Danny Ainge gives quick take on several draft prospects

While re-iterating his position that there are no franchise-changers (like LeBron or Durant) in this draft, Ainge does like a lot of what he sees.  There are some good comments from Bulpett's article today.  He talked about Parker being a scorer, Embiid being a rim protector (there's that term again), and Wiggins being an athlete.  I think that's a pretty good (brief) description of each.

He went on to look at a few other names.

Wanted: Big scorer | Boston Herald

"Zach LaVine is very raw," Ainge said. "He didn’t score much down the stretch (for UCLA). I think (Julius) Randle, although he hasn’t shown he can shoot the ball, is still very young and he has some great scoring potential. Marcus Smart scored 18 points a game in the Big 12. He hasn’t shot the ball well, but he has very good scoring potential. (Dante) Exum, I think, has real good potential to be a scorer and a playmaker. Aaron Gordon’s another guy. These guys are all so young."

Should we read anything into these names?  Or perhaps at the names left off his rundown (like Vonleh for example).  Probably best not to read too much into them, but I thought it was interesting enough to quote.

The article also talks about drafting for need vs. best player available.  BPA is the default answer, but when there's a few guys are about equal in ranking, then needs can be looked at.  Aside from the oft-stated rim protector, the Celtics really need some scorers that can light up the scoreboard.  Jeff Green wasn't that guy often enough last year and Rondo is really better off as a distributor.

So considering all that, if we get a really high pick, I would expect Embiid and Parker to have a slight edge on Wiggins (who could be an elite scorer eventually, but perhaps not so much as Parker).  Of course, there's also the dark horse Dante Exum that people are whispering is high on Danny's list.  So I guess we'll see.

Just a few more days till we find out where we pick.