Katz/Ford On The Celtics Picks

[Way Of The Ray <wayray@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Enlightening, but they can always trade for a PG....



Pavlovic 

Chad Ford's Pick: The Celtics need a lot of things -- a center, point
guard and the elusive third scorer. At this point in the draft, the
scorer is the best player left on the board. Pavlovic has great size and
athleticism at the two, and he's one of the top shooters in the draft.
His experience playing in the Euroleague this year should allow him to
come in and play big minutes right away in Boston. GM Danny Ainge fell
in love with him at a workout two weeks ago and immediately scheduled to
bring Pavlovic back just days before the draft. 

Andy Katz's Take: The 19-year old Yugoslavian is one of the best
shooters in the draft. The Celtics are looking for scoring help on the
perimeter, and Pavlovic fits the profile. His agent, Marc Cornstein,
looks at him as another version of San Antonio's Emanuel Ginobili. If
that is the case, the Celtics would have quite a find in the first
round. Ainge isn't going to draft unskilled players, or simply just
athletes. He wants shooters and scorers, and Pavlovic could end up being
the right player for the Celtics. The sleeper players still on the board
could be Jarvis Hayes and Collison. 

Banks 

Chad Ford's Pick: J.R. Bremer is nice, but the team needs a real point
guard in the worst way. The most prominent rumor in Chicago was that
Banks skipped the pre-draft camp because he had a promise from Ainge at
No. 20. Ainge denies it, but there's some teeth to the rumor. Ainge
knows the Mountain West players well and has supposedly fallen in love
with the kid many scouts compare to a poor man's Baron Davis. 

Andy Katz's Take: The Celtics need to grab a point guard with one of
their two picks. The best points will likely be gone by the time they
pick at No. 16, leaving a point a must at No. 20. Boston could give
serious thought to Boston College's Troy Bell, but the early word is
that Banks might be ahead of Bell on the Celtics' depth chart. If Bell's
Chicago camp success pushed him ahead, Boston won't hesitate to take him
at No. 20. The darkhorse at this spot is BYU's Travis Hansen. The
Celtics likely would only take him if they do get a point at No. 16.
Hansen is a favorite of Ainge.