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It was three years ago when I
heard Celtics¡¯ GM say all the same things about having late
second round draft pick. I had d¨¦j¨¤ vu all week when hearing
what his thoughts were about this year¡¯s pick. In 1999, they
selected Kris Klack, a typical ¡°tweener¡± who has been a
Shaw¡¯s Pro Summer League regular, but nothing more. (More on
the 1999 draft later on)
This year, the Celtics and their fans were feeling a little
chilly on the backside again, having to chose at 50 (or 49,
depending who you ask). They selected Darius Songalia, a 6-9
senior out of Wake Forest. His numbers aren¡¯t all that bad and
he did play in the best conference (ACC) in Men¡¯s NCAA
competition. But let¡¯s be realistic here. He¡¯ll be lucky to
be on the roster come October.
With that being said, it was interesting to see some of the
reactions by the TNT analysts about this kid. Then again, if I
hear the word ¡°upside¡± or the phrase ¡°I can¡¯t believe he
dropped that far¡± again, I will puke instantly. So, if you are
a fan of Mr. Songalia, and have been dying to see him in a
Celtics uniform, buy season¡¯s tickets to the Summer League.
This draft wasn¡¯t all that important to the Celtics. Directly,
anyway. Indirectly, we can play what if for a couple of
scenarios. Consider the following:
-If the Celtics did not exercise the Denver pick last year (in
which case, they got Kedrick Brown), then they would have had
pick #5. That turned out to be Nikoloz Tskitishvili. He didn¡¯t
play all that much overseas, but he is big at 7-0, 225. So for
all of you Kedrick fans out there that have been emailing me,
whom would you rather have? Because if the Celtics had that
choice, they probably would have taken him too.
-As you all know, when the Celtics traded for Rodney Rogers and
Tony Delk, they also gave Phoenix their first round pick this
year, which turned out to be #22. Remember, they wanted nothing
to do with the guaranteed salary. That pick turned out to be
Stanford¡¯s Casey Jacobsen, who is another SG/SF. Now, while he
was a pretty good baller for one of the best college programs,
I¡¯m not so sure he would have been best suited to play here.
The Celtics already have a ton of wing players. The only good
thing about him coming here would be that he¡¯d bring his fianc¨¦e
with him. But, if the Celtics did have this pick, they would not
have taken him. My guess is that they would have gone with
Gonzaga point guard Dan Dickau. More on him in a minute.
So there you have it. The ¡°if we had that pick¡± game is
interesting to play, but can get aggravating real quick. Take
the 1999 draft for example. If Tricky Rick didn¡¯t trade the
Celtics first round pick to Cleveland (along with Andrew
Declerq), the Celtics would have their point guard AND third
scoring options solved. Declerq¡¯s numbers are comparable to
that of Vitaly Potapenko, and he is cheaper. No knock on V, but
look how far the Celtics got without him playing a single game
in the playoffs. Now just imagine for a minute how good this
team would be with Dr. Dre. But, you¡¯ll have to end that
thought immediately. Pitino, who had the same scenario pointed
out to him during the 1999-2000 season, quickly deadpanned: ¡°I
would have taken Shawn Marion anyway.¡± Ya ok Rick. Sure, and
you also would have let Rick Fox and David Wesley go so you
could sign Travis Knight right? Oh wait¡
Random Ramblings
-You could tell that Charles Barkley wanted to leave with David
Stern after round 1.
-I am not surprised at the number of trades that have already
occurred, and I expect to see quite a few more soon.
-Speaking of trades, the biggest of the night was between New
York and Denver. The Knicks pulled off a trade that only the
Knicks can do. They sent oft-injured PF/C Marcus Camby, Nene
Hilario and aging PG Mark Jackson to Denver for Antonio McDyess
and Frank Williams. Basically, the Knicks got the best player,
but how healthy is he? And how great was the New York crowd when
their selection was made? That¡¯s the one thing about New York
that I love. They will say whatever they want whenever they
want.
-Speaking of the New York crowd, the best scream of the night
came during the second round when NBA Deputy Commissioner Russ
Granik took the stage: ¡°Announce a fu***** trade a**hole!¡±
The look a Granik¡¯s face was priceless. If I were him, I would
have made one up on the spot. Something to the tune of: ¡°Ok,
you want a trade you little sh**? Well, the Knicks have just
traded Latrell Sprewell for Shawn Bradley. How do you like that
one you little punk!¡± Anyway¡
-If you were wondering about the television broadcasts of the
Shaw¡¯s Pro Summer League, here is the tentative ESPN schedule:
Day 1 - Monday, July 15th
None
Day 2 - Tuesday, July 16th
ESPN2
2-4, 8-10
Day 3 - Wednesday, July 17th
ESPN
2-4
Day 4 - Thursday, July 18th
ESPN2
2-4
Day 5 - Friday, July 19th
ESPN2
7-9 (Salt Lake Summer Hoops)
Day 6 - Saturday, July 20th
None
Day 7 - Sunday, July 21st
None
-This site will be live at each game and give reports on how all
the rookies look.
-A lot of what the Celtics do this offseason hinges on the
resigning of Rogers. If they can snag him back, then you can
expect to see Erick Strickland go. This is not necessarily a bad
thing either. Sure he was very productive for this team, but
with him here, where do you find minutes for Kedrick, Joseph
Forte or possibly Omar Cook? If Rogers goes, don¡¯t be
surprised to see Strickland still go. Again, I don¡¯t think
this is a bad thing, but from what I have heard, Chris Wallace
still doesn¡¯t feel that Kedrick is ready to be a major
contributor to this team. That is strange to me considering how
well he played when he started before the trade. It looks like
he¡¯ll have to just show his skills to the Celtics¡¯ brass in
a couple of weeks.
-As far as Forte goes, the Celtics have not given up on him yet,
contrary to popular belief. His play in the summer league is
very vital to his career here in Boston. If he plays well, and
can still learn the point to some extent, then he will stay. I
still feel he could be an effective point guard for this team.
The Celtics system requires the point guard to move the ball and
knock down the kick out jumper. If I¡¯m not mistaken, he was
pretty good at this in college.
-Omar Cook is the exact reverse of Forte. He is a natural point
guard, and knows how to move the ball and run an offense. The
problem is that he can¡¯t shoot. If he can develop any type of
consistent jumper, he could also be on the roster come October.
-Finally, I made a quick reference about Dan Dickau. If the
Sacramento Kings did not take him with the last pick in the
first round, the Celtics probably would have made a small trade
for him to whomever took him in round 2. Why? Well considering
they didn¡¯t want a first round pick due to the guaranteed
salary, and that they are searching for someone to take over
point guard duties once Kenny Anderson¡¯s contract is up, he
would have been a steal. Surprisingly, they used their only pick
to take a big white guy.
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