Trade Up For One: Willie Cauley-Stein or Myles Turner

[BleedGreen1989]

Two centers who project to be on the Celtics radar come draft day.

Willie is 21 and the more athletic one by a wide margin and projects as a rim protector and strong P&R defender but offers little offensively outside of rolling to the rim.

Turner is 19 and defends the rim well but is not a "great" athlete. Also shows the potential to stretch the floor well. Is a good rebounder as well.

Assuming the the price is the same to move up, who would you prefer?

[Celts Fan 508]

I went with Turner, I think he has a higher ceiling. 

[Who]

Probably Turner.

[Csfan1984]

WCS seems like at the very least he is already a special defender. So less risk.

[positivitize]

WCS. We need a defensive Center and he could contribute immediately. Turner is more of a project, and possibly a liability on defense. I'd rather take the bet that WCS can develop offensively than bet that Turner can develop defensively.

[Sketch5]

I'd go with Stein. He's extremely athletic which in the pick and roll defense  could come in huge were he can pick up the other teams 4,3,2 and some 1's. He can also recover quickly to help out on guys who get burned, like Sully and KO.

Looking at were he may go, SAC, I think DA could get him if they are going to keep Cousins.

[Celtics18]

I'd go with Cauley-Stein.  I'm kind of shocked to see Turner having an early lead in the poll.  I honestly thought it would be a runaway for WCS. 

[The Rondo Show]

As a die hard Celtics fan and Longhorn student who goes to every game, i don't think you could go wrong with either. However, if I had to choose one, I'm still going with my boy. Myles is a premier rim protector and was a huge reason why UT was the no. 1 shot blocking team in the nation (yes, over UK). Myles is already better than WCS will ever be on the offensive end, and while he has a lot more bust potential, his physical tools (9'4'' standing reach) and raw skills are there. You know what you will get with WCS, and again you can't go wrong with him, but if Turner lives up to his potential he will be something special.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W_K-AQPgMNM

[konkmv]

Turner and upshaw

[Eddie20]

Tuner has the higher celling, but WCS has the higher floor. I would probably lean with WCS ever so slightly based on our specific team needs (rim protector), but it's WCS ability to run the floor, be deadly in lobs off the pick and roll, and wreak havoc defending the pick and roll that gives him the edge.

[Celtics4ever]

We need a sure thing, I am tired of guys petering out their potential or failing to live up to it.  We need to start hitting on drafts like OKC.

[BDeCosta26]

Man, it's hard to say. WCS seems like a lock to be a Tyson Chandler like defensive anchor in the middle with Noel's athletic ability which allows him to defend almost anyone. His offensive game really concerns me, I can't see him ever getting much more than 10-12 PPG with starter minutes, and for a 7 footer I'm not sure he's more than an average rebounder. Defense is amazing though.

I think Ainge's plan is to roll all four of our picks this year into two better picks, and not take too much away from the current roster. He probably sees opportunity from 6-12. Ainge knows what we need better than anyone, and this is the perfect draft to address those needs. If we can get into that range, we can simply just pick who we think is the BPA because pretty much everyone in that group fits. Mario, Winslow, Johnson and even Dekker would all be good pick-ups for our hole at the 3 and Prozingas, Cauley-Stein and Turner could become that rim-protector we need so badly.

I really like Turner, I think that running gate issue is becoming over-blown, he has an excellent jumper right now with the potential to develop a legit 3 point shot. He's not as ready for major minutes right now as WCS, but on this Celtics team I think he could carve himself out an important role. His shot-blocking ability is NBA caliber right now, and with his more diverse offensive game and jump shot he could certainly play a big part as early as next year. He has the higher ceiling, but like others have said he also has a lower floor. WCS seems to be a sure-fire defensive specialist at the very least.

I think if Ainge can use 16, 28 or 33 and a player(s) or later 1st to get into that 6-12 range, we'll try to create another package around say 28, 45 and a future pick to get back into the top 20 or so. And if we do that, we'll use our second pick to address what we hadn't with our first. Upshaw would certainly do worse for himself than come to Boston. If we pulled off a trade for Johnson and got Upshaw in the same draft, that could be an excellent draft day haul for us. People seem to think Upshaw is working his way up to the middle of the 1st and with his talent it could certainly happen. But his red flags are huge and glaring. If teams do become willing to give him a 1st round contract, I still think at #28 we'll be within close range of getting him.

[BDeCosta26]

We need a sure thing, I am tired of guys petering out their potential or failing to live up to it.  We need to start hitting on drafts like OKC.

Huh? We almost always get sure things. In the past like 10 years we've only drafted in the top 12 once, and Smart was a pretty sure thing. By that I mean, they have a skill set that's clearly NBA level. Smart was defense, Sullinger was a pretty sure thing talent wise for a guy picked in the 20's. Olynyk, Bradley, TA, Rondo, Baby Davis. A lot of the guys Aings has drafted have been sure things in the sense that they would be able to at least be an NBA level rotation player, almost to a fault. Sometimes you need guys with big upside because sometimes they actually reach it.

As for this draft WCS is a pretty sure thing as a defensive menace at the 5, as much as anyone else is  in this draft not named Okafor at least.

[Rosco917]

WCS is the superior athlete at 7 feet. He may not ever be a 20 point per game guy, in fact he may not be a 15 pp..
But he could be a special defender at the center position in a few short years. He could be a force, running the floor, defending, rebounding, altering shots, scoring on put backs and lobs. He can literally cover almost any position on the court. He has the speed and athleticism to pop out to the perimeter to smother a guard, causing a possible turnover, and then slide back down to his man. The Celtics desperately need this type of center. Pair him with a good stretch 4.

Myles Turner is much more of a two way talent, not as athletic, but athletic enough to be a solid defender. I would love to get him, just to see where his ceiling really is. My problem is his weakness running the floor, no running gate issue is over blown. Not if the novice can see it. It means other parts of his lower skeletal frame are doing what they weren't designed to do. He's OK at 20, what will he look like at 26. It has to be addressed, and strengthened and hopefully corrected, or you could be talking hip and knee problems in the near future.

If he were a long distance runner, or even a race horse would it be of concern? I think so.

 

[max215]

If it had to be one: Turner. That speaks more to my lack of confidence in WCS than my love for Turner. But in all honesty, I'd be fairly happy if we came away from the draft with either of them.