More Workout Plans

At this point I think Horford is a lock at 4. Atlanta will either take Wright, Conley or Yi. I think Ainge is targetingtwo players, Yi or Thornton. I don’t think he is targeting Conley because he believes he has a point guard in Rondo. I don’t think he is targeting Wright because he does the same thing as Jefferson and there are doubts about his work eithic. I don’ think he is targeting Brewer becaus Bewer only measured out at 6 feet six, is rail thin, will not be a shut down defender in the NBA until he has a year or two to get stronger and the Celtics have a suplus on the wings. I don’t think he will draft Hawes because Ainge wants to run and a plodding center is not conducive to running. I don’t think he takes Julian Wright or Green because they do the same things that Pierce, Allen and Green already do. That leaves Thornton and Yi.

If Atlanta takes Conley or Wright, Ainge will take Yi. If they take Yi, Ainge will draft Conley and then trade down to the 7 to 10 range and take Thornton, at which point Brick goes on a suicide watch.

Why take one of those two guys? Because they both can play either the three or the four and will allow Ainge to move Gomes and possibly Green as a package with Theo’s contract. I am not saying it is the right thing to do, but I think if you look at it, that is the most likly course Ainge takes.

it’s weird that Bulpett has just decided that he knows who the top 6 are.

and now that they are bringing in Noah, he makes it seem like they aren’t really looking at him as one of their main prospects.

how does he know that Thornton is in that mix. Thornton is projected much lower in the draft, so maybe they are only looking at him in a trade down scenario….

I think they are looking at Thornton in a trade down scenerio with Conley. Conley is the best PG on the board and a lot of teams want to trade up and get him. If Conley falls to the Celtics, that means Yi is probably off the board. In that case, Ainge drafts Conley and trades down to take Thornton.

I think Horford will be there at 5 & Ainge should select him. He’s mature, a winner and knows the game. He’d be a decent backup for Al.

Atlanta & Memphis aren’t exactly draft scientists.

Hawks need a pg badly & I wouldn’t bet against them to pick up Conley. I can see Memphis picking up Yi.

I think a front court of Jefferson, Horford Pierce, Rondo would be amazing.

betya Noah dominates Wright at their workout.

JohnCK, I’m figuring you’re correct about Ainge wanting to take Yi. But your back-up idea (if Yi’s gone) of taking Conley, and then trading down for Thorton doesn’t sound practical. By the time you got down to a team that needed a starting point guard, Thorton would be gone.

And forget about trading Ratliff. His money will going to Jefferson.

When Yi’s gone, Ainge will go with Noah. (Sigh.)

JohnCK said:
 
“If Atlanta takes Conley or Wright, Ainge will take Yi. If they take Yi, Ainge will draft Conley and then trade down to the 7 to 10 range and take Thornton, at which point Brick goes on a suicide watch.”

No, Grousbeck is going to go on a suicide watch when Milwaukee, drafting at #6, takes Conley and inptoves by 20 games while the Celtics are still mired in the lottery, in part due to Rondo’s erratic shooting and inability to take care of the ball.
 

The possible scenarios are mind boggling. Is Conley so much better than Rondo that he justifies a top 5 (not lower than top 10) pick in a strong draft while Rondo was available to pluck in the 20-25 pick range lst year? If Conley is truly the best pick at #5, does Ainge then trade Rondo or West in a package for another big man? How much better than Thornton will Yi and Horford be if they are selected, as predicted, ahead of him?

My gut feeling is that the rumors about Danny trading down (most likely with Atlanta) are true. I don’t remember the exact package suggested but, if the Celtics could draft and trade Conley along with roster fodder to Atlanta for Joe Johnson and the #11 pick (gambling that either Thornton, Hawes or another big man acceptable to the Celtics will be left to pick at that spot), I would do it.

If there was a way for the Celtics to acquire two picks between 10 and 15, they might be able to get one of the big men available in that range and Acie Law.

After Oden and Durant are gone, how deep is the pool of the next tier of players? If the next range of prospects ranges between pick 3 and somewhere between picks 15 and 20, would it make more sense to acquire one of those players plus a veteran in a trade or simply draft the best available combination of two players that will be available after the Celtics trade down from #5?

Ordinarily, there are more or less than 6 consensus top prospects in any given year. Is the talent pool this year similarly shallow or does it continue down to picks in the teens?

Could somebody with credible access to scouting information post something about when the major drop off in this talent pool is supposed to end?

Ainge seems to be attempting to maintain a certain amount of roster flexibility and is unlikely to tip off other teams about his real plans. We will not know how Ainge truly feels about this draft for the Celtics until the draft begins or the first serious trades before or after the draft are made by him.

Old Hondo said:

“The possible scenarios are mind boggling. Is Conley so much better than Rondo that he justifies a top 5 (not lower than top 10) pick in a strong draft while Rondo was available to pluck in the 20-25 pick range lst year?”

Yes. Draft Conley. Trade Rondo.

It is good to see that
(a) the “list of 6” has expanded to include Noah (and my guess is the number of players on the list will keep expanding….);
(b) Glen Davis is being considered for the #32 spot. He could be an interesting player.

Rondo can’t shoot. If you can’t shoot, you can’t be a starting point guard for very long. Rondo is a good energy, change-of-pace guy coming off the bench. Conley is going to be a star. At this point, I’d take Conley over Yi, especially after he decided to skip the tests. If he’s the athlete we’ve been led to believe he is, his stock and $$$ would rise if he performed well. Something’s not right.

I’m with Brick, and I agree that Ainge is going to find a way to screw this up.

All you have to do is see these playoffs to realise how far a potential great point guard can take you..Davis , Kidd , Parker , Nash , Deron .. i could go on..

I love how everyone is ready to crucify Ainge even though he hasn’t even had a chance to draft Conley. Ainge will most likely never have a chance to draft him.
That is unless Ainge falls in love with the guy and trades up to #3 to get him. That’ s not going to happen.
Atlanta cannot risk a pick on B.Wright when they have a glaring need at PG.
And Memphis could surely use the exposure and flash of having Conley on their team.
If Conley is there at #5 and Horford and Yi are not, Danny will pick Conley. His phone will be ringing off the hook.
If he keeps him, a PG duo of Rondo and Conley would give this team the kick in the pants it needs.

I think a front court of Jefferson, Horford Pierce, Rondo would be amazing.

I don’t see how Rondo belongs in any type of “frontcourt”.

Watching the game last nite, one of the announcers(maybe G Hill) said something that really caught me: “Once Tony Parker developed a reliable jump shot, he became unguardable!”
Remind anybody of a player on our team—and his potential!???

G Hill’s comments remind me of Conley, who is alot closer to Parker than Rondo is.

if horford – yi are available, they come to the c’s. if not, the late entry is noah. brewer and conley are better but my guess is that danny wants a big man.

First, there is no gaurentee Conley will be anything. If we would down the Conley crack pipe for a minute and think about it, even if he was better than Chris Paul or Jaron Williams as a freshman, so what? Earl the Pearl Washington was better than those guys to as a freshman. Being a good or even very good college player doesn’t gaurentee anything in the NBA. A lot of people want point guards. The Celtics could get a lot for Conley if he falls to them.

Atlanta is desparate for a PG. If the Celtics could trade say, Wally, Gomes, Green and the rights to Conley for Joe Johnson and the number 11 pick, that would be a steal. Atlanta would get their PF and trade Joe Johnson’s contract for Wally’s, which only has two years remaining and also get two low paid decent young players. The Celtics could at 11 get Thornton or maybe even Yi or another decent big guy and a 26 year old near all star just coming into his prime. Who outside of Dallas, San Antonio and Pheonix would have a big three equal to Jefferson, Pierce and Johnson? No one. If there is someway to turn that number 5 pick into a player like Joe Johnson and still get a decent pick this year, the Celtics need to do it.

1. Ainge’s refusal to consider Conley is irrational. I believe it has to do with the fact that if he selects Conley, the media will dredge up all of the past fiascoes (e.g. Banks and Telfair). But Ainge’s job is to be objective about players. He shouldn’t be playing the CYA game. Conley is the 3rd best player in this draft (with the possible exception of Yi, about whom I know nothing).

2. The most interesting thing in Bulpett’s article is that Wallace is leaving for Italy. The Reebock Eurocamp in Treviso starts tomorrow and runs through June 12. I was afraid that the Celtics would skip the event entirely, as they apparently did last year.

“Ainge’s refusal to consider Conley is irrational”

It is not irrational. The Celtics need big men more than they need a point guard and they need vets more than they need a 19 year old who has played on year of college ball. Further, if people are willing to overpay for Conley, the Celtics should be willing to sell. Like I said, if you could turn the rights to Conley into a vet and a pick in the 10 to 15 range, the Celtics would be nuts not to do it.

It depends on who the veteran is.

  “It depends on who the veteran is.”

True but even that depends on what kind of player Conley is. If Conley is a bust, trading out of the slot and drafting someone who can play would be worth even a lousy vet.

Brickowski,

   Irrational??? Maybe he likes what he’s got more. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. The draft is such an inexact science, why such tunnel vision for one guy?

It’s Ainge who has tunnel vision. He’s made up his mind that Rondo is better than Conley. I realize that Rondo is his boy, but Ainge is wrong on this.

I agree with Brick in one respect… If Ainge really feels that Conley is the best player left when he drafts than he should select him regardless of who he has currently on the roster. Conley does seem like he could be the prospect with the least amount of holes in his game with tremendous room for growth. With all that said IF Rondo is as good as I believe he can be then I can’t fault DA for looking at players that fill a greater need for the team.

You need to draft for talent, not a team need. Players can be traded, where as you don’t get another chance to take the best player available when you draft. If conley ends up being a chris paul or deron williams, and rondo can’t hit a jumper, then your totally screwed.

players can be traded but it seems to be harder and harder to make a deal in the league unless it’s financially driven…

that’s why i don’t think they will move Theo…