Danny and Giannis

[Tr1boy]

Giannis can't shoot

KO will get better

[Greyman]

Agree that DA did what was best at the time. With the knowledge available most pundits would have. We may still be better of in the long run. go KO!

[jonaslopes]

Get over it, this is getting ridiculous.

[moiso]

Get over it, this is getting ridiculous.

Yep.  There is some repetitive stuff on Celticsblog!

[CFAN38]

I think alot of the KO vs Giannis came down to the state of the team at that given point. I think DA liked Giannis but he was a major bust risk. How many wings are drafted out of low level Euro leagues amount to anything? He was able to get KO who was much more NBA ready and had a much higher floor. In an effort to create the fastest rebuild possible DA needed players who could at least show their potential fast not risk developing a player for 3 years to have him bust. A team like the Bucks had nothing to lose going all in on potential at the time the Cs could not afford a bust.

Now things have changed. The Cs are set up for a longer term rebuild. With the current state of the Cs potential should be the top priority. The Cs have enough picks to risk a few busts along the way.

[SHAQATTACK]

KO payed in a real league against better players .  The European guy did not . 

KO was the better choice to gamble on....less chance of a bust .

Danny went with the more sure thing.  All things being equal .

If he had taken GA ....and he'd been terrible ......and it was known he could have got Kelly .....well then Danny would have looked even dumber....for not choosing KO.

It's pretty simple , Danny made the correct choice at the moment based on his information. 

In five years you can grade it how you want .....but the correct choice was made the day of the draft based on what he knew . 

It's not rocket science to understand this 

[TheTruthFot18]

International players rarely live up to the hype so don't knock DA for passing. Every time I see us projected to draft Hezonja or Przingis I cringe.

[mmmmm]

I think alot of the KO vs Giannis came down to the state of the team at that given point. I think DA liked Giannis but he was a major bust risk. How many wings are drafted out of low level Euro leagues amount to anything? He was able to get KO who was much more NBA ready and had a much higher floor. In an effort to create the fastest rebuild possible DA needed players who could at least show their potential fast not risk developing a player for 3 years to have him bust. A team like the Bucks had nothing to lose going all in on potential at the time the Cs could not afford a bust.

Now things have changed. The Cs are set up for a longer term rebuild. With the current state of the Cs potential should be the top priority. The Cs have enough picks to risk a few busts along the way.

I think this is a reasonable assessment.

[hpantazo]

Whatever the reasons , Ainge missed out on Giannis in 2013 and missed out on Nurkic in 2014. He has to put more trust on foreign players, they are better in general then they were in the past.

[slamtheking]

Danny missed out on this one.

This kid has special written all over him.

The thing is Danny zeroed in on him, but just could not pull the trigger. He is going to regret this one.

The odd thing is the player he picked instead of Giannis is about the polar opposite of Giannis in athleticism and aggressiveness.

Oh well, you cannot win em all. Giannis would have been fabulous with Smart.

[PAOBoston]

Eh. It was a gamble pick that seems to be panning out. It happens once in a while. I think Ainge went with the "safer" pick. Kelly isn't a bad player. His offensive skills will keep him in the league for a while. Gianni seems to be progressing nicely But still has a long ways to go. I don't think he will ever be a superstar but to me at least he strikes me as Lamar Odom 2.0 (Without the craziness). Jack of all trades Stat stuffer kind of guy. Good at a lot of things but not great at anything.

But I do agree with some saying Ainge needs to trust Euros more. It's not the 90s anymore. Euros are better scouted and have way more exposure than they did back then. And they can play as well.

[Cman]

Oh well, you cannot win em all.

True.

[mmmmm]

Whatever the reasons , Ainge missed out on Giannis in 2013 and missed out on Nurkic in 2014. He has to put more trust on foreign players, they are better in general then they were in the past.

Just to clarify;  Nurkic was taken at pick #16.  He was off the board when we picked James Young at #17.

[CFAN38]

International players rarely live up to the hype so don't knock DA for passing. Every time I see us projected to draft Hezonja or Przingis I cringe.

I agree their have been alot of super hyped Euro busts in the past. Most of these guys where teenagers who where not producing in major Euro leagues but had alot of hype around their potential. IE Darko, Tskitishvili. Darko was playing in the Serbian league prior to being drafted and averaging 9pt 6rb, Tskitishvili played 17 games in italian league for 12mpg averaging 6pt 1rb the season before being drafted #5.

Prozingis and Hezonja do not fit this typical over hyped bust profile. Both play in the ACB the second best league in the world and are productive as teenagers. If in the NCAA they would be absolute stars.

Prozingis, 20 games 22mpg 10pts 5rb 1blk

Hezonja, 20 games  15mpg 5pts 2rb (getting more time and putting up big numbers lately)

[Tr1boy]

Whatever the reasons , Ainge missed out on Giannis in 2013 and missed out on Nurkic in 2014. He has to put more trust on foreign players, they are better in general then they were in the past.

Just to clarify;  Nurkic was taken at pick #16.  He was off the board when we picked James Young at #17.

plus nobody knew that Nurkic would leave his euro team just like that.

One guy that made alot of gms scared or traumatized  about drafting euro players was Fran Vazquez. Drafted 12 by Magic was it?  He opted to remain in Europe, screwing the magic

Celtics did not have the luxury right now to take a "risk" like that. 

Now with Mario, if we are on our way to draft 12-15  but Danny thinks he is a top 5 talent, he may take the chance. Plus we have multiple picks later worse case anyways

The talent level from 8-22 for the 2015 draft is about the same from what i'm reading and seeing (minus some wildcards like Mario)