Ouch-o Cinco
So with the draft staring us right in the eyes, where do the Celtics stand?
Staying at #5, our options are looking like Jeff Green, Corey Brewer, and Yi Jianlian. This would be the worst case scenario since none of those guys exactly get me all that fired up. Brewer's defense is a plus but it's not like he's been locking down the greats of college basketball. The only NBA draft pick he really defended this year was Derrick Byars, who had two solid games against Florida. As for his offense, it has potential and is still very raw. Right now, I'm not sure that he's all that much better of an NBA player than DeShawn Stevenson. Yi Jianlian is a complete unknown. He seems more like Vlad Radmanvic or Brian Cook than Dirk or Pau. I woudn't bet against him but I'm also not willing to bet our draft pick that he's going to be the fifth best player in this draft. Jeff Green seems like a poor man's Shane Battier. While he's likely be an improvement over Ryan Gomes, I'm not sure how much of an improvement he's actually be.
Trading up for Horford is a possibility but I'd hate to give up a pick in next year's draft to do it. I'd offer up a lot and maybe even agree to take back Brian Cardinal's crap contract but Horford, while the #3 prospect, isn't worth mortgaging the farm for.
Trading down is the best move, especially since likely that one of our three options will still be around at #8. If we move down to #12, I'm honestly more comfortable considering Javarris Crittenton, Thad Young, and Spencer Hawes as Green, Brewer, and Yi. If I was in charge, I'd be on the phone with Rod Higgins and Billy King as soon as Atlanta or Memphis selected Al Horford.
Then there are the much rumored deals. Kevin Garnett is the prize but would cost us Al Jefferson. I wouldn't be COMPLETELY opposed to that but if we make that trade, I also think we should go after a veteran PG. If we could make a play for Sam Cassell and Corey Maggette (likely moving Rondo, Wally, and something to sweeten the deal), I'd be very interested in the Garnett deal and making a run at the Finals next year. It just doesn't make sense to me to add a huge contract like KG and then have the fate of the team riding on a second year late first round point guard.
Most other deals being floated around sound like nonsense although the Ray Allen deal is intriguing. He's not a great fit but if all he costs is Wally, #5, and filler, he might be worth it. At the very least, we would have a very nice trade asset at this next season's deadline along with Theo's expiring deal. Ray's deal is one year longer than Wally's and if we could move Scal's contract, it really wouldn't affect our finances too too much. The team would be in better standing talent-wise and trade-wise so I'd go for it.
In the end, I'm afraid that we won't be making the huge moves that most people wanted or that our division rivals could pull off (The Nets might deal Richard Jefferson for Jermaine O'Neal and the Sixers have Andre Miller and three picks to offer up). In the end, this year's draft will likely be one small step for the Celtics and not the giant leap that Celtics fans had been hoping for.
