Danny and drafting big men

[DERRENMATTS]

It's been a thought I've had for years now, that Danny doesn't want to invest too much into Centers -- he's had enough draft picks in recent drafts to take a gamble on a few, but rather chose to pass. Maybe he thinks of the 5 positions on the court, the Center is the least glorified position. With NBA offenses migrating further away from the basket, and teams focusing more on perimeter defense, the role of the Center has diminished.

I remember we went through Centers like Mikki Moore, Patrick O'Bryant, Semih Erden, Ryan Hollins, etc. Not exactly world beaters. A few times we tried has beens, such as Shaq and Jermaine O'Neal, but they came to us cheaply. Sure, we did sign Al Horford, but he's not just a Center, and he offers a lot more versatility than your average Center.

All in all, what Ainge seems to be after at the Center spot are adequate rebounding, shot blocking and switching on defense. And if he can get a guy cheaply to do these things, even better (Aron Baynes).

This coming draft, there are a number of big men who are potentially All-Stars. DeAndre Ayton, Mo Bamba, and Robert Williams (I see Marvin Bagley more of a 4/3 and not a 5). If they live up to their potential, they're going to become expensive.

I'm sure if Ainge drafted an Hakeem Olajuwon caliber Center who can rebound, score, defend, pass, dribble and lead at an elite level, he wouldn't mind paying bucks for him. But none of this year's draftees are that caliber, and I don't envision Ainge wanting to give max money to fringe All-Stars.

So spend money on other positions, but try to find solid Centers at low costs -- if this is his thinking, I don't know if we're going to take Ayton or Bamba or Williams, even if they are more highly ranked than Porter, Doncic and Bagley.

[Roadrunner]

I agree. I think Danny budget is on players that make the other 4 players better. Ex: Horford, Hayward.

[DERRENMATTS]

Aug 18, 2017 17:25:32 GMT -5 Roadrunner said:

I agree. I think Danny budget is on players that make the other 4 players better. Ex: Horford, Hayward.

Right. Spend money on scorers, on multi positional 2 way players, but don't invest a pretty penny on a Center who is limited. Noel Nerlens is a really good shot blocker (which we've been craving), but offers very little elsewhere.

Bamba and Ayton are potentially good 2-way players, but can they also lead and direct an offense from the high post the way Horford does? Can they pull down a rebound and push the ball up the floor and thread the needle to a cutter like Horford does? If they can't be multi-faceted, they put a limit on what we want to do as a team.