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

[celts55]

One, some players who can score the ball.Two, a big who can rebound and guard the rim.
As they is no bigs in this draft that really fit number 2, they have to address number one.
Fultz is that guy. There really doesn't seem to be much doubt he's an offensive machine.
Jackson who be yet another great athlete, who can do lots of great things, but can't shoot. Not needed. Celtics have plenty of the

Fultz will help with scoring but only one guy can have the ball at one time,   It will be him and IT and the max free agent all wanting it.   I think if we take Fultz then we will be trading a guard.

Not really getting your point. I realize only one guy can have the ball, but that doesn't mean you don't need more then one guy you can score. 1) IT is not always always on the court. 2) It with other scorers on the floor, it makes in more difficult to double team IT. 3) If they do trap him, he can pass to someone who can actually hit a shot.
I'd love to see IT, Fultz and Haywood out there together.
Look at Golden State. Curry, Durant, and Thompson are all great shooters and it worked out quite nicely. 

[jambr380]

Danny might want Jackson and would trade down to number 3 to get him and a chip from Philly--Meanwhile the Lakers bring in Jackson to get Danny to deal with them for Fultz.

If this is the case, Danny should call the Lakers bluff and draft Fultz...Lakers select Ball and then Ainge deals with Philly.

TP - why trade unknown picks when you can pick known players? No matter what, Fultz should be the #1 pick and thus has the most value. If the Lakers take Jackson, then he can deal with the Lakers; if Philly takes Jackson it becomes a lot easier.

I suppose the Cs could be 'stuck' with Fultz (Lakers only wanting Jackson) or having to trade with Philly for a guy like Tatum/Ball, but Fultz is the best player - he should take him regardless.

[Fan from VT]

One, some players who can score the ball.Two, a big who can rebound and guard the rim.
As they is no bigs in this draft that really fit number 2, they have to address number one.
Fultz is that guy. There really doesn't seem to be much doubt he's an offensive machine.
Jackson who be yet another great athlete, who can do lots of great things, but can't shoot. Not needed. Celtics have plenty of the

Fultz will help with scoring but only one guy can have the ball at one time,   It will be him and IT and the max free agent all wanting it.   I think if we take Fultz then we will be trading a guard.

Not really getting your point. I realize only one guy can have the ball, but that doesn't mean you don't need more then one guy you can score. 1) IT is not always always on the court. 2) It with other scorers on the floor, it makes in more difficult to double team IT. 3) If they do trap him, he can pass to someone who can actually hit a shot.
I'd love to see IT, Fultz and Haywood out there together.
Look at Golden State. Curry, Durant, and Thompson are all great shooters and it worked out quite nicely.

Yeah, this is often an odd concept. Curry/durant, lebron/love/irving, lebron/wade/bosh all did ok

[green_bballers13]

If we take Josh Jackson and he goes to 10 all star games and anyone else in the top 5 picks becomes a better player then he's a bust (unless he leads us to more rings than them)

Huh? I don't think that is the definition of bust.

Was Olajuwon a bust? If you don't make the best possible decision, it automatically becomes a bad decision? Isn't there a grey area?

I have Fultz and Jackson as 1 and 2 on my board. I think Fultz is a better fit for this team b/c of his offensive capabilities. We have more glue guys than offensive stars.

[Tr1boy]

Adrian Wojnarowski: Josh Jackson from Kansas has really moved himself into consideration a little bit in No. 1. He did cancel a workout with Boston. He is not going there yet. That could change, there’s still time. But the Lakersare really looking hard at Josh Jackson.

[mmmmm]

"I've picked Danny's brain for years," one GM said
Wonder if this is doc.

Could be Ryan McDonough

Ha ha!  The more I think about it, maybe this 'information' was purposely put out there by Danny himself ... in order to motivate Jackson (and even Ball) to maybe change his mind and at least come back in for a workout.

That wouldn't necessarily mean a thing about who Danny intends to take or not.  But one thing we do know is that Danny tries very hard to interview and workout every top prospect he can while he can (once they are signed to another team he can't talk to them for 2-4 years, until they become free agents again).

[Tr1boy]

"I've picked Danny's brain for years," one GM said
Wonder if this is doc.

Could be Ryan McDonough

Ha ha!  The more I think about it, maybe this 'information' was purposely put out there by Danny himself ... in order to motivate Jackson (and even Ball) to maybe change his mind and at least come back in for a workout.

That wouldn't necessarily mean a thing about who Danny intends to take or not.  But one thing we do know is that Danny tries very hard to interview and workout every top prospect he can while he can (once they are signed to another team he can't talk to them for 2-4 years, until they become free agents again).

Danny and staff know that Jackson prefers to play for the Lakers .... He is from the LA area

But also...

https://twitter.com/chad_amaral/status/875533058929242112

[obnoxiousmime]

It seems like the only thing we know for sure is that if you want a guarantee you can get your guy, you have to call Danny. However, I'm not sure what posing that you don't want Fultz accomplishes. Are they hoping that a team that loves Jackson over Fultz or Ball will deal for the 1st pick? Let's say you trade down, who are the Celtics then targeting? Is it still Fultz? How can you know that the Lakers won't simply take Fultz and call it a day?

I don't think there are a lot of teams that are desperate for Jackson over Fultz, but of course I don't have any intel. My only guess is that they think LA has fallen in love with Jackson and they want LA to trade for the first pick. Then the Celtics take whomever they want at 2, probably Fultz.

Let's say they don't think Jackson or Fultz are all that. I would be shocked if they were then targeting Ball, so let's say they like Tatum, Fox, or Isaac. In that case, it shouldn't be that difficult to come up with a deal for the 4 with Phoenix (McDonough having a good relationship with Ainge and also wanting to be sure they get their guy) or the 5 with Sacramento (Sac being a desperate franchise rumored to be wanting to trade up).

I don't know what to think anymore. All the misinformation is driving me batty.


EDIT:

Adrian Wojnarowski: Josh Jackson from Kansas has really moved himself into consideration a little bit in No. 1. He did cancel a workout with Boston. He is not going there yet. That could change, there’s still time. But the Lakersare really looking hard at Josh Jackson.

I didn't see this when I wrote my post. It would appear to confirm that either Boston actually does like Jackson or they just want to make the Lakers sweat a little, which is what I theorized. If they could get Fultz and also a little asset, that would be great. I don't think they could get much but they might as well try.

[hwangjini_1]

"I've picked Danny's brain for years," one GM said
Wonder if this is doc.

Could be Ryan McDonough

Ha ha!  The more I think about it, maybe this 'information' was purposely put out there by Danny himself ... in order to motivate Jackson (and even Ball) to maybe change his mind and at least come back in for a workout.

That wouldn't necessarily mean a thing about who Danny intends to take or not.  But one thing we do know is that Danny tries very hard to interview and workout every top prospect he can while he can (once they are signed to another team he can't talk to them for 2-4 years, until they become free agents again).

Danny and staff know that Jackson prefers to play for the Lakers .... He is from the LA area

But also...

https://twitter.com/chad_amaral/status/875533058929242112

do you have a source for this statement? i have not seen this before. and let's take care to not join the rush of those posters who may believe LA roots automatically mean a desire to be in LA for each player.

and even if they do so out of college, they can change their mind...ala pierce.

one more thing, jackson went to school in kansas, about as un-LA as you can get. he did not choose UCLA, USC, Riverside, etc. etc. etc.

[Eja117]

If we take Josh Jackson and he goes to 10 all star games and anyone else in the top 5 picks becomes a better player then he's a bust (unless he leads us to more rings than them)

Huh? I don't think that is the definition of bust.

Was Olajuwon a bust? If you don't make the best possible decision, it automatically becomes a bad decision? Isn't there a grey area?

I have Fultz and Jackson as 1 and 2 on my board. I think Fultz is a better fit for this team b/c of his offensive capabilities. We have more glue guys than offensive stars.

Perhaps we are arguing semantics. I understand that sometimes in the military in regards to a battle sometimes they say "We lost the battle. We got beat."  Other people say "We failed to achieve our intended objective."

Could we perhaps agree that the objective here with the top pick is to obtain the single best player in this draft and that if we don't it is a failed opportunity to reach that objective? Perhaps some people would feel better about that language rather than using the term "bust." Personally I don't see a huge difference per se.

I think some people see the word bust as "totally useless" and only apply it to Jimmer's and Anthony Bennets. I am from New England and don't give lots of prizes for 2nd best especially when you have the top pick.  I subscribe more to the Ricky Bobby philosophy of achievement. But that's just me.

[nickagneta]

One, some players who can score the ball.Two, a big who can rebound and guard the rim.
As they is no bigs in this draft that really fit number 2, they have to address number one.
Fultz is that guy. There really doesn't seem to be much doubt he's an offensive machine.
Jackson who be yet another great athlete, who can do lots of great things, but can't shoot. Not needed. Celtics have plenty of the

Fultz will help with scoring but only one guy can have the ball at one time,   It will be him and IT and the max free agent all wanting it.   I think if we take Fultz then we will be trading a guard.

I think it would make this team dynamic offensively to have three scorers. Cleveland and Golden State both have multiple scorers that need the ball and both teams are among the bedt offenses in the league. I don't see a problem with 3 people needing the ball. Boston is one of the best passing teams in the league. I don't see the ball sticking to anyone.

That said, I think you are right. A guard or maybe two have to go. My hope is Bradley and IT are kept.

[chiken Green]

My prediction is if We Take Jackson, in four years we will be trying to put a package together of multiple first round picks, players including Jackson, for Fultz.  Which will be declined.

A year after that we will have all of the Boston greats getting together and trying to woo Fultz, the face (and game) of a franchise, into signing with us..

[GreenCoffeeBean]

I think Ainge likes Fultz more than Jackson but maybe not as much as most of us think. If LA, Philly, or Phoenix like Fultz more than we do, then Ainge would be stupid not to trade back if he still thinks he could land Jackson and get whatever they give us.

A trade is more likely to happen on draft day after the picks have been made than before though. You can't take Jackson #1 overall and you can't risk not taking Fultz #1 if you think he's the other team's targets. You have to draft Fultz #1, see which team gets the player you'd secretly rather have, and then see what else they are offering.

[clevelandceltic]

"I've picked Danny's brain for years," one GM said
Wonder if this is doc.

Could be Ryan McDonough

Ha ha!  The more I think about it, maybe this 'information' was purposely put out there by Danny himself ... in order to motivate Jackson (and even Ball) to maybe change his mind and at least come back in for a workout.

That wouldn't necessarily mean a thing about who Danny intends to take or not.  But one thing we do know is that Danny tries very hard to interview and workout every top prospect he can while he can (once they are signed to another team he can't talk to them for 2-4 years, until they become free agents again).

Danny and staff know that Jackson prefers to play for the Lakers .... He is from the LA area

But also...

https://twitter.com/chad_amaral/status/875533058929242112

Jackson is not from the LA area. He is from Southfield Michigan just outside of Detroit. 30 min away from Miles Bridges in Flint. He spent his last year in HS in California.

[ETNCeltics]

A guy like Josh Jackson (or Tatum) is in the draft every year.

But getting the #1 pick and getting a shot at a franchise prospect like Fultz? Almost never happens. A prospect of his caliber comes along say every other year, and unless you're perpetually awful like Philly has been, you'll be lucky to get a guy of this caliber once in a generation.

Ainge can't be stupid enough to trade that opportunity away for a nice yet unspectacular prospect like Jackson and some other future asset of middling value. You cash in this chip now and thank God it fell into your lap.

I suspect this is all just noise. Unless the trade returns something like Anthony Davis, Ainge won't consider moving this pick, and drafting anyone else ahead of Fultz is ludicrous.