CELTICS GREEN BLOG by and for boston celtics fans: Post Draft Reaction

by FLCeltsFan 11:51 PM

I can't help but feel that somehow we didn't address any of our needs in the draft. Going into the draft, we needed size and defense. We addressed neither. In the meantime, we lost a good defender who played with heart and was a fan favorite. I am going to miss Delonte in green.

Questions about Ray Allen are his health and age. He is coming off the best season of his career, but he also had double ankle surgery in April and has yet to work out. He is 32 years old and at that age, may not heal as well as if he was in his 20's. One plus is his attitude. He is very happy to be coming to Boston and was very positive when interviewed by phone by the Globe.

"I could not be more excited about coming to Boston to play for the Celtics." said Allen. "I am glad to be back in the New England area and cannot wait to get onto the floor with players the caliber of Paul Pierce and Al Jefferson."

With regard to playing alongside Pierce, Allen, when reached by telephone last night, added, ‘‘I’m a chameleon. I’ll adapt wherever I go. One of my best attributes is to assess the situation and not try to force my personality on the team. I know it’s Paul Pierce’s team. I just want to fit in and make the team better the best I know how.’’

While Allen has averaged 21.5 points over a 10-year NBA career and shot 45 percent from the field, including 45 percent from 3-point range, the seven-time All-Star believes he can contribute more than offense.

‘‘There’s more to me than the ability to shoot it,’’ said Allen, who has three years worth $52.2 million remaining on his contract. ‘‘It’s about being professional and doing your job every day. I can teach young players to step up and be great at their jobs. I can [be a part of] providing leadership, giving Paul that help.

‘‘We both can score, but I don’t think we have to have the ball in our hands to score. I can score without the ball. I look at scoring in different ways. The ball doesn’t have to be in my hands. I have a responsibility when I’m on the floor to know what every other player can do and put them in good situations.’’

Hopefully, Allen can come back healthy and will help the team. He would be an upgrade over Wally, but I just can't help but think that we passed up something special by passing on the players who were available in the draft. The addition of Ray Allen if he comes in healthy, though, should be enough to make us a playoff team. But the feeling is that Danny isn't done dealing and there is more to come.

In the second round, we took Gabe Pruitt with the 32nd pick. Gabe is a 6'4" guard out of Southern California where he averaged 12.5 points, 2.8 rebounds and 4.3 assists. Nicknamed "Smilin' Gabe, he is a combo guard with good quickness and acceleration. He is effective with the cross-over dribble to shake defenders. He shoots with range, but is streaky. He is an active defender who plays the passing lanes well. he is still relatively inexperienced at the point, as he was utilized more as a scorer in the prep ranks, but has shown improvement in this area and more creativity as a junior. He still needs to refine his skills at the point, but even while developing them, he can give decent minutes sharing playing time at the next level. He should be put into service as a replacement for Delonte West.

With the 35th pick that we received in the Ray Allen trade, the Celtics picked "Big Baby" Glenn Davis who is a 6'9" forward out of LSU who averaged 17.7 points and 10.4 rebounds in 29 games this past season for the Tigers. Davis led the SEC in rebounding this past season and ranked third in scoring. The former Tiger recorded 15 double-doubles, including 10 games in which he scored 20 or more points. Davis finished as the 10th all-time leading scorer in LSU history with 1,587 points. "Big Baby" earned Second Team All-America honors from The Sporting News and Third Team honors from the Associated Press as a sophomore.
He is a skilled BIG man with a feathery touch in the post. He has excellent athleticism for someone so big. he is a polished low-post scorer and a good rebounder. Has a real feel for the game. His weight has been a huge issue for him. It bothered him in the NCAA tournament and scouts are concerned as he gets older it will take its toll on his body and he'll have a harder time keeping the weight off. He lost 45 pounds prior to the predraft camp which gives hope that this may be a problem of the past. Though word is that he has gained some of that weight back.

All of the post draft interviews, including Doc, Danny, and Mike Gorman, voiced the opinion that we are not done yet. Danny expects to tweak the roster a bit more before the season starts. Personnally, I hope that we don't make any trades that will cause us to give up Al Jefferson. I think another minor trade for a big who isn't making max money will be the smartest thing we could do. According to most sources the Garnett deal is still in play, but if it costs us Al Jefferson, I don't think we should do it. Also, taking on Garnett's deal would financially criple us for years to come. We need another big and more defense. It is time to see who we can bring in to give us those qualities without giving up the future to get them.

One immediate question is the #34. Both Ray Allen and Gabe Pruitt wear #34 now but we all know that it is already being worn on the Celtics. What numbers will Pruitt and Allen pick? Glenn Davis wears #0 but Leon Powe is wearing that number for the Celtics and I, for one, hope he continues to wear it for the Celtics. We need to pick up his option by July 1 and I haven't heard anything about that as yet. With Davis' weight being a concern, I don't want to give up on Powe as yet. Another side note of this team is that now we have Ray Allen to go along with Allan Ray. That has to be a first. Although, Allan Ray's option needs to be picked up by July 1 as well. If Danny goes for Garnett, it will have to be a 5 or 6 for 1 deal and we will need all the cheap players we can get.

The next big thing is Summer League which starts on July 6 where we should be able to get a look at our 2 second round draft picks in action. Reports are that we will get to see Albert Miralles in action in summer league as well.

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