Poeltl & Pascal - The 2016 Draft

[thead]

Sabonis in the top ten? Interesting. I see reasons for it to happen but that opinion runs counter to a lot of mocks that have between 18 - 30

[octothorp]

his best attribute is his low post scoring. he has beautiful footwork. i like sabonis. i'm a big fan of pedigree and that is a good one. there is a reason why most of a race horse owners money comes from studding

And studding is how a basketball player loses most of his money.

[WJF]

Sabonis in the top ten? Interesting. I see reasons for it to happen but that opinion runs counter to a lot of mocks that have between 18 - 30

I think a lot of people assumed he would be going back to school for his junior year and don't want to just jump him up high to early. He is not the sexy pick but I don't think any of the top guys are going to want to work out vs. him. I see himslowlycementing himself in the lottery.

[Miekenstien]

And studding is how a basketball player loses most of his money.

haha

[Primer]

I was high on him at the beginning of the NBA season because I thought he'd be a steal at our prospective pick. I still think there's a small chance he's available at our pick and if he is; you take him no question.

But he is not good enough to pick with the NYK/DEN pick (well, that makes it sound worse than I mean it, there are just better options available at that level). He falls into the category of too good but not good enough.

If I had to guess, I'm thinking he's going somewhere in the 15 to 23 range.

If Maker is available at our pick, I don't see how we don't pick him and have him live with the 905 (having a D-League team really does increase the benefits of picking up raw prospects). Sure there's a chance he never works out; but at the end of the lottery/2nd round are the safest place for high risk picks.

I'd rather take a chance on the 7'2" Chinese guy Zhou Qi if we're going all in on tall guys with no other skills, he's our projected pick on draftexpress right now.

Other International players I'd take over Maker:

Juan Hernangomez
Petr Cornelie
Ante Zizic
Ivica Zubac

Hell, why not just take Diallo? At least he's looked really good in showcase games and a small NCAA sample size.

Pretty sure the only reason people like Maker is because he lives in Canada.

[octothorp]

Pretty sure the only reason people like Maker is because he lives in Canada.

Or because people watched a lot of youtube highlights of him when he was a super-tall grade 10 student, and haven't watched a lot of his showcase-level games against peers over the last couple years, where's he's failed to stand out.

[JimiCliff]

This is totally nutso:

Celts won the 16/17 coin flip! I take it all back!!!! Celts have Brooklyn's 3 + 16, 23, 31, 35, 45, 51 and 57. Would anyone like some picks?

— Bill Simmons (@BillSimmons) April 15, 2016

[TheWaterboy]

This is totally nutso:

Celts won the 16/17 coin flip! I take it all back!!!! Celts have Brooklyn's 3 + 16, 23, 31, 35, 45, 51 and 57. Would anyone like some picks?

— Bill Simmons (@BillSimmons) April 15, 2016

It is nuts.

At the same time, however, there are only two obvious avenues for this wealth of picks to help the Celtics get better: either they hit a home run with the Brooklyn lottery pick, or they do a pretty major trade with a team that wants to rebuild in a hurry. The Celtics are really well coached, but I'm not sure that there will be anyone available in either case that will fit in well and significantly improve their overall talent level.

[Primer]

This is totally nutso:

Celts won the 16/17 coin flip! I take it all back!!!! Celts have Brooklyn's 3 + 16, 23, 31, 35, 45, 51 and 57. Would anyone like some picks?

— Bill Simmons (@BillSimmons) April 15, 2016

I really feel like Boston is going to deal that pick for a big time player. Maybe Houston makes James Harden available after the inevitable 1st round exit (he's signed pretty cheap through 2017-18)? OKC trades Westbrook after Durant leaves (don't want to lose him for nothing too)? Atlanta deals Millsap to start a quick rebuild? Those seem somewhat realistic for a top 3 pick.

[DogeLover1234]

This is totally nutso:

Celts won the 16/17 coin flip! I take it all back!!!! Celts have Brooklyn's 3 + 16, 23, 31, 35, 45, 51 and 57. Would anyone like some picks?

— Bill Simmons (@BillSimmons) April 15, 2016

I could easily see us trading the raps pick for two of Boston's second rounders. More flexibility in terms of drafting and sending to the d league or Europe plus it gives a non guaranteed contract. Say 27 for the 35 and 45? sure there may be some drop off in talent, but not a whole lot.

[Deino]

This is totally nutso:

Celts won the 16/17 coin flip! I take it all back!!!! Celts have Brooklyn's 3 + 16, 23, 31, 35, 45, 51 and 57. Would anyone like some picks?

— Bill Simmons (@BillSimmons) April 15, 2016

I am pretty sure the Celtics will try to send a package that could include Draft picks and trading prospects,for a significant upgrade to their roster, targeting first tier stars via trades,it will be very interesting to see what they can achieve with all those picks.

[Miekenstien]

i like gp2.

[tenforthewin]

If we are looking for the best player available, come draft night, we should grab Jaylen Brown. This is how I see the draft goes as of today, April 22nd.

PHI - Ben Simmons - There is no way PHI will pass on Simmons if they are drafting first overall
LAL - Brandon Ingram - Ingram will follow suit, either he goes No1, no way he slips down to No3
BOS - Buddy Hield - This guy is the this year's James Harden or Victor Oladipo. Boston will draft him instead of Bender
PHX - Dragan Bender - Big project, the Suns need a PF
MIN - Kris Dunn - Minnesota needs a floor general and Kris Dunn comes to mind but they can go after Jamal Murry because of Wiggins
NOH - Jakob Poeltl - The Pelicans need a big to compliment Davis' game
DEN - Jamal Murry - Den needs a 2-guard or a point guard in case Mudiay doesn't pan out
SAC - Ivan Rabb/Sabonis/Ellenson - Sac can use a PF to start or comes off the bench
TOR - Jaylen Brown/Deyonta Davis (if he falls) or Brice Johnson - Jaylen Brown falls for us, we need to grab this kid, this move makes either Carroll or Ross expendable whom we can use as a trade bait for a big. If Deyonta Davis falls at late 20s, we should grab him but if Davis declares, I see him getting picked in the 10-15 range. Then we still have Brice Johnson, Cheick Diallo, Nigel Hayes, Damian Jones to dangle with.

Best Case Scenario: Jaylen Brown or Ivan Rabb with our first pick and Deyonta Davis or Brice Johnson using our late first round pick
Worst Case Scenario: Henry Ellenson or Demetrius Jackson with our first pick and a second rounder or no name European player in the late first round.

* Why no Henry Ellenson: The guy is slow and immobile, basically his another Patrick Patterson, his a serviceable big and plays decent ball game but on a good team like the Raptors, his not our franchise PF and we do not need his service beside big guy like him will need 2-3 years before he shows us what he can do. Demetrius Jackson is an awesome player but we have three PG unless we decide to part with Lowry or Joseph, there is no point drafting a PG.

[blackjitsu]

Pretty obvious to go after Brown if he falls. He won't but that seems obvious. Also, where are all these roster spots for all these players going to come from? Getting Brown doesn't make Ross OR Demarre expendable. They both have jump shots, which Jaylen is still developing.

If they can keep most of this team together (Keep DD and Biz for instance) the Raps are a genuine starting quality 4 away from becoming a scary team. Do they keep either of their picks? Or do they use them in a trade? Should they stash a pick in Europe/Asia? Or fill a valuable roster spot on a kid that will be playing on the 905 with Bruno?

For the most part though I agree on your assessment of the players you like. I disagree some on Ellenson. Scouts don't say he's slow footed. But many do argue that he's not a good defender. Also, another Pat Pat would be awesome. I think you're under valuing his defense.

[SkywalkerAC]

Kyle Anderson was my guy.