Draft

[peter delevett <pdelevett@amcity.com>]

While we're all gnashing our teeth about the Celtics' lack of a center,
bemoaning the dearth of quality FA centers coming up on the horizon and
arguing the merits of various trades (I'm surprised nobody's launched the name
Rony Seikaly), I took a little look ahead to draft day, which is only 5 months away.

Though I think the Celtics, as presently constituted, have a good chance of
making the playoffs if certain things break our way, I think we also have to
admit that the following teams are going to be tough to knock out of the
picture: New York, Miami, Indiana, New Jersey. The next tier of teams --
Orlando, Cleveland and Detroit -- are likely playoff-bound too, and Atlanta
stands a good chance of sneaking back in esp. if they can land a live body at
the 3. That leaves us duking it out not only with the Hawks but with Charlotte
and Milwaukee for the 8th spot. (Let me quickly say here that I believe the
C's will be able to beat any and all of the above teams on any given night; I
just think we're a center and some seasoning away from being consistent
playoff contenders.)

So, if we don't make the playoffs, we're back in the draft lottery. Let's look
at who else would be in there with us: Philly, Vancouver, Golden State, Sacto
and the Clippers all seem set at center. I don't think Denver would take a
center, even though LaFrentz is out of position, because that would mean less
PT for him or McDyess, or for Eric Williams if Dice moved to the 3. So, here
are the teams who I think we'd be competing with to draft a center:
Washington, Charlotte and Milwaukee, with the possible additions of Toronto,
Dallas and Chicago. That helps our chances considerably (though there is
always the chance that if, say, Golden State landed a high pick, they might
trade it to a team like Seattle or Utah). 

There are no real dominant centers coming out in this year's draft, which
might prompt Dallas, Toronto and Chicago to try to fill other needs. So unless
the Wizards, Hornets and Bucks all draft higher than us, we should have a good
shot at landing the player I think might be a good fit for us: Stanford's Tim Young.

Now, I'm already on record as questioning Young's heart and commitment, and I
don't know that he possesses much of a post-up game. But after watching him
again this past weekend, I think he does have several things going for him:
he's a legit 7'1; he's athletic and plays in an up-tempo system; and though he
needs to add weight, he seems to have the kind of frame that could easily pack
on muscle (much more so than, say, Travis Knight). He could fit in well as a
shot blocker/rebounder/garbage scorer (averages 9 & 6, about .8 BPG in 22 MPG;
if you want to see his stats, go to
http://espn.go.com/ncb/teamstats/pac10/sca.html). 

In a normal draft year, Young's shortcomings might push him down to
mid-lottery status; in a year this thin (even if Elton Brand comes out, who
else is there besides Rip Hamilton?), it will probably take a top 3 pick to
nab Young. That means we'll be needing a little luck from the leprechaun; a
top 3 pick would make up for the Duncan Debacle, although we might have used
up our draft luck this past year with the Great Paul Pierce Heist.

And if we want to really get ahead of ourselves, ESPN has a list of the top 10
college center signees. It's at http://espn.go.com/recruiting/ncb/topc.html.
No. 1 is 6'10, 245 Marvin Stone, who's headed to Kentucky. FWIW, the No. 4 guy
on the list, Casey Sanders (who's going to Duke), was coached in high school
by a friend of mine who says he's the real deal. Hopefuly, by the time any of
these kids gets to the NBA, we'll no longer need them.

Finally, here's how on top of things the mental giants at USA Today are: guess
who they've got penciled in as the starting center in Boston's "projected
lineup?" Pervis Ellison! Don't I wish .. the Pervis Ellison of 1992, that is!