Our recent successful non-tanking picks:
10th: The Truth
15th: Big Al- centerpiece of KG trade
19th: Bradley- long-time starter and 1x All-Defensive 2nd Team
21st: Rondo- star PG, starter on Championship team
21st: Sullinger- talent of an All Star, just needs to get in shape
27th: Perkins- starting Center on Championship squad
These were just the first guys that came to mind and I'm sure I missed a few.
So that's 6 players out of roughly 50 draft picks since 1988. Sure, out of 50 mediocre draft picks, we've had two borderline all-stars (Rondo and Big Al... if you count Rondo... who wasn't drafted by the Celtics) and a few borderline starters. Compare that win ratio to our success drafting in the top 6.
Well let's see. We got Jeff Green (fail). We got Billups (fail) and Mercer (fail). We got Toine (mild success). We got Smart (probably decent success).
Yeah depends how you look at it and spin it.
Green netted us Ray and a key part of a championship
Billups ended up a 5x all-star and finals MVP
Mercer developed into a 20, 4 and 4 guy...
Toine was a multi-time allstar
Smart could have a big future here or be a key part of a trade.
Would have rather had Durant, but we missed on him badly so we had to settle for Ray whose career was 3 quarters done.
Billups...yes. He did well....later on. Several teams later on. But not for us. What did he net us? Kenny Anderson or something?
Mercer...yes he was ok...but not for us really.
Toine...yes. He was a highly paid all star. That we traded for LaFrentz because he wouldn't stop shooting 3s he could barely make. Was a borderline all star.
Smart...would have rather had a top two pick but that never happens to the Celtics unless it's the 1980s, when there were 10 less teams
I would have rather had Durant too... but getting Ray... a key piece of a championship and a 3.5 window of true contending was a nice consolation prize.
Yeah we were poorly managed back then. We flipped Billups for a 27 year old former all-star PG who averaged 18 points, 7 assists, 2 steals with 43%/36%/77% the prior year. Didn't work out as expected, but I see the logic in it. Billups went on to be a 5x all-star.
Mercer was the 2nd highest scorer on our team his second year... averaging 17 points, 4 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 1.6 steals. Not bad for a 22 year old. Can you imagine how people here would react if we had a 22 year old putting up those numbers? He wanted a 70 million dollar max contract and Pitino was only willing to give him 40 mil... so he traded him for Danny Fortson (22 year old coming off a season averaging 11 points and 11.7 rebounds), Eric Williams and a future 1st rounder that ended up becoming Kedrick Brown (2001 #11 pick). Kedrick was eventually traded for Ricky Davis and Chris Mihm. Davis was moved for Wally Z and a future 1st round pick... Wally Z was part of the trade that got us Ray Allen. That future 1st was part of the trade that got us Kevin Garnett. Mercer paid some dividends as an asset, though it would have been a lot nicer had Fortson developed as expected and had we not taken Kedrick Brown 11th in 2001.
Toine was a multi-time all-star. If your success bar for "bottoming out/tanking" is higher than "multi time all-star", I don't know what to tell you. He eventually went on to become the 3rd best player on a championship team. Seriously, it's true.
Smart... I dunno. We'll see what happens to him. He might have star potential. Might settle in as a defensive role player. Could be the key part of a trade eventually. Gotta wait and find out.
Note: Trading Billups 50 games into his rookie season was seen as pretty nutty at the time. I've heard some truly outlandish rumors over the years as to the reason Billups was moved... such as Chauncey and Pervis Ellison having a homosexual relationship that became a lockerroom distraction... Like I said... crazy rumors. But Billups wasn't as bad as people seem to think. A modern equivalent would have been like if Marcus Smart had been traded 50 games into his rookie season for Ty Lawson (pre-latest legal drama). Consider the following:
Billups after 51 games: 11.1 points, 4.3 assists, 2.2 rebounds, 1.5 steals 39%/34%/82% - 25.4mpg
Smart after 51 games: 7.5 points, 3.3 assists, 3.3 rebounds, 1.4 steals 36%/33%/64% - 26.2mpg
Kenny Anderson previous season: 17.5 points, 7.1 assists, 2 steals, 43%/36%/77% - 26 years old (*had been an all-star 3 years earlier when he averaged 19, 10 and 2)
Ty Lawson previous season: 17.6 points, 8.8 assists, 1.6 steals, 43%/36%/80% - 26 years old (* never an all-star)
Topic: Bob Cousy says he'd rather tank/draft than get stuck in the middle of the pack. (Read 14613 times)