Okafor or Bender ? ( POLL)

[alldaboston]

Bender is Tyler Zeller.

Because he's white and skinny and has sort of sharp facial features?

Seriously I don't know where this outrageous and uninformed notion is coming from.

Yeah. Let's not disrespect Bender that much.

[Goldstar88]

Who has the most upside  ?  To me it's bender . He won't have the strength or low post scoring ability as Okafor , but I see him as a much better defender , more skilled offensive player, better handle and passing/ play making ability, ability to stetch the floor and get his shot off against just about anyone .

I don't see Okafor as a good defensive player , he just doesn't have the agility to cover in the pick and roll , or ability to switch off onto guards/ wings .

At this point , I would rather keep the pick than trading it for Okafor .

Bender 100 times out of 100. I totally agree with your points plus add good character which should not be understated. In all my younger years of drinking at night clubs, I never knocked someone out on the street like Okafor did in Boston. Hard to blame that on youth but not that hard to blame it on bad character.

The lakers scouts sounded very enamored with Bender as well. It would be interesting to see how Danny really feels about him. I have a strong feeling he is the prototypical Celtics player he dreams about and would no doubt excel under Stevens. I am excited by the prospect of seeing him Celtics Green.

If I recall, Pierce got into some trouble in his younger years and he seemed to turn out alright.

Where is all of this hype coming from for Bender?? Iv'e seen some of the his "highlight" clips and they were some of the least impressive videos that i have seen for a top prospect.  He has a decent handle, but his athleticism, shot, passing, defense, shot blocking ability, all seem average. He's also extremely thin and is going to get abused by other power forwards in the NBA.

I get it that he's 18, but so were Brandon Jennings and Ricky Rubio when they were playing over in the European league and they played at a much higher level. How is someone who put up such meager numbers in Europe going to come over to the NBA and excel?

Okafor has already shown that he can produce in the NBA. If he can score 17ppg, 7rpg, 1+ Blk and play just average defense, he would be a huge upgrade over all of the bigs that the Celtics have.

[86MaxwellSmart]

Woj seems to think that teams will trying to outbid each other for this 3rd pick..as the next few weeks go by...The Bender Workouts are going to be huge for us.

[timpiker]

Okafor is the best young big (and I still believe a very good C is needed for a championship team) I can remember in a long time.

[ImShakHeIsShaq]

Okafor is the best young big (and I still believe a very good C is needed for a championship team) I can remember in a long time.

KAT

[PaulP34]

A lot of votes for Bender, i'm suprised. I'm from europe and i tell you Bender is far from nba ready he is solid prospect but not a potential franchise player. He is not great defender or great scorer or great blocker. He is 7 footer who can run and that it's.

I think Okafor is bad fit for this fast paced basketball thar Celtics play and Bender wouldn't even get 10min if he is drafted by Cs.

 So i wouldn't like either for the Cs now but Okafor is by far better player and has more potential than Bender

What about 4 years down the line? Who will be the better player? Do you still think it's Okafor?

Absolutely. Okafor will be a dominant center and I can almost guarantee that Bender is a bust. I don't want Danny to draft Bender I'm all set. If we gotta keep the pick I'd rather draft Buddy Heild. Sorry Bender fenders but I don't see much more then an if with that kid.

[jpotter33]

Woj seems to think that teams will trying to outbid each other for this 3rd pick..as the next few weeks go by...The Bender Workouts are going to be huge for us.

Where did you see that at?

[celticsfan8591]

I really don't want either of them.  The NBA is moving toward big men who can space the floor on offense and protect the rim on defense, so we trade the 3rd pick for a post-up brute who's absolutely abysmal on defense?  No thanks.  That said, I'd rather have Okafor than Bender.  Are people aware that Bender averaged 2 points per game?  It's great that he's tall and mobile, but if I'm picking a guy in the top 3,  I'd like to have some evidence that he can actually play basketball. 

I hope they either trade the pick for Butler or Boogie, or take Buddy Hield or Jamal Murray at 3.

[Smartacus]

Okafor is the best young big (and I still believe a very good C is needed for a championship team) I can remember in a long time.

KAT

Think timpiker might have been talking about a "pure" Center. Not sure, but I doubt that you would find many around these parts that would put Okafor ahead of Towns in a vacuum.

But Okafor is a chance at the 5 spot. KAT is an exceptional player that could very well go down as one of the all-time greats, but when you think of the center spot a guy like Okafor is what comes to mind. Guys like that don't come along every year. It's hard to imagine but the best pick in this draft could still be Jahlil Okafor.

[clevelandceltic]

Im actually looking at another idea. Instead of trading the 3rd this year, why not look to trade the 16th pick, Hunter and the 18 Nets pick for Okafor? I dont know if Philly does that deal but that deal works better for the Cs. If I have Bender  & Okafor with that 17 Nets pick in my back pocket to take another young player to add to the core or to trade for a star I like that path alot better.

Could be all wishful thinking but I think the Cs might need at least one more young player and then use the Nets pick to either go young or to overpay for a star.

[PaulP34]

Im actually looking at another idea. Instead of trading the 3rd this year, why not look to trade the 16th pick, Hunter and the 18 Nets pick for Okafor? I dont know if Philly does that deal but that deal works better for the Cs. If I have Bender  & Okafor with that 17 Nets pick in my back pocket to take another young player to add to the core or to trade for a star I like that path alot better.

Could be all wishful thinking but I think the Cs might need at least one more young player and then use the Nets pick to either go young or to overpay for a star.

Problem is, we don't want Bender. Trade for Okafor using the 18 pick is not gonna fly. They wanna see where the pick will be. We lost out on Okafor at the deadline because Philly wanted to be sure it was at least a top 3 pick. The reason they may bite now is because Los Angeles kept their pick. So giving Okafor for the 3rd pick is now worth it. We are not drafting Bender. The pick will be Philly's and Okafor is ours...

[clevelandceltic]

Well however you do it, you are going to need at least one of those players from those Brooklyn picks

Im actually looking at another idea. Instead of trading the 3rd this year, why not look to trade the 16th pick, Hunter and the 18 Nets pick for Okafor? I dont know if Philly does that deal but that deal works better for the Cs. If I have Bender  & Okafor with that 17 Nets pick in my back pocket to take another young player to add to the core or to trade for a star I like that path alot better.

Could be all wishful thinking but I think the Cs might need at least one more young player and then use the Nets pick to either go young or to overpay for a star.

Problem is, we don't want Bender. Trade for Okafor using the 18 pick is not gonna fly. They wanna see where the pick will be. We lost out on Okafor at the deadline because Philly wanted to be sure it was at least a top 3 pick. The reason they may bite now is because Los Angeles kept their pick. So giving Okafor for the 3rd pick is now worth it. We are not drafting Bender. The pick will be Philly's and Okafor is ours...

[86MaxwellSmart]

Woj seems to think that teams will trying to outbid each other for this 3rd pick..as the next few weeks go by...The Bender Workouts are going to be huge for us.

Where did you see that at?

He was on The Vertical with Mannix yesterday...he was pretty adamant about it.

[chambers]

Im actually looking at another idea. Instead of trading the 3rd this year, why not look to trade the 16th pick, Hunter and the 18 Nets pick for Okafor? I dont know if Philly does that deal but that deal works better for the Cs. If I have Bender  & Okafor with that 17 Nets pick in my back pocket to take another young player to add to the core or to trade for a star I like that path alot better.

Could be all wishful thinking but I think the Cs might need at least one more young player and then use the Nets pick to either go young or to overpay for a star.

Problem is, we don't want Bender. Trade for Okafor using the 18 pick is not gonna fly. They wanna see where the pick will be. We lost out on Okafor at the deadline because Philly wanted to be sure it was at least a top 3 pick. The reason they may bite now is because Los Angeles kept their pick. So giving Okafor for the 3rd pick is now worth it. We are not drafting Bender. The pick will be Philly's and Okafor is ours...

Bender is definitely on the cards for us. Ainge has been to see him multiple times and the Celtics have also had scouts at Macabi games. Ainge also likes Okafur so this will be interesting, but you are just desperately hating on Bender of you think we won't be thinking long and hard about it if the opportunity for one or the other arises.  Oth guys have 'franchise' talents either way you look at it.

The Bender thirst is real, no matter how hard you want to deny it. Just accept that he's a legitimate possibility and try to see the positive side of it. He's not Andrea Bargani lol.

[crimson_stallion]

A lot of people here probably know how I feel about Okafor by now - I'm not a fan at all.

But if had to choose between trading for Okafor or drafting Bender, I would definitely take Okafor.  It would kinda be a no brainer.

I guess that says a lot about how I feel about Bender...