2008 NBA Draft - Celtics
With the 2008 NBA Draft looming (Thursday, 7 PM, ESPN), we'd like to take a brief look back at the last few years of Celtics draft history and suggest some key areas the NBA champion Celts will look to improve.
Let's take a look back at the former first round picks for the past 5 years so we can get an idea of what to expect come draft night:
First round picks over the past 5 years:
2007: Jeff Green (5th overall, traded to Seattle as part of Ray Allen deal)
2006: Randy Foye (7th, traded to Portland, along with Raef LaFrentz and Dan Dickau, for a 2nd round pick, Sebastian Telfair and Theo Ratliff); Rajon Rondo (21st, acquired from Phoenix for future Cleveland first rounder)
2005: Gerald Green (18th, traded to Minnesota as part of Kevin Garnett deal)
2004: Al Jefferson (15th, traded to Minnesota as part of Kevin Garnett deal); Delonte West (24th, traded to Seattle as part of Ray Allen deal); Tony Allen
2003: Troy Bell (16th); Dahnty Jones (20th, both picks traded to Memphis for Marcus Banks, 11th overall, and Kendrick Perkins, 27th)
Notable First Round picks over the past 2 decades:
2001: Joe Johnson
1998: Paul Pierce
1997: Chauncey Billups
1996: Antoine Walker
1990: Dee Brown
With that cursory overview out of the way, let's move on to this year's draft.
The three big names atop everyone's boards this year are Michael Beasley, Derrick Rose and O.J. Mayo. The Celtics have no prayer of getting any of the three as they will almost assuredly go 1-2-3. In addition, the Celts have little need for starting guards and forwards - at least for the next two plus years - with Rajon Rondo, Ray Allen, Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett firmly entrenched in the starting 5. (That being said, don't get me wrong - I would be more than happy to stash Beasley, Rose or Mayo on the bench and give them part-timer minutes until Ray's contract expires or Rajon proves he can't fully develop into a true PG, but that's not a legitimate possibility unless the Celts get into the top three somehow.) That leaves the center position, which suffered tremendously when Al Jefferson was shipped out of town in the KG deal.
Kendrick Perkins has proven to be the most dominant post presence the Celtics have on the roster and he had a couple excellent offensive games in the playoffs; however, he's far from what you'd call a "complete player" and he most likely will never turn into a consistent double-double threat. His physical defense is often overlooked in the flashy, up-tempo NBA, which places an emphasis on offense and big plays, but there's no doubt we could get more production out of the position. Much of the speculation regarding the Celts and their draft position (30th overall) has the team taking a chance on some international talent, presumably at the center position. The other main area the various mocks are mentioning that the Celts may be looking to strengthen is shooting guard depth after Ray Allen (specifically, Chad Ford has the Celts taking PG Courtney Lee of Western Kentucky).
A lot of what the Celts front office plans to do will be heavily impacted by their beliefs about the apparent impending departure of James Posey. If Posey indeed leaves the $3.5 million he's due on the table and seeks employment elsewhere, it might not be a bad idea to find his replacement. As we all witnessed, Posey played an integral role as Pierce's no. 2 last season.
All that said, this pick really could go anywhere. The Celts arguably don't have a single blatant "problem area" (at least in the sense that the Pats needed linebackers and defensive backs heading into their draft and the Bruins needed playmaking wingers that could contribute in a couple years in theirs), but there are many places they could make minor to significant upgrades. Most of the Celts' key contributors are 30 or older (I'm not saying Pierce, KG and Ray are old at 30, 32 and 32, respectively, but by the NBA's standards... well... they're kind of old), they need to readdress that bench depth with several imminent departures, and it would appear that center is the key position in need of an upgrade (although a trio of Perk, Leon Powe and Glen "Big Baby" Davis is hardly inept). I think they select a big man (either C or a PF/C hybrid type like Leon Powe) and pick a guy that they hope could eventually step up into the starting center role. It's a long shot that we'll find a starting center (at least one better than Perk) so late in the first round with guys like Brook and Robin Lopez, Kosta Koufos, Alexis Ajinca, Marreese Speights, DeAndre Jordan, Roy Hibbert and Javale McGee presumably off the board at that point, but it's a shot worth taking in my opinion.
Here's a list of ESPN's Top 100 prospects so you can ponder who the Celts may select all day long leading up to tomorrow's draft.
Let's take a look back at the former first round picks for the past 5 years so we can get an idea of what to expect come draft night:
First round picks over the past 5 years:
2007: Jeff Green (5th overall, traded to Seattle as part of Ray Allen deal)
2006: Randy Foye (7th, traded to Portland, along with Raef LaFrentz and Dan Dickau, for a 2nd round pick, Sebastian Telfair and Theo Ratliff); Rajon Rondo (21st, acquired from Phoenix for future Cleveland first rounder)
2005: Gerald Green (18th, traded to Minnesota as part of Kevin Garnett deal)
2004: Al Jefferson (15th, traded to Minnesota as part of Kevin Garnett deal); Delonte West (24th, traded to Seattle as part of Ray Allen deal); Tony Allen
2003: Troy Bell (16th); Dahnty Jones (20th, both picks traded to Memphis for Marcus Banks, 11th overall, and Kendrick Perkins, 27th)
Notable First Round picks over the past 2 decades:
2001: Joe Johnson
1998: Paul Pierce
1997: Chauncey Billups
1996: Antoine Walker
1990: Dee Brown
With that cursory overview out of the way, let's move on to this year's draft.
The three big names atop everyone's boards this year are Michael Beasley, Derrick Rose and O.J. Mayo. The Celtics have no prayer of getting any of the three as they will almost assuredly go 1-2-3. In addition, the Celts have little need for starting guards and forwards - at least for the next two plus years - with Rajon Rondo, Ray Allen, Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett firmly entrenched in the starting 5. (That being said, don't get me wrong - I would be more than happy to stash Beasley, Rose or Mayo on the bench and give them part-timer minutes until Ray's contract expires or Rajon proves he can't fully develop into a true PG, but that's not a legitimate possibility unless the Celts get into the top three somehow.) That leaves the center position, which suffered tremendously when Al Jefferson was shipped out of town in the KG deal.
Kendrick Perkins has proven to be the most dominant post presence the Celtics have on the roster and he had a couple excellent offensive games in the playoffs; however, he's far from what you'd call a "complete player" and he most likely will never turn into a consistent double-double threat. His physical defense is often overlooked in the flashy, up-tempo NBA, which places an emphasis on offense and big plays, but there's no doubt we could get more production out of the position. Much of the speculation regarding the Celts and their draft position (30th overall) has the team taking a chance on some international talent, presumably at the center position. The other main area the various mocks are mentioning that the Celts may be looking to strengthen is shooting guard depth after Ray Allen (specifically, Chad Ford has the Celts taking PG Courtney Lee of Western Kentucky).
A lot of what the Celts front office plans to do will be heavily impacted by their beliefs about the apparent impending departure of James Posey. If Posey indeed leaves the $3.5 million he's due on the table and seeks employment elsewhere, it might not be a bad idea to find his replacement. As we all witnessed, Posey played an integral role as Pierce's no. 2 last season.
All that said, this pick really could go anywhere. The Celts arguably don't have a single blatant "problem area" (at least in the sense that the Pats needed linebackers and defensive backs heading into their draft and the Bruins needed playmaking wingers that could contribute in a couple years in theirs), but there are many places they could make minor to significant upgrades. Most of the Celts' key contributors are 30 or older (I'm not saying Pierce, KG and Ray are old at 30, 32 and 32, respectively, but by the NBA's standards... well... they're kind of old), they need to readdress that bench depth with several imminent departures, and it would appear that center is the key position in need of an upgrade (although a trio of Perk, Leon Powe and Glen "Big Baby" Davis is hardly inept). I think they select a big man (either C or a PF/C hybrid type like Leon Powe) and pick a guy that they hope could eventually step up into the starting center role. It's a long shot that we'll find a starting center (at least one better than Perk) so late in the first round with guys like Brook and Robin Lopez, Kosta Koufos, Alexis Ajinca, Marreese Speights, DeAndre Jordan, Roy Hibbert and Javale McGee presumably off the board at that point, but it's a shot worth taking in my opinion.
Here's a list of ESPN's Top 100 prospects so you can ponder who the Celts may select all day long leading up to tomorrow's draft.
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