Would have preferred Vonleh and Harris to Smart and Young

[LarBrd33]

I worry more about randle. We could regret that one.  As coachbo says, smart is a good insurance plan when rondo walks. Should be a nice piece.

[moiso]

He thought Smart was the best player available and it's as simple as that as another poster said.

But even if he didn't want another short guy in Harris, why not Rodney Hood?  He seems like he is pretty much better at everything than young.

[Neurotic Guy]

Full disclosure:  I dreamed Embiid sliding, or at least grabbing Gordon.  When that didn't happen, made sense to me to take Vonleh at 6.  Yes, we have two other power forwards, but you could make the case for Vonleh, given his length and size, being 4/5, playing the 5, especially vs smaller lineups.  Also is somewhat of a rim protector.

Drafting Smart, I just don't see where we improved in our rotations much.  Is he any better defensively than Bradley? No. Is he better offensively than Bradley or Rondo? No. 

More importantly, I feel picking Smart at 6 forced us to pass on Harris.  Ainge said as much after the draft, saying they did not want another undersized guard. Jeez, you mean because you just drafted one in Smart?  Gary Harris is a much better two way player than James Young.  I feel Young is really going to struggle defensively. He has a pretty outside shot, but that's about it on the offensive end.  Really can't drive, goes left all the time, so easy to defend.  Gary Harris could have stepped in to start on the first day, would have been a much better back court mate with Rondo than Smart, he can really shoot the ball.

I wonder if the front office would have taken Smart at 6 had they known that Harris would be available at 17?

give it until december and you will change your mind

Isn't the most certain thing about the NBA draft that we really do not know who will emerge as the top NBA talent?   The exceptions of course are the few 'can't miss' players -- but even they don't always pan out as expected.   
 
I understand we all have our preferences and had our wishlists, but common sense tells me to be neither too happy nor too sad about draft picks. 

Hindsight is 20/20; foresight not so much.

[Celtics18]

I'm psyched that we got Smart at six.  He's the guy I wanted. 

[Aymanelgowainy]

I couldnt be happier with the picks... These r the two guys i most wanted after Embiid and Porzingis...so happy!
Smarts attitude can get him so far and his athleticism would be a big boost to the team... Also provides insurance incase rondo or bradley bolt.. Randle and Vonleh meanwhile wouldve taken up KO and Sullys minutes and wouldve just added another undersized PF to the rotation... Young meanwhile has a much better offensive game then Harris... Harris may be a better defender but Young provides some much needed offense and he would be an excellent perimeter shooter off of all the spot up threes hes gonna get from Smart and Rondo..

[Celtics4ever]

I am scared of big ten bigs after JJ.

[vjcsmoke]

I do wonder if we should have taken Harris over Young.  I feel that Harris can contribute sooner.

I'm A-OK with the Smart pick however.  This insures us if Rondo wants to leave in free agency after the end of this year.  It was a BPA pick as well as a - we better get a replacement ready just in case pick.  I think Smart sees some time backing up both the 1 and the 2 this season and will be groomed as future starter.

Not sure what Young's role is quite yet.  We have a lot better 6th man options.  But hopefully he will display the athleticism and potential that got him drafted.  Still agree that Harris would have been a safer pick at 17 than Young.

[indeedproceed]

I would've rather traded back for Doug McBuckets and traded back from Young for Harris or.....

HARRIS OR......


HARRIS OR BRUNO CABOCLOOOOOOO

[chambers]

I think it's pretty evident from the way the draft unfolded that most teams felt Vonleh did not match the hype, the very hype they probably created in the media themselves to pump up his value. During the workout period all we heard about what a great worker he was (the Disney World anecdote), his long wingspan and hand size, Bosh comparisons, how impressive he was in workouts, and even a quote about how he belonged in the conversation for the top 4 along with Embiid, Wiggins, and Parker. In retrospect I think most of the praise was just a smokescreen attempt and the top five picked was always going to be Parker, Embiid, Wiggins, Exum, and Gordon.

I'm also a little worried about Young. His ceiling doesn't seem so high because he has no skills beyond shooting. He's not a great athlete, is clueless on D, not a great driver, dribbler, or passer. His positives seem to just be that he MIGHT become a more consistent shooter, is prototypically sized, and he's young (Draftexpress lists "young" as one of his "strengths"!). The whole youth thing would make more sense to me if he were a great athlete who just hasn't learned the game yet. Also I haven't heard anything about him being a hard worker or fierce competitor which always gives you a little more confidence in how much a young player will improve.

I think Vonleh was a slight underdog to get picked at #6, and he was going to somewhere between 6-10. I think some people would have swapped Aaron Gordon and Vonleh given their age and if you liked what you saw in one vs the other, but the only curveball was the Kings picking Stauskas at #8 which appeared to be on the owners directive- there's a video of draft night where they are deliberating which player to pick and the owner looks at the GM and says 'Stauskas' and they nod their heads.

I think Vonleh wasn't going to surprise anyone at any spot from 4 through 10 simply because you could swap him out with Gordon at number 4. At his age with his size, length, footwork and the potential that he's still growing while he sleeps every night, he was probably a steal for the Bobcats at #9.
Next question is, is Saric considered a steal at #12?

I'm slightly surprised Gordon went 4th but I can understand the pick I guess.

[obnoxiousmime]

I think it's pretty evident from the way the draft unfolded that most teams felt Vonleh did not match the hype, the very hype they probably created in the media themselves to pump up his value. During the workout period all we heard about what a great worker he was (the Disney World anecdote), his long wingspan and hand size, Bosh comparisons, how impressive he was in workouts, and even a quote about how he belonged in the conversation for the top 4 along with Embiid, Wiggins, and Parker. In retrospect I think most of the praise was just a smokescreen attempt and the top five picked was always going to be Parker, Embiid, Wiggins, Exum, and Gordon.

I'm also a little worried about Young. His ceiling doesn't seem so high because he has no skills beyond shooting. He's not a great athlete, is clueless on D, not a great driver, dribbler, or passer. His positives seem to just be that he MIGHT become a more consistent shooter, is prototypically sized, and he's young (Draftexpress lists "young" as one of his "strengths"!). The whole youth thing would make more sense to me if he were a great athlete who just hasn't learned the game yet. Also I haven't heard anything about him being a hard worker or fierce competitor which always gives you a little more confidence in how much a young player will improve.

I think Vonleh was a slight underdog to get picked at #6, and he was going to somewhere between 6-10. I think some people would have swapped Aaron Gordon and Vonleh given their age and if you liked what you saw in one vs the other, but the only curveball was the Kings picking Stauskas at #8 which appeared to be on the owners directive- there's a video of draft night where they are deliberating which player to pick and the owner looks at the GM and says 'Stauskas' and they nod their heads.

I think Vonleh wasn't going to surprise anyone at any spot from 4 through 10 simply because you could swap him out with Gordon at number 4. At his age with his size, length, footwork and the potential that he's still growing while he sleeps every night, he was probably a steal for the Bobcats at #9.
Next question is, is Saric considered a steal at #12?

I'm slightly surprised Gordon went 4th but I can understand the pick I guess.

All I meant was that pre-draft Vonleh seemed to be rising with a lot of positive hype in the media. Then afterward is when you heard concerns about attitude/work ethic, which ran counter to what we were told before. So maybe Vonleh didn't "slip" but it did seem like some teams were hoping he'd rise and let another guy fall. I do agree that Vonleh was probably never a match for picks 7 or 8 anyway so that contributed to his slide as well.

[Mazingerz]

Saric has a lot of baggage (being involved in Mafia style connections?) and hasnt lived up to the hype in the FIBA world cup; Exum also hasnt also been making an impact for the Aussies;

[fitzhickey]

I'd much rather have Smart than Vonleh. Vonleh comes off as a bit of an idiot, as well as reportedly wanting to convert to SF.

Also, give Young a chance to prove himself. He's the second youngest player in the draft. He may be the next Michael Redd, you never know

Harris is certainly no sure thing either.

[Celtics4ever]

Vonleh is already hurt with a hernia.  I am just glad we did not get Exum after watching FIBA.

[Vermont Green]

Drafting is a crap shoot, especially with players as young as the NBA has to work with.  Everyone can have an opinion of course but there is simply no way to know

I was hoping for Gordon.  I just liked the way he moved on the court for a guy with his frame.  He was gone though and I did not really have an up or down opinion of Smart or any of the others really.  The similarities to Jajuan Johnson did scare me some with Vonleh but that is not a very good reason to draft or not draft someone.

I am fine with the draft.  If one of the two stick, you would have to call the draft a success.  You can't cherry pick in the future and say we passed on this guy or that guy and look how good he turned out (when 10 other teams passed on the same guy).

Fab Melo was a bad pick, no two ways about that.  How could the scouts not see that he couldn't play basketball?

[Moranis]

since when is Smart undersized.  He is 6'4", which is quite large for a PG.