Ford: GMs Think Ainge Really Likes Josh Jackson (Insider)

[RockinRyA]

Fultz has the highest upside but also is the least ready (out of the top 5)..... He also needs to toughen up

Celtics staff may feel, guys like Smart may chew him alive.   Challenge him etc. 

Maybe he might cave..

A guy like Jackson won't

I don't think Fultz will see much minutes next season...at least until his defense is as good as Roziers .  Jackson should be able to contribute immediately , due to defense alone

We will have to see what type of direction Danny wants to take.  This is why i have been saying that this team is lucky but in a difficult situation.   You need to let a guy like Fultz play, develop, breathe , grow, make mistakes.   On this current team, the margin of error is small

lol so Fultz 'might cave', yet ' a guy like Jackson won't'.

I didn't realize you knew their personalities and mental fortitude like a psychologist triboy.
When and where did you conduct these tests?
In your mom's basement?

Where's this notion coming from that Fultz isn't all that ready and will hardly play starting off?

I think Fultz will play more than Brown did in his rookie year, because his scoring and shooting will be needed off of our bench.

You have to take into account who is posting. Some people will do ANYTHING to smear those they do not like.

[Phantom255x]

Draft is 7 days away:



If we didn't have Jaylen Brown already, it'd be interesting, but we do, so...

[mmmmm]

So let me get this straight, one GM says that based on the type of player Ainge prefers he thinks they'll pick Jackson? Ummmm, first of all that means literally next to nothing. All this tells us is what one GM thinks, not what the Celtics are thinking. And ya Ainge often takes the hard working defensive player, but not all the time. He was rumored to love KD, and KD doesn't fit that archetype. He selected Olynyk and Sullinger who aren't defensive forces. He takes the best player, not a type. Lastly Jackson cancelled his work out likely because he KNOWS he's not going first and he's rumored to have a promise from a top 3 team (which isn't the Celtics because they don't give promises). Thus he has nothing to gain from such a workout.

Q: What is the purpose of a GM even putting this rumor out there? 
A:  To put doubt in someone's mind that Fultz will be the #1 pick.

Q: What would be the effect of putting doubt in Fultz' own mind that he will be the number 1 pick?
A:  Fultz would logically need to make sure he works out for the Lakers and Sixers.

Q:  What GM would therefore benefit the most from putting this rumor out there?
A:  Magic or Collangelo.

[gouki88]

Fultz has the highest upside but also is the least ready (out of the top 5)..... He also needs to toughen up

Celtics staff may feel, guys like Smart may chew him alive.   Challenge him etc. 

Maybe he might cave..

A guy like Jackson won't

I don't think Fultz will see much minutes next season...at least until his defense is as good as Roziers .  Jackson should be able to contribute immediately , due to defense alone

We will have to see what type of direction Danny wants to take.  This is why i have been saying that this team is lucky but in a difficult situation.   You need to let a guy like Fultz play, develop, breathe , grow, make mistakes.   On this current team, the margin of error is small

lol so Fultz 'might cave', yet ' a guy like Jackson won't'.

I didn't realize you knew their personalities and mental fortitude like a psychologist triboy.
When and where did you conduct these tests?
In your mom's basement?

Where's this notion coming from that Fultz isn't all that ready and will hardly play starting off?

I think Fultz will play more than Brown did in his rookie year, because his scoring and shooting will be needed off of our bench.

You have to take into account who is posting. Some people will do ANYTHING to smear those they do not like.

Indeed. Anything to try and talk about his binkies, even when not all of it makes sense.

[mmmmm]

Fultz just had a workout today with the Lakers

https://twitter.com/Lakers/status/875409863454728194/photo/1?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw&ref_url=http%3A%2F%2Fnesn.com%2F2017%2F06%2Flook-away-celtics-fans-markelle-fultz-rocks-lakers-gear-in-workout%2F

https://twitter.com/Lakers/status/875423140591017988?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw&ref_url=http%3A%2F%2Fnesn.com%2F2017%2F06%2Flook-away-celtics-fans-markelle-fultz-rocks-lakers-gear-in-workout%2F

This means even Fultz' team is uncertain whether Danny drafts him or not.

I'm starting to think this is a ploy to try and get the Lakers to offer up some assets to move up in the draft.

Think about it: if Danny knew that LA gave Jackson a promise and was set on him, he might be having this leaked out there to try and make LA think that we'll take Jackson over Fultz. If they really are set on Jackson, then maybe they'd offer up something to move to the first pick.

Granted, what that would be is beyond me. I'd imagine all of Ingram, Clarkson, Randle, and Russell are either off the table or not wanted by Danny. Zubac would be interesting, but he's redundant with Zizic.

Larry Nance Jr. would be an interesting and cheap bench big for us. But is it really worth it just for that?

Perhaps this is just a self-defense mechanism of me making up theories trying to convince myself that Danny would never make such a terrible decision like this. 

Ha ha!  Too convoluted of a plot for me.

My more simple guess is that this was actually put out by Magic's folks in order to give Fultz a reason to come and do a workout for the Lakers.

[action781]

josh Jackson is an excellent prospect.  Of course Ainge should really like him.  I like Fultz slightly better, but they are both excellent prospects and I don't think it is as simple of a decision as most make it seem to be.  I kind of have the feeling that neither will end up being the wrong pick.

[Dchuck]

Of course Jackson is the "type" of player Danny likes.  Who wouldn't want a long, tenacious, defending rebounder?

However...

1.  He usually drafted that "type" of player because they were what was left when it was time to pick.  As much as he loved Brown, we all know he would have taken Simmons and Ingram if given the chance.  He also would have taken Wiggins and Parker over Smart as well. 

2.  The supposed logjam at the guard position is a fallacy!  Only one of the guards (IT) can be counted on as a consistentscorer and/or playmaker.  Even if we keep IT, it is not enough.  Also, the expectation is we only have room for one of IT and Bradley, so after next season, we will have even less offensive production when one of them is gone.

3.  With Brown (who Ainge is supposedly high on) and Crowder, Jackson would seem a little redundant.  Another "dirt dog" SF who can't shoot.  Oh yay, sign me up!  Plus with Hayward a real possibility, doesn't that position become a logjam?

4.  Danny hasn't had a #1 pick.  He doesn't have to settle for the leftovers.  He doesn't have to "play with the hand he was dealt".  He has the pick of the litter.  There's no excuses with this draft.  It's not hard.  High motor, defensive guys are great.  But players with a complete offensive arsenal don't come by often.  It's pretty clear who has the elite offensive ability that this team so desperately needs. 

Danny is widely known as "Trader Dan".  He is not an exceptional drafter.  Here's his opportunity to make the best draft of his career.  It can and MUST be none other than Fultz!

[celts10]

So it's a rumor mostly based on one GM's assessment of Danny's "type"?

Maybe it's former Celtics Assistant GM and now Suns GM Ryan McDonough...

[Tr1boy]

"We have great respect for Boston and Danny Ainge," Jackson's agent B.J. Armstrong said. "That's a championship-caliber organization and Josh brings the things that I know Danny values. He can defend his position at an elite level. He can rebound for his position at an elite level and he can pass for his position at an elite level. All the championship-caliber teams are looking for players who can do those three things. And I know they want winners.

"We're in dialogue with Boston. We're very respectful of them. They have the No. 1 pick and can select whoever they choose. We just need to see how things play out over the next week."

"We like him a lot," the Celtics source said about Jackson. "But we like several guys a lot. We've got a week to figure it out."

[knuckleballer]

"We have great respect for Boston and Danny Ainge," Jackson's agent B.J. Armstrong said. "That's a championship-caliber organization and Josh brings the things that I know Danny values. He can defend his position at an elite level. He can rebound for his position at an elite level and he can pass for his position at an elite level. All the championship-caliber teams are looking for players who can do those three things. And I know they want winners.

"We're in dialogue with Boston. We're very respectful of them. They have the No. 1 pick and can select whoever they choose. We just need to see how things play out over the next week."

"We like him a lot," the Celtics source said about Jackson. "But we like several guys a lot. We've got a week to figure it out."

I liked Jackson a lot if we fell to 3rd or 4th, but the pick is Fultz.  That's what it is.

[gouki88]

"We have great respect for Boston and Danny Ainge," Jackson's agent B.J. Armstrong said. "That's a championship-caliber organization and Josh brings the things that I know Danny values. He can defend his position at an elite level. He can rebound for his position at an elite level and he can pass for his position at an elite level. All the championship-caliber teams are looking for players who can do those three things. And I know they want winners.

"We're in dialogue with Boston. We're very respectful of them. They have the No. 1 pick and can select whoever they choose. We just need to see how things play out over the next week."

"We like him a lot," the Celtics source said about Jackson. "But we like several guys a lot. We've got a week to figure it out."

I liked Jackson a lot if we fell to 3rd or 4th, but the pick is Fultz.  That's what it is.

No doubt. TP, if Brooklyn has been better, or we'd been less lucky in the lotto, then Jackson could well be the man. But that's not the case.

[Chief Macho]

i've always thought Jackson made more sense.   wasn't he the highest rated player in the country going into college?  i just remember Arizona waiting desperately on his decision.

[SparzWizard]

Don't do it Ainge. Celtics do not need another SF.

What was your purpose in picking Jaylen Brown then? Why are we still going after Gordon Hayward too?

Markelle Fultz, he is the chosen one!

[gouki88]

i've always thought Jackson made more sense.   wasn't he the highest rated player in the country going into college?  i just remember Arizona waiting desperately on his decision.

How does he make more sense? He's a considerably worse player and a worse prospect.

[mr. dee]

i've always thought Jackson made more sense.   wasn't he the highest rated player in the country going into college?  i just remember Arizona waiting desperately on his decision.

How does he make more sense? He's a considerably worse player and a worse prospect.

Define worse. Jackson isn't a perfect player but neither is Fultz. For all we know, Fultz could be another Dante Exum or Tyreke Evans than Harden/Irving. Both have their strength and their flaws.