Narrowing It Down

Yao sucks for his size? He’s 7’6" The fact that he can walk and chew gum at the same time means he’s more coordinated then 90 percent of people his height. It’s not like there’s a shortage of really tall people in the world, it’s just most of them can’t play any sports, let alone something like basketball. He’s not exactly Shaq in his prime, true. But he’s still one of the best centers in the NBA right now(well, maybe not in this Utah series)

Danny Ainge, The Master Of Deception? He can’t be thinking Conley 3-5, can he?

Po I’ve felt the same way about Yi Jianlian
Ainge’s words grow my feeling that He wants a 5,4 or Durant. From that list, Brewer, Green, Young, J.Wright are removed first in my opinion.
I’d like to think the Celtics “5” is: Oden,Durant,Noah,Horford,Hibbert.

G Oden, K Durant, B. Wright,J Noah and R Hibbert are my five.

Celtics 5 imo is 1. Oden 2. Durant 3-5 brewer, horford, Jianlian

If hibbert comes alot better conditioned he is in the mix.

I don’t think danny will want to get a guy like B. Wright unless to trade for a vet.

Please, not Hibbert in the top 5.

I love the arm length on Horford and the quick jumping ability, never mind his body but I have the feeling he’s going to measure 6’8". If he was 6’ 10" I’d be thrilled.

I’m still waiting for someone to comment who has seen JianLian play. Youtube clips don’t count.

If we don’t get a top 2 pick, I’d pick CBrewer. After watching GG(underdeveloped game), Wally(one dimensional style play) and the uncertainty surrounding TA’s 100%-form return, and considering CBrewer being a seasoned collage player…I think he’d be a great fit for this team.

Brewer is my favorite of the candidates that I feel the Celtics just dont need. And I keep going back in forth between B.Wright and Hibbert in that 5th spot. Coco I agree with what your saying its just that Wally and Tony at least are unlikely to be going anywhere. Never mind PP and West… our 2-3 spots are filled, without even accounting for GG. Why not Litle D? Like Triboy says, if Hibbert conditions, irons out the defense and develops some more offense, he will be quite servicable for a long time. Cullian sorta touches on it. I mean he isnt exactly Oden at his best, true. But he still is/was one of the best centers in College right now.

Can’t rule out Yi Jianlian. Ainge made 3 trips to China ….that’s 22 hours plane ride each way. Unless he’s crazy, Danny’s interest in Yi is genuine. He must be in the top 5, perhaps #3 or #4. Mike Gorman also mentioned that the Celtics were high on Al Thornton….not mentioned above as a possible top-5 pick. Brewer’s name keeps coming up as well. We definitely need a PF if “big Al” stays at center. While a good PG would be beneficial, none of the two top rated guards (Conley and Law) have 6’7" size.

I won’t pick a top 5, but I’ll go 7 just to make it interesting:
1. Oden. 2. Durant. 3. B. Wright (despite the inevitable wait) and then whatever combination of J. Green, C. Brewer, J. Wright and (believe it or not) M. Conley.

Celtics 5:

1. Oden
2. Durant
3. Horford
4. Jianlian
5. Hawes

I can’t believe Shira put Thadeus Young and Jason Smith in that “top 12”…I think both players have tremendous potential, but I can’t fathom they’d be in a top 12 for the Celtics unless the team was simply going off of BPA, even then its a stretch with Young at his stage of dvelopment

Id say, Danny will tab Jianlian if he is 3-5, there is no difference in talent drop off in that 3-5 list so it will be a marketing move more than anything.

and with all that cap situation explained in detail for us by jeff, im now more inclined to keep the pick than trade it for an expensive vet..

I’ve watched 3 games of Yi’s. They were the last three CBA championship games. From what I’ve seen, you can definitly get any images of Yao out of your head. THey are completely different players. I don’t know who to compare him to in the NBA. Maybe a young KG skills wise? His back to the basket game isn’t really pollished. Face up he’s really good though. Very athletic for his size. can hand the ball. He runs the floor extreamly well and finishes well. His jumper is very strong. He’s pretty much money from inside 18 or 20. Offensivly I think he’d be the perfect compliment to Al and Pierce. He’d also be great if they try and play up-tempo.

His down side seems to be his defense on the block and his rebounding. He doesn’t play center over there really. (Yao is the center on the national team and they had some other guy playing center for his CBA team) He’s a good off the ball shot blocker but defending his man leaves a bit to be desired. He rebounds well but seems to have weak hands in that if he has to fight for a rebound in traffic he tended to lose it.

In the games I saw he really wasn’t allowed to dominate because of the way his team played. He did have good numbers though. His team played like a college team. They shot a ton of threes, and were all about guard play. Although, when they needed shots down the end to tie games they went right to Yi.

I like Yi. I think he could be really good in the NBA. He’s got some developing to do but even Durant and Oden have some developing to do. If they don’t get 1 or 2 I would love to see them grab Yi. He could play both the 4 and the 5 so he could play with both Al and Perk. Yi, Al, Pierce, Allen, and Rondo would put a ton of points on the board.

Don’t forget that Jianlin is a big star in China and any team that drafts him will have an eye towards increasing their team’s international profile. Wyc will definitely be whispering in Danny’s ear if we don’t get a top two pick. I think if Jianlin can play at all, he will be taken over other candidates just because of his marketing potential.

Furball,
I know it is difficult to compare but did it appear to you that Yi is quick enough for the NBA? His opponents in the games you watched, were they tall? Did he have any difficulty getting either his fall away and hook off?
In the Youtube clips I love the fact that at 6’11’ or 7’ he has so much court freedom; dribbling etc (he looked like a 7’ Charles Barkely in one clip). Does that appear to be the case in the framework of a game?
Thanks

defense, defense, defense. A guy like Brewer has a real shot at 5 as does Noah. Both of those guys can defend. Hibbert because of his size also brings a defensive element we don’t have. What if tony allen doesn’t come back as the same player? He’s our best defensive player. we need interior defense number 1 and then a guy who can guard small forwards and the other other teams top scorers. Brewer fits that bill perfectly.

Master Po said:
  "Not knowing about most of these players (besides Oden, Durant and Julian Wright) I am forced to go read the bio summary stories about strengths,weakness, upside, downside, etc… for each player.

When I think about those summaries of each player on draft web sites I think about all the varying opinions in here on this blog about who can play and who will never survive in the NBA. I then come to my senses and realize once again that no one really knows who can play NBA ball until those draft picks strap on the NBA shoelaces and actually they play some games (maybe for several seasons)."
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Master Po, thank you for this. The only problem is that it makes too much sense.

Actually I have a serious question. From what I’ve been reading today it seems that we can get no lower than the 5th pick in the draft. So even if we get the worst ping pong ball, does that mean we’ll get the number 5 pick?

In the words of Charles Barkley, “There is NO WAY you’re getting in my 5”….Joakim Noah. :)

TrueGreen, the lottery is only for the first 3 picks. So the worst possible situation we would run into, was that 3 teams that finished above us in the standing got the first 3 picks. After that, Memphis would pick 4th. And then we pick 5th.

Cullain, Thanks. I should have known that.

greenlove, you should try for a 5 first but if the five isn’t as good as the 4 shouldn’t you go for the four first? Of course the way the playoffs are going the ones seem to be doing the most damage! :)