Looks like Giannis is starting to live up to the hype

[Beat LA]

Meanwhile, KO is actually as good or better than Giannis in every respect and people can't stop complaining about him.

Mike

How?  KO is an atrocious defender, especially for someone his size, while Giannis is already a pretty good wing defender who has the physical tools to get much better over time.  The only thing that Olynyk can do better than GA right now is shoot, and maybe pass (the Greek Freak is really underrated in this department, imo), but that's it.  Who would you rather see develop - a wing player with the skills and athleticism to become a star, or a big guy who can't defend, won't play inside, and will never get faster or quicker?  Why would you ever want to have two guys on the court at the same time in Sully and KO who can't run or jump?  It just creates too many defensive problems, imo.  Besides, it's not just about numbers - it's also about how those guys get their numbers, and I'd rather have a wing who is slashing to the hoop and blocking shoots with his ridiculous wingspan than a big guy who really has shown nothing offensively outside of shooting (even though his passing ability is excellent).  KO also doesn't look like he has that aggression/assertiveness that the great ones do (maybe he's been playing with Jeff Green for too long ) and thinks too much on the court, often passing up open shots for no apparent reason, which is insanely frustrating to watch, while Giannis doesn't seem to have any of those issues out there, even though he is a very intelligent player, given his playmaking ability.

[D.o.s.]

He's a 6'11" SHOOTING GUARD which is the definition of a "physical freak".

Wait Ryan Anderson is a physical freak?

You're thinking of Steve Novak. Ryan Anderson is a better player than he's getting credit for around here.

I think Ryan Anderson's great.

[SHAQATTACK]

Yawn....

[pearljammer10]

Telfair's not a great example to use for this discussion, although if you wanted to use him  you'd have to say Telfair would be the GA portion of the example and Kelly would be... E'Twaun Moore?

I've had the four years vs one year argument enough times on here to have zero interest in going over it again, though.

No, the comparison for KO would be Markieff Morris, drafted 13th in 2011 at 22 years old.

Who would you rather have today, Telfair or Morris?

Mike

My point was that, in addition to cherry picking Bassy out of thin air because he was drafted young, the comparison was between a guard who was a widely hyped prospect turned bust to GA, who is A) not a guard, and B) a pleasant surprise, not a widely hyped bust. Good try, though. 

But the POINT is potential, youth and projected development. 

The reality is that Giannis might not develop any more from this point than KO will, which would leave KO still the better player.  Telfair's been the league for 10 years now, so the talent people saw when he was a kid wasn't a mirage.  They just projected he would get so much better.  And when Telfair was 22, he averaged just over 9 points on 40% from the field with a turnover-to-assist-ratio of about 3 to 1, so he did improve from his disappointing rookie year.

If Giannis becomes a better player than KO, I won't complain about anybody posting however many threads they want about how Ainge was an idiot for passing on him.

Can we at least wait until that actually happens, though?

Mike

C'mon man....

Telfair is a 6'2 PG with average athleticism and skill

Giannis is a 7 foot , physical freak, with a good handle, court vision and finishing ability .  He also projects to be a very good defender with his athleticism, long arms, huge hands .

Not even worth comparing the two .

It has absolutely nothing to do with comparing players it has to do with saying a player 4 years younger than another player taken in the same draft is automatically going to be better just because he is "young and has more potential".

[csfansince60s]

Yawn....

To quote one of my favorite Smokey Robinson songs of the '60s; "I second that emotion..."

Man, whoever said this is another "grass is greener thread". I second that emotion too.

Coulda, woulda shoulda....

I don't care about this guy (GA) and never will unless he's a Celtic.

How many other teams passed on him? I wonder if there is all this wailing and gnashing of teeth over on those boards too.

[rondohondo]

Yawn....

To quote one of my favorite Smokey Robinson songs of the '60s; "I second that emotion..."

Man, whoever said this is another "grass is greener thread". I second that emotion too.

Coulda, woulda shoulda....

I don't care about this guy (GA) and never will unless he's a Celtic.

How many other teams passed on him? I wonder if there is all this wailing and gnashing of teeth over on those boards too.

Danny Ainge himself compared him to Scottie Pippen when he went over to Greece to watch him play .

Great song though!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KI_0tQdEA5k

[csfansince60s]

Yawn....

To quote one of my favorite Smokey Robinson songs of the '60s; "I second that emotion..."

Man, whoever said this is another "grass is greener thread". I second that emotion too.

Coulda, woulda shoulda....

I don't care about this guy (GA) and never will unless he's a Celtic.

How many other teams passed on him? I wonder if there is all this wailing and gnashing of teeth over on those boards too.

Danny Ainge himself compared him to Scottie Pippen when he went over to Greece to watch him play .

Great song though!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KI_0tQdEA5k

TP to the OP for the song, and you're right,rondo, I do remember Ainge saying that.

[SHAQATTACK]

As a Celtic fan on a CELTIC blog

He means Zippo to me

He s not a Celtic

Double yawn .......tired and not impressed

[GetLucky]

Telfair's not a great example to use for this discussion, although if you wanted to use him  you'd have to say Telfair would be the GA portion of the example and Kelly would be... E'Twaun Moore?

I've had the four years vs one year argument enough times on here to have zero interest in going over it again, though.

No, the comparison for KO would be Markieff Morris, drafted 13th in 2011 at 22 years old.

Who would you rather have today, Telfair or Morris?

Mike

My point was that, in addition to cherry picking Bassy out of thin air because he was drafted young, the comparison was between a guard who was a widely hyped prospect turned bust to GA, who is A) not a guard, and B) a pleasant surprise, not a widely hyped bust. Good try, though. 

The title of the thread is "Looks like Giannis is starting to live up to the hype." I know it's only a Celticsblog fad (and he's far from a bust, so basically nothing in your post i disagree with- I'm just using it as a starting point), but he is hyped in some circles. Not on the scale that Telfair was (not by a loonooog shot), but I think Giannis has gone from underrated to slightly overrated in a short amount of time.

As a sports card collector, I will say his prices are inordinately high for someone with his numbers. 

[Vermont Green]

First point is that if Ainge had the chance to trade KO for GA straight up right now, think he would do it?  I do.  Second point; it seems to me that there is an underlying suggestion in this thread that somehow Danny missed a chance to draft GA and did a bad job or something.  Drafting is a crap shoot.  Minni may be lucky and see GA convert all of the potential and become a star but that doesn't mean that drafting KO was not a good pick.

We have lots of picks coming up.  There will be plenty of chances to use picks on high risk, high upside types of players.  We will also likely miss on some other draftees that turn out to be better than we thought.  It happens every year in every draft just like there are major busts in every draft.  I think making a bust pick (cough cough Fab Melo) is worse than passing on a surprise pick.  It is a balance.

[Beat LA]

First point is that if Ainge had the chance to trade KO for GA straight up right now, think he would do it?  I do.  Second point; it seems to me that there is an underlying suggestion in this thread that somehow Danny missed a chance to draft GA and did a bad job or something.  Drafting is a crap shoot.  Minni may be lucky and see GA convert all of the potential and become a star but that doesn't mean that drafting KO was not a good pick.

We have lots of picks coming up.  There will be plenty of chances to use picks on high risk, high upside types of players.  We will also likely miss on some other draftees that turn out to be better than we thought.  It happens every year in every draft just like there are major busts in every draft.  I think making a bust pick (cough cough Fab Melo) is worse than passing on a surprise pick.  It is a balance.

Why is this the view of so many people now, and not just on here, but in the media?  Imo, the only people who say that drafting is a crap shoot are the people whose teams can't draft, so the Celtics obviously qualify for this line of thinking lol.  Maybe the guy who left for Golden State was the real brains in the war room on draft nights in the past, and not Danny.  At least, that's my conclusion.  Ainge wanted to take Robert Swift and said that Yi reminded him of Garnett .  Yeah, this is why I don't trust him to be able to select players.  He's definitely got some 'splainin to do . 

Besides, what is the alternative to drafting?  Right, there isn't one.  It's the only way to build a team, or at least pieces of one, and every team that has had to develop guys like KG and Love had to draft at one point in time, too - it's not like they were handed these guys as finished products from day one.  Geesh .

[aingeforthree]

Meanwhile, KO is actually as good or better than Giannis in every respect and people can't stop complaining about him.

Mike

How?  KO is an atrocious defender, especially for someone his size, while Giannis is already a pretty good wing defender who has the physical tools to get much better over time.  The only thing that Olynyk can do better than GA right now is shoot, and maybe pass (the Greek Freak is really underrated in this department, imo), but that's it.  Who would you rather see develop - a wing player with the skills and athleticism to become a star, or a big guy who can't defend, won't play inside, and will never get faster or quicker?  Why would you ever want to have two guys on the court at the same time in Sully and KO who can't run or jump?  It just creates too many defensive problems, imo.  Besides, it's not just about numbers - it's also about how those guys get their numbers, and I'd rather have a wing who is slashing to the hoop and blocking shoots with his ridiculous wingspan than a big guy who really has shown nothing offensively outside of shooting (even though his passing ability is excellent).  KO also doesn't look like he has that aggression/assertiveness that the great ones do (maybe he's been playing with Jeff Green for too long ) and thinks too much on the court, often passing up open shots for no apparent reason, which is insanely frustrating to watch, while Giannis doesn't seem to have any of those issues out there, even though he is a very intelligent player, given his playmaking ability.

Only thing ? Olynyk is a flat out better player overall than Giannis & it isn't really close right now. 5 years down the road, who knows. KO is a unique big man in himself. He's a freak at his position because most 7 footers can't play like he does.

He knows the game better than Giannis, better shooter, & better overall team player. I'd draft KO over Giannis all day.

[aingeforthree]

First point is that if Ainge had the chance to trade KO for GA straight up right now, think he would do it?  I do.  Second point; it seems to me that there is an underlying suggestion in this thread that somehow Danny missed a chance to draft GA and did a bad job or something.  Drafting is a crap shoot.  Minni may be lucky and see GA convert all of the potential and become a star but that doesn't mean that drafting KO was not a good pick.

We have lots of picks coming up.  There will be plenty of chances to use picks on high risk, high upside types of players.  We will also likely miss on some other draftees that turn out to be better than we thought.  It happens every year in every draft just like there are major busts in every draft.  I think making a bust pick (cough cough Fab Melo) is worse than passing on a surprise pick.  It is a balance.

I think he'd still draft KO. I would too.

[TheFlex]

First point is that if Ainge had the chance to trade KO for GA straight up right now, think he would do it?  I do.  Second point; it seems to me that there is an underlying suggestion in this thread that somehow Danny missed a chance to draft GA and did a bad job or something.  Drafting is a crap shoot.  Minni may be lucky and see GA convert all of the potential and become a star but that doesn't mean that drafting KO was not a good pick.

We have lots of picks coming up.  There will be plenty of chances to use picks on high risk, high upside types of players.  We will also likely miss on some other draftees that turn out to be better than we thought.  It happens every year in every draft just like there are major busts in every draft.  I think making a bust pick (cough cough Fab Melo) is worse than passing on a surprise pick.  It is a balance.

Why is this the view of so many people now, and not just on here, but in the media?  Imo, the only people who say that drafting is a crap shoot are the people whose teams can't draft, so the Celtics obviously qualify for this line of thinking lol.  Maybe the guy who left for Golden State was the real brains in the war room on draft nights in the past, and not Danny.  At least, that's my conclusion.  Ainge wanted to take Robert Swift and said that Yi reminded him of Garnett .  Yeah, this is why I don't trust him to be able to select players.  He's definitely got some 'splainin to do . 

Besides, what is the alternative to drafting?  Right, there isn't one.  It's the only way to build a team, or at least pieces of one, and every team that has had to develop guys like KG and Love had to draft at one point in time, too - it's not like they were handed these guys as finished products from day one.  Geesh .

Darren Erman? He's back!

[Beat LA]

First point is that if Ainge had the chance to trade KO for GA straight up right now, think he would do it?  I do.  Second point; it seems to me that there is an underlying suggestion in this thread that somehow Danny missed a chance to draft GA and did a bad job or something.  Drafting is a crap shoot.  Minni may be lucky and see GA convert all of the potential and become a star but that doesn't mean that drafting KO was not a good pick.

We have lots of picks coming up.  There will be plenty of chances to use picks on high risk, high upside types of players.  We will also likely miss on some other draftees that turn out to be better than we thought.  It happens every year in every draft just like there are major busts in every draft.  I think making a bust pick (cough cough Fab Melo) is worse than passing on a surprise pick.  It is a balance.

Why is this the view of so many people now, and not just on here, but in the media?  Imo, the only people who say that drafting is a crap shoot are the people whose teams can't draft, so the Celtics obviously qualify for this line of thinking lol.  Maybe the guy who left for Golden State was the real brains in the war room on draft nights in the past, and not Danny.  At least, that's my conclusion.  Ainge wanted to take Robert Swift and said that Yi reminded him of Garnett .  Yeah, this is why I don't trust him to be able to select players.  He's definitely got some 'splainin to do . 

Besides, what is the alternative to drafting?  Right, there isn't one.  It's the only way to build a team, or at least pieces of one, and every team that has had to develop guys like KG and Love had to draft at one point in time, too - it's not like they were handed these guys as finished products from day one.  Geesh .

Darren Erman? He's back!

No idea.  Oh, wait, maybe it's that guy who's now in Phoenix.  I have no clue lol, so don't worry about it .