Re: next year will be something

> Jason,  we can look at the Michael Smith selection now and ridicule it, but
> at the time it looked pretty good.  Michael Smith is still one of the most
> perplexing flops in my opinion.  Here was a guy 6'11' who had good ball
> handling and passing skills, could hit the 15-20 foot jumper, could have
> been the next Mchale, but never did anything in the NBA.  I don't know if
> he didn't have the heart to play, didn't have the attitude to play a
> physical game , or what, but if you look at the 6'11" players today, how
> many can dribble or pass a basketball, or step out and hit a 20 foot jumper
> consistently ?  They are far and few between, and the ones than can are now
> pulling down serious $$$$.   Yes it would have been nice to select a Shawn
> Kemp instead, but Kemp was a young inexperienced risk, and the Celtics
> were,  & still are, known for their conservatism, not their risk taking.
> 
> The Celtics will face similar decisions in the future with players like Tim
> Thomas, Keon Clark (whose size & talent appear to be there, but he has only
> 2 years of organized basketball experience before this year , 1 high
> school, 1 JC) and possibly players like Cory Benjamin.  I have seen him
> play since high school and he is definitely a Grant Hill type player that
> could be a star, but could be a flop also.  Look at Donyell Marshall &
> Lionel Simmons they averaged 25-30 a game in college, but can't get 10 a
> game in the NBA.  This is where player evaluation capability comes in, and
> I don't know if the Celtics have people that can spot such talent and take
> a risk that will pay off in 2-3 years.  Kevin McHale seems to be doing an
> excellent job at it in Minnesota, hopefully Larry's involvement will help
> us.
> 
Very good points.  The draft is nothing more than a gamble.  The C's
aren't the only team who have had bad picks.  Por ejemple,  Todd Day and
Pervis were LOTTERY picks.  What have they done?  We  need to pick the
best two players we can with our picks and try to play the free agent
market this summer.  We also need to get rid of a couple of contracts. 
IMO the C's have the mobility to make some good moves.  We should be a
totally different team next year.