Ainge Talks NBA Draft

by Jeff Clark on May 18, 2011 5:53 AM EDT in Boston Celtics News & Links

Danny Ainge talked briefly with the Herald on the NBA Draft. No real surprises but I thought I'd pass along the quotes anyway. While everyone understands the need to get some young talent in the post, Danny is not going to focus on any one position. Instead, he'll stick to his usual draft strategy of picking the "best player available" regardless of position.

BostonHerald.com - Ainge: Big not necessarily better in draft

"Everyone can always use bigs," he said. "And that's where mistakes get made, because you're drafting more for size than what the player can actually do."

Hopefully that doesn't mean wasting a pick on a J.R. Giddens type when a DeAndre Jordan type guy is available.

By the way, in defending his pick last year Ainge says this.

"If Avery were in this draft, he would be in the top five," he said yesterday. "There weren't 20 guys better than him in that draft. He went at No. 19 because he got hurt."

On the other hand, that might be more of an indictment on the strength of the draft. Of course, that's not how Ainge sees it. He agrees that the top of the draft board is weak but makes a case for the depth of this year's draft.

"The expanding middle class is how I describe it," said Ainge. "It’s a draft that’s similar to recent drafts, and things seem to be moving in this direction. There’s a lot of decent players. The expanding middle class is how I describe it. "There will be good players, but no transcendent players - no LeBron, Dwight Howard or Derrick Rose."

Not sure I buy that but on the other hand I don't really know much about the guys in this years draft so I can't really say. I just read that this is the worst draft in years (and they say that every year, but apparently this year they mean it).

Also, Ainge is keeping all doors open.

Weak draft creates options - BostonHerald.com

"There’s a chance we could move up. We have to see how it unfolds," he said. "We’ll definitely explore the possibilities. We have two (first-round) picks next year, so we have something to use if we wanted to move up in this year’s draft. But we could also explore moving out."

Well, that was a lot of words to tell us nothing we didn't already know. It must be draft season!

Bonus Link: 2011 NBA Mock Draft: Kyrie Irving A No-Brainer First Pick - SBNation.com

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Comments

If this draft is really that bad, trade the picks if possible

and get some serviceable bodies in return that Doc will play on the floor, Doc won’t spend too much time developing rookies

Danny will probably end up picking more undersized, not too athletic PFs like Big Baby or Harangody when the idea is to get longer and more athletic. If he does pick undersized, I hope the guy is a beast

Anyone know if there are any DeAndre Jordan types in this draft in the late rounds?

by Banner 18 on May 18, 2011 6:19 AM EDT reply actions

Is it possible?

Without a CBA will they be stuck like the Patriots? Anybody know if players could be traded for picks? That could create an NBA draft unlike any other we’ve seen.

simul justus et peccator

by cavman on May 18, 2011 1:44 PM EDT up reply actions

I don’t think this draft is as bad as folks are saying. Theres no obvious superstars, but i definetly think a few of these guys can become excellent nba players- stars even.

by ianboyextreme on May 18, 2011 6:20 AM EDT reply actions

Picking at 25.....

You really have no choice but to get the best player available. However, Ainge’s interpretation of best is sometimes questionable.

by LarryBird33 on May 18, 2011 6:47 AM EDT reply actions

and undersized

"Hello. My name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die."

im gonna be all up on you like a spider monkey!

by remembering9ergods on May 18, 2011 7:43 PM EDT up reply actions

There is a decent center and a decent power forward in the draft. Hopefully nobody else gets them.

by bfrombleacher on May 18, 2011 7:31 AM EDT reply actions

Keeping with the tradition of...Avery Bradley, Lester Hudson, JR Giddens, Gabe Pruitt

Who will be this year`s obscure/undersized Celtic pick…to be scorned and ignored by Rivers?

by Title 18 on May 18, 2011 8:23 AM EDT reply actions

hahaha... so true!

since when did Rivers play rookies significant minutes anyways, heck he even treated Jeff Green like one IMO.

"No I’m not KG. Not at all, but I’m Big Baby Glen Davis from LSU, Baton Rouge, Louisiana. I’m not the Big Ticket. I’m the Ticket Stub. Don’t count the Ticket Stub out. You might need the ticket to get in the game, but you leave with the ticket stub, because you’ll never forget this game."

by bopna on May 18, 2011 8:36 AM EDT up reply actions

Bradley wasn't ignored

Bradley wasn’t good enough to play last year. When he got in the game he looked lost. Which of the other guys you listed should be playing? Are they tearing up the league on another team? Those are DA’s wasted draft picks.

by MaxAMillion on May 18, 2011 8:46 AM EDT up reply actions

maybe if we played them

they would be serviceable players to any nba team.

by ZM15 on May 18, 2011 10:24 AM EDT up reply actions

Forgot Banks

Maybe Rivers actually knows something after seeing them in practice with real NBA players. They didn’t prosper anywhere else, and that is not because Doc didn’t play them.

simul justus et peccator

by cavman on May 18, 2011 1:47 PM EDT up reply actions

Bill Walker

by VtCeltics on May 18, 2011 2:05 PM EDT up reply actions

Bradley wasn't good enough

because:

a) he missed all of summer league and training camp due to injury and
b) he was only 19 years old (turned 20 at the end of last November).

I still feel this kid is going to be fine. He has a ton of upside and he’s so young, there is plenty of time.

If anything, he was a perfect fit for a championship team to take: He’s not needed to contribute right away and because he’s so raw, that’s why we were able to get him so late in the 1st round.

People expecting to get immediate contributors to a championship run when you are picking that late …. its just not going to happen very often that you find a player that late (19th) who can contribute right away on a team loaded with HoF and all-star talent already.

So Danny did the smart thing and took the best available athlete with the most upside for down the road, and so young that he’ll just be 21 at the start of the 2012 season.

NBA Officiating - Corrupt? Incompetent? Which is worse? Does it matter? It sucks.

by mmmmm on May 18, 2011 5:22 PM EDT up reply actions

I don’t know what to think of DA as a drafter, he hasn’t picked any decent players it seems. But again, Doc hasn’t played them for the most part.

by vgarcia890 on May 18, 2011 11:24 AM EDT up reply actions

Really?

Draft day trade for Rondo- essentially drafted him. Drafted Powe, Perkins, Baby. Superstars. Except for Rondo, nope. But solid NBA players who contributed as needed. Until recently Baby got that.
To play in a game, you have to be better than the other guys at your position. If you aren’t the 2nd best guy at your position you’re only going to play when someone is hurt or in foul trouble.
The NBA isn’t a developmental league!

simul justus et peccator

by cavman on May 18, 2011 1:51 PM EDT up reply actions

It’s easy to pick Rondo, Perkins, Powe from amongst the other busts. DW is a good pick. TA was a pretty good pick. AJ was a good pick.

But I’d say DA is known as a great gm mainly because of the big 3 coming together, not because of some great picks panning out. RA and KG were the real gems that changed the culture. The records and the ring associated with the above players is a testament to that.

by vgarcia890 on May 18, 2011 2:49 PM EDT up reply actions

but assembling the Big 3 also factors in Danny's understanding of the draft.

Danny used the draft to assemble the pieces that he then traded to bring Ray and KG here (including trading the 2007 #5 pick).

As cavman says, the NBA is not a developmental league. Folks have too high of expectations for the impact of rookies coming out of the NBA draft. Because the size of the NBA rosters is small (compared to the NFL & MLB) and players have longer careers than the NFL, the NBA is dominated by veterans, with barely 1 or 2 rookies able to crack the roster of the typical NBA team each year. And just a small handful of those crack the top-8 rotations of any NBA team.

So only the most exceptional rookies actually have a significant impact, and usually only on the teams that have obvious holes that need filling.

It would be interesting to count the number of rookies that have actually gotten minutes in these playoffs and further, what that total of minutes that all rookies got in the playoffs is. My guess is that both numbers are very, very small.

NBA Officiating - Corrupt? Incompetent? Which is worse? Does it matter? It sucks.

by mmmmm on May 18, 2011 5:31 PM EDT up reply actions

Asik is probably the only one who got a really substantial portion.

What a steal he was for Chicago.

"Phil is obviously a good coach. You don't win that many games without being a damn good coach, ... Remember one thing: He's been very fortunate. He picks his spots. That's all I can say." - Red Auerbach

04 + 07 = 11

by Sizzlack on May 19, 2011 9:02 AM EDT up reply actions

And I don't know what I thought he was a rookie.

forehead slap

04 + 07 = 11

by Sizzlack on May 19, 2011 9:04 AM EDT up reply actions

I got a feeling

we’re gonna draft that dude Faried from Morehead State that dude that averages 17 rebounds a game he’s athletic too I wouldn’t be surprised if we looked at dude

by throwedoff on May 18, 2011 11:15 AM EDT reply actions

17 Rebounds a game for Morehead State

and that scary Ohio Valley conference which includes powerhouses like Eastern Illinois and Tennessee Martin, who probably have guys 6’4" playing center.

Where do we sign?

by richtrader on May 18, 2011 2:10 PM EDT up reply actions

Nice :D

by lepooo on May 18, 2011 4:36 PM EDT up reply actions

clown all u want to

ben Wallace played for virginia union which is even more inferior to the ohio valley conference, we need rebounding and if dude has a nose for the ball why not take a look at him he got close to 90 consecutive double doubles for a reason

by throwedoff on May 18, 2011 11:03 PM EDT up reply actions

Doc needs to be more involved with the draft

Either

A) Doc picks some guys who he has watched himself in workouts & taken a long, hard look at their last yr of ncaa play

B) Trade the picks to another team for ONE seasoned player who Doc loves. This player would actually step out onto the floor regularly to give the starters rest.

Some teams can get pick happy or just value new talent way above some proven role players. Take advantage of those teams & ship the picks out. There has to be some guy out there who Doc loves & would play.

Doc prefers vets. Doc chooses who plays. Give Doc full control of this.

Go with this approach for this year over Danny’s gut..

What is Lasme doing these days ???

by Ibemebe on May 18, 2011 4:04 PM EDT reply actions

Avery Bradley would be in the top 5?

Really? Either Danny thinks highly of Bradley, or this draft just plain sucks.

I hold Ainge less responsible for the whole Perkins thing than I do for his failure to draft and develop talent to succeed the big 3. Danny was very shrewd at finding decent NBA talent in his early years in Boston: Big Al, Perk, Davis, Powe, TA, Ryan Gomes, Delonte, Rondo…..but the last several drafts (appear) to be busts. JR Giddens, Gabe Pruitt, Avery Bradley?

Now it was easier to play all these guys because we sucked before Danny unloaded the cupboard for KG and Ray, but a good GM NEEDS to be able to find good talent in the bottom half of the draft. It can and has been done.

I’d feel much better about the 2-3 year horizon if we had SOMEBODY else to build this franchise around besides Rondo and Jeff Green. If Avery Bradley is that good he needs some serious playing time next year.

by Causeway on May 18, 2011 4:42 PM EDT reply actions

Bradley is that good.

Bradley is really, really, really freaking young. He has tremendous raw talent and yeah, if he had stayed another year in the NCAA, he would have eaten it up – just like he ate up the D-League during his stint last winter – and would have gone much higher in this year’s draft.

As to holding Danny to task over the quality of the picks in these last 4 years, it is simply not realistic to expect to get high-impact players out of the draft when you are picking in the second half of the draft or really, if you are out of the top-10. Once in a while you get lucky lower down (Rondo), but out of any draft, barely 3-5 players have any impact as rookies at all, and those mostly because they are on bad teams.

The Celtics haven’t had a top pick other than 2007’s #5 in a while. They traded that for Ray Allen and BBD which was instrumental in getting us a title and deep into the playoffs in the last 3 years.

Danny has taken some good steps for keeping us competitive going forward though. The Bradley pick was very forward-looking. Consider that he will be just 21 entering the 2012 season. We will have the Clipper’s 1st round pick sometime between 2012-2016 added on to our own picks. So at some point, depending on how that plays out, we could have a year with TWO first round draft picks. We will also get the T-Wolves’ 2nd round pick in 2013 – chances are that’s as good as a low 1st rounder. And we also have extra 2nd round picks in 2015 & 2017.

I don’t necessarily expect Danny to use all those picks but they can be packaged into other trade deals. And we have KG & Ray’s & JO’s contracts expiring after next year – that’s tremendous financial leverage for rebuilding the roster, either via trade or free agency.

NBA Officiating - Corrupt? Incompetent? Which is worse? Does it matter? It sucks.

by mmmmm on May 18, 2011 5:55 PM EDT up reply actions

Erden was agreat pick

One of few thing I can never question is Ainge’s on is his drafting ability.

yes his fee agent signing are underwhelming but his late round drafting is top of the league.

by Piru P on May 18, 2011 6:19 PM EDT reply actions

I’ve always thought Ainge drafted much better early on than he has the past few years. I hope he can find a solid role player like he did early in his career rather than the waste of picks he’s had lately.

2003-Banks and Perkins. So one scrub and one solid role player on a good team.

2004-Big Al, Tony Allen, Delonte West. All solid players but we know he wanted Robert Swift at 15.

2005-Gerald Green. I’ll cut him some slack he was supposed to be good but was a complete bust

2006-Drafted Randy Foye and traded him. We got Rondo in this draft via another trade.

2007-Another draft day trade. Drafted Jeff Green though.

2008-J.R. Giddens Complete boneheaded pick. Could have had Chalmers, DeAndre Jordan, Omer Asik, Mbah a Moute, Sonny Weems, or Goran Dragic all of whom were drafted behind Mr. Giddens

2009-No 1st Round Pick

2010-Avery Bradley warrant is still out but I don’t think he’s going to be much. Much rather have Greivis Vasquez or Landry Fields.

by Scribbles on May 18, 2011 6:39 PM EDT reply actions

you missed his picks of Gomes and Powe as proven rotation players. Semih as a young center with promise and even Luke as a player that showed some flashes after he got some playing time.
Even Bill Walker sees some court time in NY.

Giddens and Pruitt didn’t cut it but they were end of 1st round/start of 2nd round picks which is a crap shoot. Green can’t really be blamed on Danny since he was considered a top 5 pick at the time.

by slamtheking on May 18, 2011 9:32 PM EDT up reply actions