Brian Scalabrine vouches for and works with NBA Draft prospect Steven Adams

Center prospect (and perhaps project) Steven Adams has been rising up draft charts - in particular with an impressive combine performance. He's one guy the Celtics brought in for a workout that might be a very real option with the 16th pick of the draft.

Turns out, Brian Scalabrine has been working out with him and has been showing him the ropes of the NBA game.

Adams a center of attention - Boston Celtics Blog - ESPN Boston

Adams was the top-ranked prospect among 12 players Boston auditioned in pre-draft workouts at their training facility in recent days. After showcasing a better-than-expected offensive game at the draft combine in Chicago, Adams has caught the attention of teams across the league. So what exactly has Scalabrine been teaching him? "He’s been up against NBA players, so he knows how they play," said Adams. "He’s just been showing me, not tricks, but the basic fundamentals of NBA play. Like, you can get away with a lot more physicality and throwing a lot more [elbows] around. He’s just showing me that side of things and separation on the court. How to use the 3-point line."

Scal may be a little biased based on his interactions with the kid, but he's quite obviously a big fan.

Scalabrine On Toucher & Rich: Keep The Celtics Together " CBS Boston

"I haven’t seen him in action like 5-on-5, but this kid would be a tremendous asset for the Celtics," said Scal. "He’s strong and big and would take so much pressure off guys like Garnett. He’s athletic and pretty intelligent, and would fit in pretty well." "He’s from New Zealand, a freak athlete. I always talk about Omer Asik and he’s similar to that; big and strong, and with guys like Garnett and Doc Rivers teaching him, this guy would be very valuable for the Celtics. "If you add a guy like this, it makes the Celtics a different team. They no longer have rebounding issues and you can move Garnett to the four," said Scalabrine. "People think the Celtics have big problems — I don’t see it like that. I think they have a couple issues to resolve."

Sounds like an interesting prospect to be sure. Check out this scouting video from our content partners DraftExpress for a much more detailed (and objective) look at the kid. Note; whenever I watch these things, I'm totally sold during the "Strengths" portion then most of the wind comes out of the sails in the "Weaknesses" section. But you have to understand, there were no weaknesses, they wouldn't be around at pick 16 in a weak draft.

Enjoy.