5 DAYS TO GO, DRAFTING 5TH
5th Overall: Boston Celtics
The Celtics symbol is a clover, the symbol for luck. When it comes to the draft, the Celtics have been anything but lucky. Boston has picked good players and has drafted well. But the illustrious NBA Lottery ping-pong balls have not been on Boston's side.
Boston had only 15 wins in 1997 and was pretty much a lock to grab the top pick. Wake Forest's Tim Duncan was being touted as a sure thing, and the best bet. San Antonio wound up winning the lottery and winning much more by picking Duncan.
This past season, the Celtics, Grizzlies and Bucks had the best odds of landing in the top overall spot, while Portland had just a 5% chance of getting number 1. Boston fans were primed for what they thought was due to them - Greg Oden. The Celtics had flashbacks of '97 after the Boston logo was opened at 5th. In 1997, Boston drafted Chauncey Billups 3rd (who they traded away) and Ron Mercer. The Rick Pitino era (1997-2001) might have been a little different had the ping pong balls bounced in the Celtics favor.
With just 5 days until the draft, I don't think KG is going anywhere and I think that the Celtics are going to have to swallow pride and use their "should have been #1" 5th pick to draft Jeff Green. I think that the Celtics have a chance of drafting Yi Jianlian, Corey Brewer, Joakim Noah and even Brandan Wright. If Horford goes 3, Conley goes 4, the Celtics will have a very difficult decision.
NBADraft.net and DraftExpress.com both have the Celtics taking Jeff Green. DraftExpress has Conley going to the Grizzlies with Wright falling to the Bucks. Celtic head coach Doc Rivers likes Green, he's been able to watch him closely because Rivers' son Jeremiah played on Green's Georgetown team. Green does pretty much everything on the court. He is long, is big enough to get rebounds, he has a pretty jump shot (shoot 50% from the floor and 75% from the line) and he's a great leaper. Green also has a great attitude and personality - he never had the outrageous box score games but his unselfishness is one reason why his team went to the Final Four.
Boston might pass on Green, might not even need Brandan Wright and could draft Yi Jianlian or Joakim Noah. Wright has plenty of upside, he's only 19. And Yi Jianlian could make for a faster, more athletic Yao. But the Celtics don't have as much to go on for Wright and Yi as they do for Noah and Green. Noah could be a good choice because Boston has Brian Scalabrine, Kendrick Perkins and Michael Olowokandi playing center.
The Celtics could draft Brandan Wright and hope he develops into a Chris Bosh type of center. The Boston Herald wrote that the Celtics were impressed by Noah's court enthusiasm, floor communication and energetic play. Rotoworld.com reported on June 12th that Rivers was also complimentary of Noah's unparalled energy on the floor. "It was probably the loudest workout we've had in some time." Coach Rivers said. "Noah naturally talks and points things out defensively, and those are good traits."
"I speak my mind," Noah said after working out for the Celtics. "Sometimes that's good, sometimes not, and sometimes people think I have a big mouth." Boston might not draft Noah 5th overall, but there could be a trade with whatever teams does select him. "I'm just being me," he said. "A lot of people will have their opinion, but at the end of the day, I'm just being me."
No doubt about it, the Celtics will have a tough decision when it comes to who to select. The C's are in need of a C, but they'd take anything after having the 2nd worst record in the NBA last season. Boston has a lot to look forward to. If Danny Ainge can't get a trade worked out to bring people in, we might be talking about Paul Pierce being moved out because it seems like they are in rebuilding mode in Boston. At least the Celtics have a good foundation to build on - they shouldn't be appearing in the draft lottery next year.
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