Brooklyn – It was
a night most Celtics fans were waiting and hoping to see fireworks. Most wanted
a repeat of the NBA Draft from seven years ago, where the basketball world
would change for the better in Boston. Instead Danny Ainge elected to keep this
year’s draft picks. In the end a point guard was selected at number six by the
name of Marcus Smart and a swingman was chosen as the 17th pick by the name of
James Young.
After Joel Embiid was selected at number three by the
Philadelphia 76ers (a player I thought would fall out of the top five, due to
his recent injury), and Orlando went with Aaron Gordon, Utah decided to add to
their backcourt by going with Dante Exum (the player from ‘down under’). The
best available draft choice arguably at number six, was Marcus Smart from
Oklahoma State. Yes he is a 6’3 point guard who can score (16 PPG/4.5 APG/ 6
RPG/2.9 SPG), but is he a starter or a backup?
For those who assume that Rajon Rondo will not be apart of
the immediate future, you should probably stay calm for now. Smart
can actually play both guard positions; at least that’s what Wyc Grousbeck led
us to believe last night when asked if the Celtics captain will be shopped
around now this offseason.“That wasn’t a topic of conversation tonight,” said the Celtics co-owner. “Of the top six (players in the draft), we were going to take the best available athlete. This doesn’t have any effect on Rajon at all.” [Boston Herald]
Wyc is not the only one who believes that the Smart pick will
have no bearing on Rondo going forward. Celtics head coach Brad Stevens see’s
the Oklahoma State guard playing either backcourt position.
“They can play together,” Stevens referring to Smart and
Rondo. “It will be great for Marcus to have a guy like Rondo to look up to and
work from. There aren’t many guys who are going to get the opportunity. I was
thrilled he was there at six, because he’s physically ready to play. It’s great
for both of them.” [Boston Herald]
An hour later after Smart was selected at number six,
swingman James Young’s name was called as the 17th overall pick. The 6’6
Kentucky freshman can play shooting guard or small forward (14.3 PPG/4.3
RPG/1.7APG). He comes in highly regarded as a great shooter with a pretty
stroke. The Wildcat led his team with 20 points in a championship loss to UConn. Brad Stevens had high praise for Young, even though he
dropped so low.
“James’ MO is that he’s always been a scorer,” said Stevens.
“He shot it at 35 percent from 3 and 45 percent from two. He’s a guy who can
shoot it, he has a stroke that just going to get better and better. We felt he
was a very, very undervalued scoring wing. Everyone in the room had him ranked
higher than he went, and were thrilled that he was available at 17.” [Boston
Herald]
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If I had to grade the Celtics on last night’s draft choices,
I would give them a B. Clearly Smart and Young can score, and that’s what Brad
Stevens needed; offense. Obviously a scoring big man would have been ideal, but
that can be acquired later this summer. There is no guarantee that Avery Bradley
will stick around, since it’s been reported he’s looking in the ball park of
eight to 10 million a year. As a restricted free agent he should command no
more than six-seven million dollars max. Either way Marcus Smart or James Young can
both play two-guard, giving the C’s some insurance in the
backcourt.
Let’s not forget Phil Pressey is also a free agent
along with Jerryd Bayless when it comes to options at guard for Stevens.
Another thing that the Celtics addressed in drafting James
Young was bringing in another wing player. Other than Bradley, Jeff Green and Chris
Johnson, the choices were pretty thin in that area. Uncle Jeff could be moved,
and Johnson is on a non-guaranteed contract and could be waived or also traded this
offseason. It remains to be seen what other deals are in the works in the
upcoming months.
After weeks of rumors that Ainge was trying to land Kevin
Love and Carmelo Anthony, the Celtics used this year’s picks the best way they
could, given the circumstances. In the meantime let the rumor mill keep
spinning, because it’s still a long way until training camp.
"I remember trading for Kevin Garnett in 2007," Grousbeck remembers. "I got a phone call about that from Minnesota on July 30th or 31st, so trade season is not over yet." [Boston.com]
No, it's only just begun.
Joel Pavón
Check out some pre-draft videos of the Celtics newest additions!
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