Re: Guidelines For The Celtics Draft

[Way Of The Ray <wayray@ix.netcom.com>]

Haywood: Middle class Montross with better shot-blocking
skills. May have a better career though, as Montross
went into a shell after his third season.
I'd be leery of drafting him. Michael Bradley looks
better every day.

Monter has Murphy rated as the best power forward.
Could be a surprise! We're so use to BWS, that there's a
bias against white players.

(See other replies below)


OzerskyJA wrote:

> I think at ten you're almost guaranteed of getting
> Brendan Haywood.  If he's not there, that means
> that somebody better will be.
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Berry, Mark S [mailto:berrym@BATTELLE.ORG]
> Sent: Friday, April 27, 2001 12:52 PM
> To: 'wayray@ix.netcom.com'; 'celtics@igtc.com'
> Subject: Re: Guidelines For The Celtics Draft
>
> Ray wrote... "If you want a project, go after Randolph, or Johnson
> from Ohio State."
>
> ****
>
> Ray, I'm a Randolph fan also, but if you're comparing Diop to Ken Johnson,
> you obviously haven't seen much of Ken Johnson.

How much have you seen of Diop? It's very difficult to
judge high school big men, because they're so scattered, that
mismatches are the norm, and it's hard to obtain an
accurate representation of the player's skills. What good is
it, if the 7-0, 300-pound Diop overwhelms some 6-6,
220-pound guy?

True he does have an NBA body, but so do lots of guys
on the playgrounds. Doesn't mean they should be in the
NBA either.

I'm telling you Diop is rawer than unwashed celery,
doesn't know the game, has no offensive skills,
and it's going to be a long, long, long wait for him to
blossom. Look at Jonathan Bender. He's light years
ahead of Diop in talent and ability, and he's years away.



> I love the guy as a college
> player, and think he probably has a Michael Stewart-type career ahead of him
> in the NBA. He's a great shot-blocker, but that's it. He's about 6-10 and
> wiry, so he can't play center full-time. He doesn't have the skills to play
> power forward. He may contribute more right away (although I'm not so sure
> about that), but there's not much upside there. Would I take him at 22?
> Maybe.
>

Well, I wouldn't draft Johnson at 10 or 11 - too high of reach,
but 22 is okay. He reminds me a little bit of Ratliff.


>
> Diop, on the other hand, has NBA size and by all accounts potentially has
> serious NBA skills. He's a shot-blocker, but a much better rebounder than
> Johnson. Will he score? I don't know, but I know he's worth a shot if he
> slides to 10. The stress fracture is a concern, without question, but aren't
> all these guys risks? You take the risk with Diop because the reward is so
> great.
>

Be leery. A 7-0, 300-pound guy that only averages 14 points a game
on the high school level. That's not exactly dominant.


>
> In my dream world, Diop and Randolph are sitting there at 10 and 11 and the
> Celts snatch them both. In reality, I'm hoping one of them slides to that
> point. At this point, and it's extremely early, I don't believe either is
> likely to happen.
>

Most people have them both projected in the top 9. C's will
have to trade if they want either Griffin, Battier, Diop, Randolph,
Richardson, etc., or get lucky in the lottery.


>
> If that doesn't happen, I'm still hoping for Brendan Haywood. NBA size and
> skills, but stuck on a team that didn't use him enough. I really believe he
> could be a better pro than college player.
>
> Mark

Maybe, but he's awful Montross like.

You're better off drafting Bradley/Murphy and Forte/Johnson.
More bang for your buck.
Ray