to go to make room for Gordon. Wallace and his contract will be difficult to move.  So either trade Green or move him to the SG spot.  Trade could be better to bring in a starting center. Gordon is really young but i believe with his iq, strength, motor, skills BS will eventually have no choice but to start or play him alot of mins

Randle - If he has developed a jump shot , i can see him temporarily play at the SF spot. If not we will have a trio of Sully,KO, Randle rotating upfront. Green can stay as the sf and AB stays as the SG (if a deal can be worked out).   If we get a starting center, there is a pretty bad logjam at the pf/C spot and a move will have to be made.  The lineup from last season might not regress but might not improve

Smart - Could play with rondo and be the teams sg. With both Smart and Rondo not considered natural shooters, alot of problems can result because of this. Teams can lay off on both, dare them to shoot, help more to cover everyone else.  I like smart but if he hasn't improved his shot, he is eventually going to be injured often and frequently the way he plays (like dwade)

Vonleh - Unlike Randle could play more of the pf/c role. Has the length to be a part time C. PRovides the team excellent rebounding and decent rim protection skills. Good shooter and has some promising looking post moves. Feel for the game is mediocre but he could fill in alot of holes the team has

Saric - A complete SF. But there are concerns regarding his foot speed/defense (like KO) and if he will come to NA. Also he is a player that needs to ball in his hands alot and needs sometimes to grab a rebound and take up the ball himself. Not sure if Rondo can work with him (plus  you also got a similar player in KO , who also likes to be the faciliator once in a while)


Imo Vonleh makes alot of sense in terms of filling team needs and drafting based on upside.  However i don't think BS is going to enjoy coaching him due to his mediocre iq/feel for game/turnover prone tendencies.  BS is a coach brought in to win ASAP more than develop players. He is not patient as we saw several times where one rookie mistake could mean your yanked from the floor.

Randle is a bad fit but knows how to play the game. He has polished post skills that are hard to find from young players these days.  He was considered in the beginning of the year as one of the can't miss top 3 or 4 prospect of the draft.

Lastly as people know here i like Gordon alot. I like his character, work ethic, underrated skills, unlike Vonleh low turnover numbers, nice defensive, team  1st mentality.  If he doesn't wow the celts in his private workouts by hitting jump shots, it will be understandable if he is passed on.   But i think that's unlikely.   Jeff Green is a horrible SF in that he shys away from contact, is a poor rebounder and provides very little rim protection. Don't remember the last time i saw him take a chage.  If Sullinger and KO start next season bc the team cannot workout a deal or bring in a proper center, i can see Gordon helping them out alot on things they are not good at. Helping them rebound, protect the rim and get in tips ins out of nowhere (small but important tool to have).   Rondo also will have someone he can lob balls to more, a skill he hasn't been able to utilize really since guys like KG, Wilcox have left the team. 

[lon3lytoaster]

I want Smart right now - badly. I don't care so much he measured a little short. AB is short but he continue to start him with Rondo. On top of that, I think Smart has way better guard skills than Bradley, while not being much worse (or any worse) as a defender. AB looked like he had a broken shot coming in and he made it work. Don't see why Smart can't improve, too.

He's also a much better finisher at the rim. Bradley has made me want to bash my face off the wall before with his dribble penetration. It's not good. Smart can dribble and pass better, too. Needs to work on when exactly to pass sometimes, but considering AB is a black hole, it's still an improvement.

I think Danny Ainge will think a lot of the same, too. He loved Tyreke Evans enough to allegedly offer a young Rondo for him. I don't see why Smart isn't at least 1-B on his list. Probably tops it.

[LooseCannon]

A lot of these players will probably be coming off the bench as rookies if they land in Boston.

For example, Vonleh is a bit of a project and I can see the Celtics bringing in a veteran center who they can live with as a starter for all of next season, if necessary.  Smart could start off in a combo guard role off the bench behind Rondo and Bradley.

[LooseCannon]

AB looked like he had a broken shot coming in and he made it work. Don't see why Smart can't improve, too.

Bradley looked like he had a mechanically sound shot that just wasn't falling.

[lon3lytoaster]

AB looked like he had a broken shot coming in and he made it work. Don't see why Smart can't improve, too.

Bradley looked like he had a mechanically sound shot that just wasn't falling.

But it really, really wasn't falling. It's not totally unfair to question how he shoots it when he wasn't anything, ever. He was ridiculously bad at times and I think he was honestly on the verge of being a throw in in a trade a la JR Giddens before he broke out a little.

[LooseCannon]

AB looked like he had a broken shot coming in and he made it work. Don't see why Smart can't improve, too.

Bradley looked like he had a mechanically sound shot that just wasn't falling.

But it really, really wasn't falling. It's not totally unfair to question how he shoots it when he wasn't anything, ever. He was ridiculously bad at times and I think he was honestly on the verge of being a throw in in a trade a la JR Giddens before he broke out a little.

Well, my diagnosis at the time was that the Celtics were making a mistake of trying to force him to be a point guard and his shooting percentage would become acceptable when they let him play his natural SG position.

[Tr1boy]

I want Smart right now - badly. I don't care so much he measured a little short. AB is short but he continue to start him with Rondo. On top of that, I think Smart has way better guard skills than Bradley, while not being much worse (or any worse) as a defender. AB looked like he had a broken shot coming in and he made it work. Don't see why Smart can't improve, too.

He's also a much better finisher at the rim. Bradley has made me want to bash my face off the wall before with his dribble penetration. It's not good. Smart can dribble and pass better, too. Needs to work on when exactly to pass sometimes, but considering AB is a black hole, it's still an improvement.

I think Danny Ainge will think a lot of the same, too. He loved Tyreke Evans enough to allegedly offer a young Rondo for him. I don't see why Smart isn't at least 1-B on his list. Probably tops it.

The Tyreke Evans comparison is a decent point.  He has openly said he likes Smart's fire and acted like he didn't know about the fan shoving incident (when i'm sure he did).

But like i said in my initial post, imagine if both Smart and Rondo are on the floor together, can't be depended on to shoot jump shots. If your a coach you tell your players to lay off them on the defensive end to increase your chances to win.   

[lon3lytoaster]

AB looked like he had a broken shot coming in and he made it work. Don't see why Smart can't improve, too.

Bradley looked like he had a mechanically sound shot that just wasn't falling.

But it really, really wasn't falling. It's not totally unfair to question how he shoots it when he wasn't anything, ever. He was ridiculously bad at times and I think he was honestly on the verge of being a throw in in a trade a la JR Giddens before he broke out a little.

Well, my diagnosis at the time was that the Celtics were making a mistake of trying to force him to be a point guard and his shooting percentage would become acceptable when they let him play his natural SG position.

True enough. God he looked awful as a PG. Lol

[PhoSita]

I wonder if Gordon would work as a PF next to Olynyk or Sullinger.   He could provide the rim protection that the other two lack, they provide spacing.

I also seriously disagree with you about BS being brought in to win right away instead of developing players.  If that were the case Ainge would have brought in somebody like Lionel Hollins or George Karl or Nate McMillan.

[pokeKingCurtis]

I wonder if Gordon would work as a PF next to Olynyk or Sullinger.   He could provide the rim protection that the other two lack, they provide spacing.

Can't most PFs just pull him out to the perimeter and negate his rim protection?

Plus Gordon apparently lacks strength.

[PhoSita]

I wonder if Gordon would work as a PF next to Olynyk or Sullinger.   He could provide the rim protection that the other two lack, they provide spacing.

Can't most PFs just pull him out to the perimeter and negate his rim protection?

Plus Gordon apparently lacks strength.

Ibaka manages just fine, it seems.

[hondobird33]

Biggest celts need is rim protector (ideally a true center) and SG or SF scorer (3 pt).  Since no rim protecting center is available in that vicinity of draft and most options are PF which we have abundance we can best fit the need with the best shooter in draft by trading down three spots to #9 and taking McDermott SF for Charlotte #9 & #24 pick in return for our #6 pick.     

[pokeKingCurtis]

I wonder if Gordon would work as a PF next to Olynyk or Sullinger.   He could provide the rim protection that the other two lack, they provide spacing.

Can't most PFs just pull him out to the perimeter and negate his rim protection?

Plus Gordon apparently lacks strength.

Ibaka manages just fine, it seems.

I feel this could either go really well or really horribly.

I prefer SullyNyk at PF.

That's why I kind of want to trade for a '15 pick. There's Cauley Stein, Jahlil Okafor and a few other centers on top - from what I've heard they're pretty good. Plus the haul of fillers could end up being quite nice.

[lon3lytoaster]

Biggest celts need is rim protector (ideally a true center) and SG or SF scorer (3 pt).  Since no rim protecting center is available in that vicinity of draft and most options are PF which we have abundance we can best fit the need with the best shooter in draft by trading down three spots to #9 and taking McDermott SF for Charlotte #9 & #24 pick in return for our #6 pick.     

1. McDermott???
2. Not quite enough value there, IMO.
3. McDermott???!

I don't see why he couldn't have a JJ Redick-esque impact but he's not who I'd want to take in the late-ish lottery or god forbid any earlier.

[CM0]

Gordon - Definitely one of Green or Wallace has to go to make room for Gordon. Wallace and his contract will be difficult to move.  So either trade Green or move him to the SG spot.  Trade could be better to bring in a starting center. Gordon is really young but i believe with his iq, strength, motor, skills BS will eventually have no choice but to start or play him alot of mins

Randle - If he has developed a jump shot , i can see him temporarily play at the PF spot. If not we will have a trio of Sully,KO, Randle rotating upfront. Green can stay as the sf and AB stays as the SG (if a deal can be worked out).   If we get a starting center, there is a pretty bad logjam at the pf/C spot and a move will have to be made.  The lineup from last season might not regress but might not improve

Smart - Could play with rondo and be the teams sg. With both Smart and Rondo not considered natural shooters, alot of problems can result because of this. Teams can lay off on both, dare them to shoot, help more to cover everyone else.  I like smart but if he hasn't improved his shot, he is eventually going to be injured often and frequently the way he plays (like dwade)

Vonleh - Unlike Randle could play more of the pf/c role. Has the length to be a part time C. PRovides the team excellent rebounding and decent rim protection skills. Good shooter and has some promising looking post moves. Feel for the game is mediocre but he could fill in alot of holes the team has

Saric - A complete SF. But there are concerns regarding his foot speed/defense (like KO) and if he will come to NA. Also he is a player that needs to ball in his hands alot and needs sometimes to grab a rebound and take up the ball himself. Not sure if Rondo can work with him (plus  you also got a similar player in KO , who also likes to be the faciliator once in a while)


Imo Vonleh makes alot of sense in terms of filling team needs and drafting based on upside.  However i don't think BS is going to enjoy coaching him due to his mediocre iq/feel for game/turnover prone tendencies.  BS is a coach brought in to win ASAP more than develop players. He is not patient as we saw several times where one rookie mistake could mean your yanked from the floor.

Randle is a bad fit but knows how to play the game. He has polished post skills that are hard to find from young players these days.  He was considered in the beginning of the year as one of the can't miss top 3 or 4 prospect of the draft.

Lastly as people know here i like Gordon alot. I like his character, work ethic, underrated skills, unlike Vonleh low turnover numbers, nice defensive, team  1st mentality.  If he doesn't wow the celts in his private workouts by hitting jump shots, it will be understandable if he is passed on.   But i think that's unlikely.   Jeff Green is a horrible SF in that he shys away from contact, is a poor rebounder and provides very little rim protection. Don't remember the last time i saw him take a chage.  If Sullinger and KO start next season bc the team cannot workout a deal or bring in a proper center, i can see Gordon helping them out alot on things they are not good at. Helping them rebound, protect the rim and get in tips ins out of nowhere (small but important tool to have).   Rondo also will have someone he can lob balls to more, a skill he hasn't been able to utilize really since guys like KG, Wilcox have left the team.

I like your analysis and I would probably say that Gordon is a decent fit for the Cs right now if he can develop his shot (huge if), but I don't just think he's the best overall player that will be available at #6. Smart and Saric are both superior all-around players IMO and each could become a go-to player in the NBA. Gordon will have a fine career, likely 10 years as a solid contributor to pretty much any type of team, but the Celtics are rebuilding and need to get the absolute best available player to develop. The pieces can and should be moved around in a year or two once the team begins to form a real identity. On that note, I think Smart and Saric could both fit into this roster in their own unique ways.

Smart at the 2 would require our frontcourt to stretch the floor and play inside-out. Luckily, all of our bigs and wings can stretch the floor and pass while KO can slash. Both Rondo and Smart can slash and the tandem would bring an intensity, toughness, and physicality that few teams could deal with. It would likely be an elite rebounding unit on both ends. That lineup would have no problem guarding the 1-3 with Rondo, Smart, and Green, though it would lack a rim-protector. An Asik-type could rotate with KO playing PF and C at times, especially when a deep threat like Bradley is out to allow the bigs to play the post conventionally. That seems like a playoff team to me.

Saric is a fascinating piece that's a bit more difficult to project, though I see him fitting nicely as a wing in various alignments.