Drafting a Rebounder

[snively]

Rebounding is definitely a major weakness on this team, and it happens to be one of the few areas where rookies can make a quick impact. 

With that in mind I've been combing the Draft Express database for the best rebounders in this draft class and assembled the following Celtics wish list with pros and cons included:

1.  Damion James, Texas, Sr. 6'7, 225 lb.
Forward

Pros: James is averaging 18 points, 10 boards, and more than a steal and a block per game.  He's shooting over 50% from the field and 40% from 3.  He's a very nice weapon in transition and a good role player overall, capable of hitting the open J or dribbling into a better shot.

Cons: He's got a bit of Ryan Gomes tweener disease, although he's got better jets and a better motor than Ryan does.  There is some doubt as to whether he can guard 3s or 4s at the NBA level.

2.  Kenneth Faried, Morehead State, Jr.  6'8, 215 lb. Forward/Center.

Pros: Faried is averaging 17 pts (57% shooting, 7 FTAs a game), 13 boards, 1.9 blocks and 1.6 steals in 30 minutes a night.  He leads the NCAA in rebounding on a pace-adjusted basis (and came in just behind DeJuan Blair last year and ahead of Kevin Love in his freshman year).  Unlike recent NCAA rebounding studs who were tall and stiff like Nick Fazekas, John Bryant, and Aaron Gray, or short squat guys like Ryvon Coville and Rashad Jones-Jennings, Faried is an athletic, quick-jumping rebounder with good hands along the lines of Paul Millsap and Dennis Rodman.  Named Defensive Player of the Year in his conference two years in a row.

Cons: He put up all those Rodman-esque numbers in the Ohio Valley Conference, the same conference that Lester Hudson dominated to lead the league in scoring, not to mention averaging almost 8 boards in 36 minutes per.  At 6'8 with questionable offensive skill, there's a good chance he bounces around as an intriguing but rarely utilized utility player, like Renaldo Balkman or James Singleton.

3.  Jarvis Varnado, Mississippi St., Sr.  6'9, 210 lb.
Forward/Center

Pros: Varnado averages about 13 points, 11 boards and 5 blocked shots per game.  Unlike many shot blocking specialists (Stephane Lasme, Sean Williams), Varnado is also a good rebounder, ranking 9th in the NCAA in pace-adjusted rebounding.  His ability to finish above the rim also bodes well for his shooting %s in the NBA.

Cons: His rebounding #s aren't as impressive against good teams and shotblocking tends to fluctuate pretty widely in the transition from college to pros, especially for lanky 4s.

[Who]

I haven't seen Damion James play but I thought the scouting report on him sounded a lot like a young James Posey.

[celticsclay]

Rebounding is definitely a major weakness on this team, and it happens to be one of the few areas where rookies can make a quick impact. 

With that in mind I've been combing the Draft Express database for the best rebounders in this draft class and assembled the following Celtics wish list with pros and cons included:

1.  Damion James, Texas, Sr. 6'7, 225 lb.
Forward

Pros: James is averaging 18 points, 10 boards, and more than a steal and a block per game.  He's shooting over 50% from the field and 40% from 3.  He's a very nice weapon in transition and a good role player overall, capable of hitting the open J or dribbling into a better shot.

Cons: He's got a bit of Ryan Gomes tweener disease, although he's got better jets and a better motor than Ryan does.  There is some doubt as to whether he can guard 3s or 4s at the NBA level.

2.  Kenneth Faried, Morehead State, Jr.  6'8, 215 lb. Forward/Center.

Pros: Faried is averaging 17 pts (57% shooting, 7 FTAs a game), 13 boards, 1.9 blocks and 1.6 steals in 30 minutes a night.  He leads the NCAA in rebounding on a pace-adjusted basis (and came in just behind DeJuan Blair last year and ahead of Kevin Love in his freshman year).  Unlike recent NCAA rebounding studs who were tall and stiff like Nick Fazekas, John Bryant, and Aaron Gray, or short squat guys like Ryvon Coville and Rashad Jones-Jennings, Faried is an athletic, quick-jumping rebounder with good hands along the lines of Paul Millsap and Dennis Rodman.  Named Defensive Player of the Year in his conference two years in a row.

Cons: He put up all those Rodman-esque numbers in the Ohio Valley Conference, the same conference that Lester Hudson dominated to lead the league in scoring, not to mention averaging almost 8 boards in 36 minutes per.  At 6'8 with questionable offensive skill, there's a good chance he bounces around as an intriguing but rarely utilized utility player, like Renaldo Balkman or James Singleton.

3.  Jarvis Varnado, Mississippi St., Sr.  6'9, 210 lb.
Forward/Center

Pros: Varnado averages about 13 points, 11 boards and 5 blocked shots per game.  Unlike many shot blocking specialists (Stephane Lasme, Sean Williams), Varnado is also a good rebounder, ranking 9th in the NCAA in pace-adjusted rebounding.  His ability to finish above the rim also bodes well for his shooting %s in the NBA.

Cons: His rebounding #s aren't as impressive against good teams and shotblocking tends to fluctuate pretty widely in the transition from college to pros, especially for lanky 4s.

Can someone please explain what it means to have a "motor"? Is this just a stupid thing that draft anylsists say to sound like they know something? I mean you can say a guy plays hard but how does he have a motor? And not picking on you I know you did not invent hte term

[Jon]

In theory it would be nice to draft a rebounder.  However, is anyone who is going to be available next year at in the 20s going to be able to crack the 4/5 rotation of KG/Perk/Sheed/BBD?  It'd be nice to think so, but I think it's highly unlikely. 

[Who]

Rebounding is definitely a major weakness on this team, and it happens to be one of the few areas where rookies can make a quick impact. 

With that in mind I've been combing the Draft Express database for the best rebounders in this draft class and assembled the following Celtics wish list with pros and cons included:

1.  Damion James, Texas, Sr. 6'7, 225 lb.
Forward

Pros: James is averaging 18 points, 10 boards, and more than a steal and a block per game.  He's shooting over 50% from the field and 40% from 3.  He's a very nice weapon in transition and a good role player overall, capable of hitting the open J or dribbling into a better shot.

Cons: He's got a bit of Ryan Gomes tweener disease, although he's got better jets and a better motor than Ryan does.  There is some doubt as to whether he can guard 3s or 4s at the NBA level.

2.  Kenneth Faried, Morehead State, Jr.  6'8, 215 lb. Forward/Center.

Pros: Faried is averaging 17 pts (57% shooting, 7 FTAs a game), 13 boards, 1.9 blocks and 1.6 steals in 30 minutes a night.  He leads the NCAA in rebounding on a pace-adjusted basis (and came in just behind DeJuan Blair last year and ahead of Kevin Love in his freshman year).  Unlike recent NCAA rebounding studs who were tall and stiff like Nick Fazekas, John Bryant, and Aaron Gray, or short squat guys like Ryvon Coville and Rashad Jones-Jennings, Faried is an athletic, quick-jumping rebounder with good hands along the lines of Paul Millsap and Dennis Rodman.  Named Defensive Player of the Year in his conference two years in a row.

Cons: He put up all those Rodman-esque numbers in the Ohio Valley Conference, the same conference that Lester Hudson dominated to lead the league in scoring, not to mention averaging almost 8 boards in 36 minutes per.  At 6'8 with questionable offensive skill, there's a good chance he bounces around as an intriguing but rarely utilized utility player, like Renaldo Balkman or James Singleton.

3.  Jarvis Varnado, Mississippi St., Sr.  6'9, 210 lb.
Forward/Center

Pros: Varnado averages about 13 points, 11 boards and 5 blocked shots per game.  Unlike many shot blocking specialists (Stephane Lasme, Sean Williams), Varnado is also a good rebounder, ranking 9th in the NCAA in pace-adjusted rebounding.  His ability to finish above the rim also bodes well for his shooting %s in the NBA.

Cons: His rebounding #s aren't as impressive against good teams and shotblocking tends to fluctuate pretty widely in the transition from college to pros, especially for lanky 4s.

Can someone please explain what it means to have a "motor"? Is this just a stupid thing that draft anylsists say to sound like they know something? I mean you can say a guy plays hard but how does he have a motor? And not picking on you I know you did not invent hte term

Motor = stamina + work rate

[PLamb]

I haven't seen Damion James play but I thought the scouting report on him sounded a lot like a young James Posey.

I've seen him play 3 times his year and a bunch over the last couple

Kids got a young James Posey's outside game with Gerald Wallace CURRENT rebounding and defensive game, maybe not at that level yet but the same type of game that could build to that

He is a better athlete than both however

He is a heck of a talent that many are going to overlook because he's a 4 year player and because they don't see huge upside, thinking he has plateaued talent wise

I don't see it and if the C's could land him I think they have their eventual replacement for Pierce at SF

Him and Qunicy Pondexter are kids that are 4 year kids that teams in the top 15 will stay away from hoping instead to land the next superstar at a young age(19-21)

Personally, I like these three and four year college players that have great athleticism that spend time developing their game in college

I think they sometimes slip further than they should have because they are juniors and seniors and make great pros

Stephen Curry, Roy Hibbert, Joakim Noah, Ty Lawson, Jared Dudley, Brandon Roy, Danny Granger, Jameer Nelson, etc, etc

Almost every year there is one or two guys that slipped simple because they had been in school for 3-4 years and people thought that no matter how spectacular they played in college that they wouldn't get better

Teams druel over the 19 and 20 year old creaming about their potential and future upside

And so often they were wrong to being doing both of those things

Hopefully that happens again in this deep draft and the C's pluck a star because of it

Time and agin that happens to some of the best 3-4 year college players

[jdub1660]

I don't keep up much with college ball anymore but what about Dexter Pittman from Texas?
6'10 PF. From some youtube highlights, I can see that he can dunk consistently. Can't find too many alley oops though.
Also not sure of his current probable position in the draft.

[slamtheking]

I mentioned this elsewhere and will mention it here:

Danny will draft the best player available when it's his turn to pick. 

This is true even moreso now that the team has no young players to develop.  Rondo and Perk are the only young starters and there's no real young players on the bench other than BBD and he can certainly be improved upon.  (I don't count Nate since he's not under contract after this year.) 

Danny has never drafted for position.  He's all about best talent available as all good drafters are.

Depending where the C's finish, they could be as high as 20 with a shot at a player that may contribute a little next year or as low as 28 and get someone that could be a rotation player the following year.  In any case, Danny needs to start infusing some good young talent into the franchise.

[Jeff]

too bad Danny didn't buy a pick and get Blair, he'd have helped

[amenhotep04]

You guys all assume anyone we draft would actually get to play. No big we draft is going to move ahead of Perk, KG, Sheed, and BBD. I'm assuming Scal and Shelden will be gone, but if Shelden comes back, it's doubtful Doc would move a rookie ahead of him.

[PLamb]

You guys all assume anyone we draft would actually get to play. No big we draft is going to move ahead of Perk, KG, Sheed, and BBD. I'm assuming Scal and Shelden will be gone, but if Shelden comes back, it's doubtful Doc would move a rookie ahead of him.

Damion Jones isn't a big

He's a small forward and I am convinced that if the Celtics draft him he will be Pierce's direct back up next year and be a good rotational player from the get go

In time,(couple, three years) he would become a starter, of that I have little doubt

[Greenbean]

I love Jones as well.

Varnado is really intriguing to me. Miss. State looks like they play alot of man which makes 5 blocks per game way more impressive.

Alot of college shot blockers camp out in the paint and collect gobs of weakside blocks.

This guy has some NBA skill.

Anyone else watch alot of Vrnado that can lend some more insight?

Also he is destined for a great nickname if he becomes good.

The Vornado...sucking defenders into the paint and spitting them out.

[Chris]

The Celtics need young talent, period.  Whether it is a bigman, wing, guard, they just need more young talent and assets.  They should take the best player available.

[Jeff]

The Celtics need young talent, period.  Whether it is a bigman, wing, guard, they just need more young talent and assets.  They should take the best player available.

agree with this, especially in the 1st round, but I think in the 2nd round you can afford to be selective and move up or down to get a guy you target to fill a need

[Chris]

The Celtics need young talent, period.  Whether it is a bigman, wing, guard, they just need more young talent and assets.  They should take the best player available.

agree with this, especially in the 1st round, but I think in the 2nd round you can afford to be selective and move up or down to get a guy you target to fill a need

I disagree with this.  I think in the second round that the talent is so much less, that it is even more important to draft for the best talent available. 

Filling needs should be done with NBA players.  Get a FA, or make a trade.  If you are using draft picks (particularly late ones) to fill a need, it means you are in big trouble.

I think drafting for need makes more sense for rebuilding teams near the top of the draft.  At that point, you are able to pick between more talented players, and you are most likely looking for a guy to be a core player or starter.  So you want to pick someone who fits in with where you have holes in your talent base.  But at the bottom of the draft, you cannot count on anyone to even make the team, let alone be a contributor, so looking for need at that point is just going to bite you IMO.