Overthinking it?

[colincb]

Not getting a chance to trade up unless we want to overpay.
McDermott and Staukapicks would require trade downs unless we want to overpay
Smart is the safest choice between the guys slotted for picks 5-8
227 lb PGs are far from the norm, 2nd largest in DraftXpress database

[RIHoopz14]

Well I sure hope u guys are wrong about Ainge wanting to pick Smart.  Just gonna throw out there that the last 2 years I successfully predicted celtics taking sully and KO pre-draft.  Guards are easy to find, shooters like McBuckets and centers like Embiid are not.  Ainge won't settle for Smart, period.

[Eddie20]

Well I sure hope u guys are wrong about Ainge wanting to pick Smart.  Just gonna throw out there that the last 2 years I successfully predicted celtics taking sully and KO pre-draft.  Guards are easy to find, shooters like McBuckets and centers like Embiid are not.  Ainge won't settle for Smart, period.

"Settle for Smart"? You make it sound as though he's projected to go lower and Ainge would reach for him. Smart is a very special talent and I would be more than happy for us to get him at 6. His passion is infectious and he has one of the highest floors of anyone that's projected 6 or lower.

[clover]

Smart is the closest thing I've seen to Russell Westbrook and Dwayne Wade. If available at 6 and Love is a dream, he WILL be drafted by the Cs. Listen closely to Ainge's recent comments. He likes him a lot, a real lot. Can he shoot? He's no Stauskas or MacDermott, to be sure, but anyone who get to the rim like him, is so quick and strong, is able to pass well in a crowd, identify the perimeter shooters, and play tough on-the-ball and help defense doesn't have to be a great shooter to be a star. Because he's great athlete, he will learn to be a good mid range shooter at the least, and that's enough. Dwayne Wade took 13 3s all year and no one's complaining about it. He gives the Cs great protection at PG if Rondo bolts, and if he doesn't he will be the starting SG by 2015. Find a shooting wing at 17 -- there are some -- and trade for Asik, you will have a fun-to-watch competitive team next year plus enough high picks and cap room going forward to be in the championship hunt by 2017 worst case.

I'm not sure that Danny's words are the best indicator of whom he'll draft--or that "Because he's a great athlete, he will learn to be a good mid-range shooter, at least..."

[Celtics4ever]

I'm not sure that Danny's words are the best indicator of whom he'll draft--or that "Because he's a great athlete, he will learn to be a good mid-range shooter, at least..."

Agree, I trust Danny as a GM but I would not trust his words on who he likes farther than I can spit.

[SHAQATTACK]

Don't need Smart ....but team needs to,play smarter .  He is the last guy that the experts talk about I'd waste a top ten pic on.

If we need ed a guard , and we picking late in the first round I'd take him.

Other wise we need a center and stars to,contend. 

[RIHoopz14]

Don't need Smart ....but team needs to,play smarter .  He is the last guy that the experts talk about I'd waste a top ten pic on.

If we need ed a guard , and we picking late in the first round I'd take him.

Other wise we need a center and stars to,contend.

Thank you!!  Good to see someone on this board has an understanding of what the celtics actually need.  I can't believe how many ppl buy into the hype that espn and analysts deliver about POPULAR players, ala Tebow.  I can assure everyone here that Celtics will NOT pick Smart

[pearljammer10]

Don't need Smart ....but team needs to,play smarter .  He is the last guy that the experts talk about I'd waste a top ten pic on.

If we need ed a guard , and we picking late in the first round I'd take him.

Other wise we need a center and stars to,contend.

Thank you!!  Good to see someone on this board has an understanding of what the celtics actually need.  I can't believe how many ppl buy into the hype that espn and analysts deliver about POPULAR players, ala Tebow.  I can assure everyone here that Celtics will NOT pick Smart

I don't think we will see him in Celtics Green but that also doesn't mean he won't be a talented NBA player. I think Smart will have a stellar career, maybe better than some of the other players that will be available to us when picking at 6. I think he is a "safe choice" rather than a "potential choice". However, with Rondo on board I don't see Smart fitting.

If we end up deciding to do a complete rebuild and ship Rondo off it will probably be for a lottery pick this year. If that was the case, we would be drafting the best talent available and then I could absolutely see us picking Smart at 6 to pair with the other greatest talented prospect at whatever other pick we receive for Rondo.

In the end I see us keeping Rondo and trading our 6th pick however.

[D.o.s.]

Don't need Smart ....but team needs to,play smarter .  He is the last guy that the experts talk about I'd waste a top ten pic on.

If we need ed a guard , and we picking late in the first round I'd take him.

Other wise we need a center and stars to,contend.

Thank you!!  Good to see someone on this board has an understanding of what the celtics actually need.  I can't believe how many ppl buy into the hype that espn and analysts deliver about POPULAR players, ala Tebow.  I can assure everyone here that Celtics will NOT pick Smart

As opposed to the people who buy into the hype of being contrarian, right?

[Evantime34]

This board is harsh. The guy comes on with his first post and then everyone kills it?

First off, I want to welcome you to Celticsblog, congrats on your first post.

Honestly I think we need to pick the best player available because we are not just one or two pieces away from contending. I think it is important to fill needs when a team is one need short of a playoff run, but at this point I think we are still in the asset accumulation phase (unless we get Love).

I think though that our need for scoring will lessen when you compare this upcoming year to last year. I expect Rondo to be at 100% and score more in the paint as well as create better shots for others using his drives. I expect Sullinger and Olynyk to improve as scorers as well. Between the 3 of them they should make our offense much better than last year. However, if we are going to play Olynyk and Sullinger at the same time, Aaron Gordon would be a perfect fit defensively to cover up some of their lack of mobility and protect the rim.

[RIHoopz14]

Don't need Smart ....but team needs to,play smarter .  He is the last guy that the experts talk about I'd waste a top ten pic on.

If we need ed a guard , and we picking late in the first round I'd take him.

Other wise we need a center and stars to,contend.

Thank you!!  Good to see someone on this board has an understanding of what the celtics actually need.  I can't believe how many ppl buy into the hype that espn and analysts deliver about POPULAR players, ala Tebow.  I can assure everyone here that Celtics will NOT pick Smart

As opposed to the people who buy into the hype of being contrarian, right?

No, Im not a contrarian I just don't need analysts to tell me what a player brings to the table because I watch all the games myself.  From this can tell you Smart is overrated as a player primarily due to his popularity nationally. 

[CFAN38]

Your average combo guard doesn't weigh 230 and play like a football player. He'll be a favorite for rookie of the year.

And it's not that he can't shoot, it's that he has bad shot selection and shoots too many bad shots.

think about it, he is going to have 30 pounds on most opposing PGs, and he is going to go out of his way to physically punish them all game long. When he posts them up or backs them down into the post, it will be like Jeff Green guarding Sullinger.

I respect your opinion, but the reality is the majority of guards are comparable in size to Smart and they won't be overwhelmed by him as much as he got away with it in college.  At his absolute best, he is a Dion Waiters in the league.

Except with great defense, more competitiveness and stronger

I actually really like the Waiters comp for Smart. Granted Waiters was a better 3pt shooter in college then Smart. However like you mention Smart is a much better defender is more competitive and stronger. On top of that he is also bigger (wingspan, reach and weight), a better passer and a much better rebounder.

As a Rookie Waiters averaged 15pt 3 ast 2.4rb 1 stl in 29min. If Smart matched that stat line while playing better D and getting more then 2.4 RB I would be fare from disappointed.

[D.o.s.]

Thank you!!  Good to see someone on this board has an understanding of what the celtics actually need.  I can't believe how many ppl buy into the hype that espn and analysts deliver about POPULAR players, ala Tebow.  I can assure everyone here that Celtics will NOT pick Smart

As opposed to the people who buy into the hype of being contrarian, right?

No, Im not a contrarian I just don't need analysts to tell me what a player brings to the table because I watch all the games myself.  From this can tell you Smart is overrated as a player primarily due to his popularity nationally. 

... and how, exactly, is that not being contrarian? 

[CoachBo]

Don't need Smart ....but team needs to,play smarter .  He is the last guy that the experts talk about I'd waste a top ten pic on.

If we need ed a guard , and we picking late in the first round I'd take him.

Other wise we need a center and stars to,contend.

Thank you!!  Good to see someone on this board has an understanding of what the celtics actually need.  I can't believe how many ppl buy into the hype that espn and analysts deliver about POPULAR players, ala Tebow.  I can assure everyone here that Celtics will NOT pick Smart

As opposed to the people who buy into the hype of being contrarian, right?

No, Im not a contrarian I just don't need analysts to tell me what a player brings to the table because I watch all the games myself.  From this can tell you Smart is overrated as a player primarily due to his popularity nationally.

As someone who coached at the high school and college level for 20 years, welcome. And I agree with you in total about Smart - an overrated hothead.

Personally, I laugh at the analysts and the sabremetricians. There are a couple of good metrics, but you either know the game or you have to rely on flawed mathematics to explain it to you, as I see it.

[CFAN38]

To comment on the original post,

I agree with your assessment on the Cs needing a go to scorer and a defensive big. Trading up is not going to be an option so Parker, Embiid and Wiggins are all not options. Your mention of stauscas and McDermott is valid and I could see DA trading down a few pick for Saric or mcdermott.