Durant In

And the rumor is that Durant has hired Aaaron Goodwin, so he can’t pull out. I’m sure Goodwin will shortly be negotiating with Nike, Addidas, etc. if he isn’t already.

Oden and Conley will come out too. Julian Wright, who said he was returning to Kansas, declared yesterday.

Every year Bilas, Vitale and the other NCAA shills predict that certain players might return to school. They never do, at least if they are any good.

Oden is in…we’ll have a more substantial anouncement when time is apropriate…all the industry buzz is that he’s in…

we need all the luck we can get for 1 or 2. 3 down is a crap shoot.

I still think that Durant should be the Celtic’s pick, move Paul to the two, Durant at three. I think Oden is a tremendous player, but I like Perk, I like his development, and think we’re still in for a better and better player as he get’s older, more mature, and gains more experience.
Pray we get Durant!

This team needs Oden, not Durant or anyone else for that matter.

Gerald Green and Paul Pierce should be fine at the 2 & 3 spots along with Delonte West,Tony Allen and let’s not forget Wally Szczerbiak.

What this team needs is another big man in the Middle to Control the flow of the game inside and then you can move Al Jefferson to the 4 spot and have Kedrick Perkins and Ryan Gomes coming off the bench.

The point position is where I’d fill in with a Veteran besides having Rondo and Telfair (if he’s not traded)

But we need a big man badly and that would help a big need with Jefferson and Oden at the 4 & 5.

In Atlanta’s quest to outdo C’s management in the ethics department, their best player has been “suspended” for the next two games in their quest for more ping-pong balls. Amazing.

If I’m not mistaken, the only thing C’s management can do to outdo Atlanta would be to forfeit…Don’t bet against it.

This just in….Rajon Rondo has been diagnosed with acute turf toe and is out for tonight’s game. Boston has activated Doc Rivers to fill his roster spot.

Does anybody think Milwaukee, Atlanta, or Boston will even have ping pong balls after what they’ve put forward?? I predict none of these teams will be close to the top two picks.

With the 8th pick in the 2007 NBA draft….The Boston Celtics select???

Durant will be so far in our rear view mirror we’ll think he’s in a different country.

I don’t see getting either player would be bad. If the Celtics get Oden, they will have Oden and Jefferson down low for the next decade or more. Who in the East is going to match up with those two? Paul Pierce has never played with a legitimate post threat. I can’t imagine how easy he would be able to score with Oden and Jefferson at the four and five spots. In addition, Oden is the best defensive center prospect since Mourning. The team biggest problem is that it can’t play defense, especially in the fourth quarter. Oden would solve that problem. It would also transform Perkins from a below average starting center to a very good backup center. Who else in the league would have a off the bench physical enforcer like Perkins? Who cares if he fouls too much when he is your backup? It would also put Gomes into his natural role as a undersized rebounder and scorer off the bench. Even Gomes’ ditractors admit that he is a solid rotation guy, just not a starter. With Oden the Celtics would be able to use him as that rather than depend on him to start. The Celtics would have Oden, Jefferson, Perkins and Gomes as a four man rotation down low. That would not only be formidable but no one would be over the age of 24. That rotation would kill the East for years to come.

If the Celtics get Durrant, their defense would still stink, but there is not a team in the league who could match up with Pierce and Durrant on the perimeter. They could outscore most teams in the league and probably every team in the East. They might not be as good as quickly as they would be with Oden, you do have to play some defense afterall, but God they would be fun to watch.

i can now exhale exactly 1/2 a breath

Ployboy,

The Celtics are not going to get he 8th pick. They are going to finish with the second worst record. They pretty much clinched that by loosing to Milwaukee the other night. Further, don’t underestimate’s Doc’s ability to loose a game. By the fourth quarter tonight, he will be running Powe at the point and be posting up Ray down low. The Celtics are going to get the second worst record which means that they will pick no lower than 5th, a very unlikly possiblity and have about a 50 50 shot at being in the top two. I wouldn’t be out buying my Oden Jersey yet, but let’s at least be realistic in our assesments of the Celtics chances.

We’re halfway there, the pieces are moving. Please let us find a way to get a top 2 pick, that’s all I ask for. Durant or Oden, it doesn’t matter, we could desperately use either one. Just make this tragedy filled, injury ridden, misery of a season worth it in the end..

I believe I am, John. I believe you can only push the envelope so far in the quest for the pick. When your captain plays 50 minutes and then is shut down, along with your two best other active players…and you have to make an NBDL roster exemption, you’re being about as overt as you can be. The situation has turned into a caracature of itself. When it becomes a contest as to who can out-sleaze the other in the quest, I believe Stern will step in.

I’ve watched for 2 seasons at Doc’s unique ability to coach us to a loss….but he’s even outdoing himself. Of course he has nothing to work with right now….But the fact that it’s by design is what I believe has ultimately raised enough red flags.

I believe there’s as good a chance that we, Atlanta, and Milwaukee will forfiet their picks as there is that we’ll get the 5th pick. But there’s no way any of those 3 teams get picks one or two.

Memphis hinted at tanking….then is fielding their best players 40 minutes night in and night out. Their actions speak louder than their words. So do our’s.

Keep this in mind folks…the team with the 2nd worst record has only one the draft lottery once…uno…More often than not that teams ends up with the 4th or 5th pick…If it means anything to you..we cant not go any lower than 5th…It doesnt look good! Is there a Dwyane Wade or Carmelo Anthony after the 2nd pick in this draft..maybe, probably… but This is a draft we want a top two pick no question…Your gonna see a team like Atlanta, Milwaukee or Charlotte, or even Philly win the lottery…Mark my words!

I meant to say WON…forgive my english

As far as the Celtics are concerned, this is a two-deep draft. Anything besides Durant/Oden contines a longer term rebuild that Pierce and Danny certainly can’t survive. All the discussion about the Wrights, Jianlian, Hawes, Hibbert, Horford is — to me — a prelude to more pain.

The most important moment in the past 10 or 20 years for this franchise will be the opcoming lottery for the draft order selection. In a way it’s sad that Celtics fans are reduced to rooting for ping pong balls to bounce their way. Imagine tha devestation and fallout of walking away with pick #3 in this draft?

Texas freshman Kevin Durant will declare for the NBA draft, the Dallas Morning News reports, citing two unnamed sources close to the Longhorns basketball program.

A news conference has been scheduled for 5 p.m. ET in Austin, Texas, ESPN.com’s Andy Katz reports. Durant plans on finishing the spring semester rather than withdrawing from the university, Katz reports.

This is from espn.com.

“I believe there’s as good a chance that we, Atlanta, and Milwaukee will forfiet their picks as there is that we’ll get the 5th pick. But there’s no way any of those 3 teams get picks one or two.”

The NBA is not going to forfeit anyone’s picks. People tank every year. You think Clevland didnt’ tank for LaBron or San Antonio for Duncan? If the Celtics have the second worst record, which they will, they can pick no worse than fifth. For that to happen, three teams besides Memphis and Boston have to get into the top three. The odds against that are enormous. So enormous that it is just not a realistic possibility. With the second worst record the chances are overwelming that the Celtics get into the top four and better than 50 50 they get into the top three. Take off your tinfoil hat and relax. I not saying it is a sure thing, but I would bet a whole lot that the Celtics pick no worse than third in the coming draft.

With the second worst record the Celtics have a 19% chance at the first pick, an 18% chance at the second and a 17% chance at the third. That means they have a 54% chance at a top three, an 85% chance at a top four, and a 100% chance at a top 5 pick. Chances are it is no worse than fourth. Having one of the two worst records pretty much gaurentees you in the top four and gives you about an equal chance at any of the top three picks. Even if the Celtics end up at 4, they will get Noah or Jullian Wright, both of whom will be very good players. Thin gruel I know, but I would still take both of those guys over any of the top five last year.

Personally, I think the Cs are looking at the 3rd or 4th overall pick. Just a gut feeling. My question is what do we with the #3 or #4? Package it with Green, delonte whoever etc. to get Garnett? Thats not happening. What else is really out there really? The Spurs arent giving up Duncan anytime soon. Amare?
Unless we get Oden or Durant you’re going to see a major overhaul of the C’s.
Either you draft Noah or Julian Wright and watch Pierce demand a trade or you package the 3 of 4 with Pierce and hope to make something HUGE happen.
Id like to hear peoples opinions in case of the worst

I wish people would just admit that no one knows what pick they will get. Why the third or the fourth? For practicle purposes the Celtics are just as likly to get the first or the second than they are the third or the fourth. Look, someone has to get the top two picks and the Celtics are more likely to be one of those two teams than every other team in the league except Memphis and even Memphis is only a 50 50 shot. The constant moaning that they will never get the pick is just as wrong as gaurenteeing they will get the pick. It might go either way and there is no way to know.

Side Note: Ive hit the button on ESPN’s mock draft about a thousand times now and the C’s got the #1 NEVER

If the picks aren’t forfeited, Boston will choose 5th, Milwaukee 6th, and Atlanta 7th. Hopefully the entire lottery system will be overhauled. I would guess Memphis is virtually assured of the first pick as the only one of the bottom four teams who gives the appearance of trying to compete.

Do you work at the league office or something plowboy? Why is there any reason to think you are right that the league is going to penalize those teams?

When has a team ever had to forfeit their pick?

Whales,

I just did that thing on ESPN three times and Celtics got Durrant every time. My result means about as much as yours, nothing.

JohnCK I realize the ESPN Mock draft isnt the real draft, but thank you for clearing this up for anyone who may have been confused.

For anyone whos not as smart as JohnCK:
The ESPN Mock draft calculator takes the team’s odds based on their record /number of balls and simulates the draft. NOTE: You are not actually conducting a draft everytime you play “ESPN Mock draft”

Every team needs Oden more than Durant. Even Miami.

I don’t, John….but if you look at how much Stern worries about league image and how ridiculous the tanking situation has gotten with the Cs, Hawks, and Bucks….I don’t know how he doesn’t address it. The only question is whether he changes how the lottery works pre-emptively based on the behavior of these 3 teams or he addresses it next year. I believe you’ll see both…as in 5th 6th and 7th for those 3 teams. But I would be amazed if these teams got rewarded for overt tanking. I think that’ll be taken care of behind the scenes with Memphis choosing first, Boston, Atlanta, and Milwaukee choosing in some order 5th and above…with the rest of the lottery teams in between. I’ll be willing to bet that the shutting down of Paul, Al, and Delonte cemented our fate.

All I’m going with is that usually the worst team does not win the lottery. The last couple have gone to 5th and 6th place teams so it’s due to swing back to the 2nd or 3rd place teams this year. There will be no fixing by Stern but a lot of praying by Celtic fans!

Last I heard, my source confirmed that Oden will be declaring (big shocker, huh?).

This makes the Cs chances of landing someone big, via draft, that much better.

And if they dont land a top 2 pick, Ainge better be working the phones to bring in an All-Star. This offseason should be his last chance, imo.