The Boston Celtics continue their rebuild by now adding the sixth overall pick in this year’s draft to the fold. While the process is and has been a painful one for the proud fans of the Celtics it figures to get a little less painful with the addition of a top prospect via this draft.
The Celtics have been rumoured as shopping this pick, potentially as a part of a deal to acquire another star to Beantown. While the rumours are probably just that at this point it is nonetheless interesting conjecture at this point to toss around. The likelihood of the Celtics pairing this pick along with a Jared Sullinger is a remote possibility but one that could draw interest from around the league.
What is perhaps of greater likelihood is the possibility of the Celtics trading their franchise player in Rajon Rondo. Rondo is going to be playing out the final year of his contract that will pay him $13 million in the 2014 season and so long as Rondo remains on the roster, questions about his future in Boston will continue to come. Rondo may not wish to resign in Boston and if the Celtic brass get wind of such desires you can bet that they will scramble to get something in return for him.
The writing could already be on the wall in Boston as the Celtics could send a message to the rest of the league should they draft a point guard here. One can bet that if the Celtics do decide on nabbing a point guard here they won’t be inclined to pay their old one $13 million. Should this scenario unfold, expect a Rondo trade to be imminent.
Biggest Draft Day Need
The Celtics need to get better and they have already stated that they will draft based on needs at every position. This statement seems to contradict the actual roster needs as both Rondo and Avery Bradley would seem to have the guard spots locked down, Jeff Green has two years left on his deal under which he has been playing quite well and Jared Sullinger and Kelly Olynyk have shown promise at the five spot.
Given this lineup of talent, the biggest need would appear to be at the power forward spot. Luckily for the Celtics that should they choose to go this route they have a couple solid prospects who would both be solid additions. Unfortunately for the Celtics, the Utah Jazz draft one spot ahead of them and they too have similar needs.
The top two prospects available here are Julius Randle from Kentucky and Noah Vonleh from Indiana. Of the two Randle has a more polished offensive game than Vonleh; however Vonleh did put up some freakish-like measurements at the combine that are sure to grab some general manager’s attention. Notably the one where he measures 6’9.25” in shoes with a ridiculous 7’4.25” wingspan.
Randle on the other hand measured well but wasn’t really outside of the norm in any one category. He was a much larger part of the team’s offense than Vonleh was as Kentucky relied heavily on Randle at times to create opportunities. Even with the increased opportunities to score, Randle really didn’t show off much of an arsenal. He scores in similar ways and doesn’t have a truly rounded nor NBA ready game as of yet. Randle reminds me very much of Kris Humphries who had similar height and length and relied on hustle plays and bullying of smaller and weaker opponents in college to get the job done.
If the Celtics had the fifth overall pick in this draft, which they don’t; I would definitely see them targeting Noah Vonleh. As it sits now it looks like the Utah Jazz are either at least seriously considering Vonleh or trying to leach a trade out of Boston in making them think that they want Vonleh. It makes sense to figure that the Jazz would take Vonleh which would leave Boston with Julius Randle here.