Draft Prospect - Pat Connaughton

[number_n9ne]

The Celtics are interviewing him today. Seems like a great 2nd round pick. Plus he just tied for second highest vertical leap ever with 44-inches!

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2465204-pat-connaughton-posts-44-inch-max-vertical-leap-at-2015-nba-combine

“How could you not like his game?” an NBA scout said. “To put up the stats he did at his size? And I’ll tell you what, if there’s a bar fight, I like his chances.”

Indeed, Connaughton, a Massachusetts native, oozes Boston attitude and toughness. But there’s a far more nuanced side, the side that mentored Notre Dame teammates one-on-one, away from the court, rather than scold them in front of others.

I see "bar fight" and "Boston attitude and toughness" and I'm sold.

http://www.dailypress.com/sports/teel-blog/dp-teel-time-pat-connaughton-pit-post.html#page=2

[Celtics18]

The Celtics are interviewing him today. Seems like a great 2nd round pick. Plus he just tied for second highest vertical leap ever with 44-inches!

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2465204-pat-connaughton-posts-44-inch-max-vertical-leap-at-2015-nba-combine

“How could you not like his game?” an NBA scout said. “To put up the stats he did at his size? And I’ll tell you what, if there’s a bar fight, I like his chances.”

Indeed, Connaughton, a Massachusetts native, oozes Boston attitude and toughness. But there’s a far more nuanced side, the side that mentored Notre Dame teammates one-on-one, away from the court, rather than scold them in front of others.

I see "bar fight" and "Boston attitude and toughness" and I'm sold.

http://www.dailypress.com/sports/teel-blog/dp-teel-time-pat-connaughton-pit-post.html#page=2

Draftexpress doesn't even have him on their mock draft.  The 44 inch vert should help. 

[number_n9ne]

The Celtics are interviewing him today. Seems like a great 2nd round pick. Plus he just tied for second highest vertical leap ever with 44-inches!

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2465204-pat-connaughton-posts-44-inch-max-vertical-leap-at-2015-nba-combine

“How could you not like his game?” an NBA scout said. “To put up the stats he did at his size? And I’ll tell you what, if there’s a bar fight, I like his chances.”

Indeed, Connaughton, a Massachusetts native, oozes Boston attitude and toughness. But there’s a far more nuanced side, the side that mentored Notre Dame teammates one-on-one, away from the court, rather than scold them in front of others.

I see "bar fight" and "Boston attitude and toughness" and I'm sold.

http://www.dailypress.com/sports/teel-blog/dp-teel-time-pat-connaughton-pit-post.html#page=2

Draftexpress doesn't even have him on their mock draft.  The 44 inch vert should help.

He is listed as #98 on their top 100. I'm guessing it has something to do with him already being drafted in the MLB and that he hasn't committed to one sport or the other.

http://www.draftexpress.com/rankings/Top-100-Prospects/4/

[Celtics18]

http://www.masslive.com/celtics/index.ssf/2015/05/nba_draft_combine_2015_pat_con.html

Sounds like he has "hoop dreams."

[Bigbrotheryeti]

After watching Connaughton play for ND, I think he could be a steal in the second round; good shooter from deep, and a great rebounder for his position.

With that being said, there's no way his vert is actually 44" Per NBAdraft.net:

Pat Connaughton's 8'0" standing reach appears to be an error. Players such as Jerian Grant and Olivier Hanlan with similar height and length had standing reaches in the 8'4" neighborhood. His 44 inch vertical is off the charts, and further adds skepticism about the 8'0' standing reach. Most likely there was an error made in logging his standing reach and it's in the 8'4" - 8'6" range and his vertical is between 38 and 40.

[Silent Storm]

Behind Bradley, Crowder, Smart, Thomas, Young, and Turner he would have a hard time getting any minutes. This team sorely needs legitimately physical size and length in the paint.

[jr_3421]

Behind Bradley, Crowder, Smart, Thomas, Young, and Turner he would have a hard time getting any minutes. This team sorely needs legitimately physical size and length in the paint.

Those don't all play the same position. We need length in the paint but we also need athleticism and versatility at the 3/4 position. I think using a 2nd round pick on a player like him wouldn't be horrible.

[saltlover]

After watching Connaughton play for ND, I think he could be a steal in the second round; good shooter from deep, and a great rebounder for his position.

With that being said, there's no way his vert is actually 44" Per NBAdraft.net:

Pat Connaughton's 8'0" standing reach appears to be an error. Players such as Jerian Grant and Olivier Hanlan with similar height and length had standing reaches in the 8'4" neighborhood. His 44 inch vertical is off the charts, and further adds skepticism about the 8'0' standing reach. Most likely there was an error made in logging his standing reach and it's in the 8'4" - 8'6" range and his vertical is between 38 and 40.

Mind you, a vertical of 38-40 inches is still very good.

[Evantime34]

I'm still mad that a guy who grew up in my home town decided not to go to my alma mater, Boston College.

Drafting him in the second round isn't a bad idea. However, I don't want more than 2 rookies on the team next year so I would prefer two draft a stash guys in the second if we kept all our picks. If we end up trading up or out from our first round picks I would be fine with him as our second rookie pick.

[saltlover]

I'm still mad that a guy who grew up in my home town decided not to go to my alma mater, Boston College.

Drafting him in the second round isn't a bad idea. However, I don't want more than 2 rookies on the team next year so I would prefer two draft a stash guys in the second if we kept all our picks. If we end up trading up or out from our first round picks I would be fine with him as our second rookie pick.

Eh, 3 rookies isn't bad if 1-2 of them are college juniors or seniors who are a bit more NBA ready.  A college senior drafted in the second round is probably going to get the roster spot otherwise given to a D-League signing.  But I agree in that I wouldn't want three 19-20 year olds on the roster next year (in addition to James Young).

[Evantime34]

I'm still mad that a guy who grew up in my home town decided not to go to my alma mater, Boston College.

Drafting him in the second round isn't a bad idea. However, I don't want more than 2 rookies on the team next year so I would prefer two draft a stash guys in the second if we kept all our picks. If we end up trading up or out from our first round picks I would be fine with him as our second rookie pick.

Eh, 3 rookies isn't bad if 1-2 of them are college juniors or seniors who are a bit more NBA ready.  A college senior drafted in the second round is probably going to get the roster spot otherwise given to a D-League signing.  But I agree in that I wouldn't want three 19-20 year olds on the roster next year (in addition to James Young).

The more rookies we have the more likely it is that the C's are going to need to count on a rookie to play rotation minutes for the C's. Even if a player is a junior or a senior it's still not likely he is ready to contribute right away. I don't want the C's to take a step back next year, so I want to minimize the chance that we will need to count on a rookie for rotation minutes.

More importantly than that though, we have even more picks in next year's draft. Having 3 rookies on the roster this year after having two last year, would put us in a position to either have a team that is too young, without any superstar talent or to potentially cut one of the 3 rookies we took this year to make room for the future rookies. I'd much prefer to have 2 rookies and then stash two other guys overseas so they can grow and contribute without taking up a roster space of someone who could help now.

[saltlover]

I'm still mad that a guy who grew up in my home town decided not to go to my alma mater, Boston College.

Drafting him in the second round isn't a bad idea. However, I don't want more than 2 rookies on the team next year so I would prefer two draft a stash guys in the second if we kept all our picks. If we end up trading up or out from our first round picks I would be fine with him as our second rookie pick.

Eh, 3 rookies isn't bad if 1-2 of them are college juniors or seniors who are a bit more NBA ready.  A college senior drafted in the second round is probably going to get the roster spot otherwise given to a D-League signing.  But I agree in that I wouldn't want three 19-20 year olds on the roster next year (in addition to James Young).

The more rookies we have the more likely it is that the C's are going to need to count on a rookie to play rotation minutes for the C's. Even if a player is a junior or a senior it's still not likely he is ready to contribute right away. I don't want the C's to take a step back next year, so I want to minimize the chance that we will need to count on a rookie for rotation minutes.

More importantly than that though, we have even more picks in next year's draft. Having 3 rookies on the roster this year after having two last year, would put us in a position to either have a team that is too young, without any superstar talent or to potentially cut one of the 3 rookies we took this year to make room for the future rookies. I'd much prefer to have 2 rookies and then stash two other guys overseas so they can grow and contribute without taking up a roster space of someone who could help now.

Again, I'm not too worried about 2 rookies vs. 3.  At least one isn't going to pan out and will be cut next summer when there's tons of room.  And I don't think having a Connaughton (or his equivalent) as the 12th-13th man on the roster is going to make much of a difference next season, instead of say, a Gigi Datome.  The team needs to improve its starters.  Who we have at the back of the bench is largely irrelevant for next year's team.  But it makes more sense to have guys who have the growth left in their games to take on larger roles in the future, rather than just being who they are.

And with regard to picks next year -- I think those are just as likely to be traded on draft night or this summer as our ones from this year, in order to trade up or trade for veterans.  I'd be shocked if in 2016 we drafted more than three players.