Welcome to my world, "Ask Derren"

[DERRENMATTS]

Luther Head is not a better prospect than Dee Brown. On a PG standpoint, Dee is a better passer. Brown is also a better shooter. What Luther has over him is his overall scoring ability, mainly because he has those 3" on Dee.

Dee Brown just had an off day vs. Iowa. Luther did score 25 pts, but he took twice as many shots as Dee Brown did (who scored 12 pts). He also played 12 more minutes.

Dee Brown is a fantastic open court player. He can be too unselfish at times, which hurts him. But when he gets into his zone, he'll put up 4 consecutive buckets rather easily.

[cfoo]

I like Dee Brown as well. He's fun to watch. I think he'll make a good pro too. Yeah he's undersized, but he's just one of those guys that knows how to play.

[DERRENMATTS]

Yeah, he is. He's a total sparkplug guy.

What I want everyone to keep in mind is that I'm not endorsing Dee Brown as our future starting PG. I do not view him as such. He isn't the guy I would chose to be the starting PG for the Boston Celtics. I'd much rather have Felton or Lefty. Where I like Dee Brown is coming off the bench as a backup PG. He is better suited for that responsibility, more than Marcus Banks. From a PG standpoint, he is much better than Banks. As a shooter, he is better than Banks. Banks has a slight edge in the speed department, and he's a bit longer than Brown. But overall, Dee Brown can very well have more impact at the backup spot than Banks.

[forevergreen]

Hey Derren,

If we only had one 1st round pick and it's a high one say in the top 12. And we had to choose between Josh Boone, Raymond Felton, Charlie Villanueva, who would be our one and only pick?

My pick would be Felton, simply because a very good point guard will make a great difference. The Phoenix Suns is the perfect example, when Nash went down and the backup Barbosa started, their offense sputtered and they lost games. It just wasn't the same. Amare numbers suffered the most, he really fed of Nash and the fastbreak. Marion however was as effective in the half court offense as he was in the fastbreak.

Who is the number one pg in the draft? is it Felton? And does Felton have Heinrich potential?

[DERRENMATTS]

Question (ForeverGreen):If we only had one 1st round pick and it's a high one say in the top 12. And we had to choose between Josh Boone, Raymond Felton, Charlie Villanueva, who would be our one and only pick?


Hmmm.. That's a tough question because I like all three guys and think they'd all be good fits with us.

So this is how I'd base my criteria:

1). Best player
2) Positional need
3) Most impact
4) Order of importance--C, PF, PG, SF, SG

First off, you take a look at who the best player is. You shouldn't take a positional need first if a better player is available. You don't take Steve Nash before Lebron James if you had a chance to take either of the two, even if you had a need at PG and not at SG. That's why you never take Sam Bowie if you have the chance to take Michael Jordan or even Clyde Drexler Always take the better player first.

If all things are equal, you then look at positional need. With players being equal, you take a look at what positions you need to improve. If you need a Center and there is a good Center available, and a good PG available, with all things being equal between the two players (in terms of impact they'll make for your team) you go for the Center.

Lastly, you go for the player who can make the most impact on the team. If you have a need a Center, but only SG's and SF's of equal value are available, you take inventory of your team and see where a player can have the most impact. If you have less depth on your team at SF, then you go after the SF, or vice versa with SG.

Your strategy should be in the order mentioned above.

So now let's take a look at Boone, Villanueva, and Felton.

Rule #1: Who's the best player between the 3? Well, each play a different position and all three are terrific athletes in their own ways. Boone is the best rebounder of the three, Villanueva is the most versatile of the three, and Felton is the best passer of the three. So you go to the next rule.

Rule #2: What position do you need help at? With the future in mind we see that Jefferson, Pierce, and Delonte may be our future PF, SF, and PG. And they'd all be solid at their positions. If anything, Delonte would be the least of the 3. So taking Raymond Felton would make a lot of sense.

If you want to think about it more thoroughly, you can go to Rule 3 and Rule 4.

Rule #3: Once again, Raymond Felton makes the most sense here. If we draft Boone, he'll be playing in back of Big Al, so his impact will be limited. If we draft Villanueva, he'll be backing up Pierce--again, impact will be limited. But if we draft Raymond Felton, he has a good chance to move ahead of Delonte. So of the three, Raymond Felton makes the most sense.

Rule #4: If you readh this far, you take the order of importance rule, which is big men first (C, PF), then PG, then SF, and lastly SG. In most cases, you won't reach this far. This is the mentality when you are picking late in the second round.

So, to answer your question, taking Raymond Felton would be my choice.

[Roadrunner]

Felton would be my option as well, if he is groomed to be the starting point PG, not the back-up (like D Brown as mentioned).

Charlie V has to be one of my fav college players. He is intrigueing because he is just coming into his own, and in many ways no where near his potential.

[DERRENMATTS]

Yep, I agree. Charlie V is only beginning to understand how he should play and the level of energy he should be exerting in order to impact the game how he can. This guy is physically gifted with the height, the length, the athleticism, the quickness, and a whole lot more. And since he began playing with aggressiveness and energy, he's been putting up the type of numbers a guy of his talent should be.

I think he would be an awesome piece to our puzzle at SF. Just imagine the possibilities with him, Jefferson, and Tony Allen running the floor together. But if he comes aboard, that means Pierce is out the door. I like the Pierce who's playing for us right now and I see a future with this Pierce. So there lies my dilemma. I think it would be a waste to use Villanueva as a backup because then he'll be battling for minutes with Ricky.

[Roadrunner]

I agree w/ Charlie V being a back-up w/ the status quo of players. Though,I don't believe Pierce and/or Davis will be a Celtic in the next 1-3 years.

[DERRENMATTS]

Roadrunner said:

I agree w/ Charlie V being a back-up w/ the status quo of players. Though,I don't believe Pierce and/or Davis will be a Celtic in the next 1-3 years.

Really, RR? You think so? Please explain.

I once thought that Pierce was more than 50% on his way out. But now, I think it's more like 25% because he's been playing a lot better and more team centered. Buckets, to me, has cemented his place on the future team with his excellent bench play. Having a scorer like him coming off the bench really gives us a weapon to attack with.

[Roadrunner]

Derren, before I rant, I would like to say P2 is my fav Celtic, and R2D2 (aka buckets) was one of the best trades Danny has made.

W/ that said, Pierce & Davis are our best, and only "bargaining chips" for a trade. We all know teams are not calling Danny to see if Blount is available or Raef; and I would think to believe that AJ, Allen, and Perks are in the untouchable category and the foundation of the team. DW may make that list too in the future. Danny is a proactive GM, and I think this POs the veterans, because they know their days could be numbered.

[DERRENMATTS]

So you think Pierce and Ricky will be traded for young players and picks? or proven players? They may be bargaining chips, but if we trade away two of our best players on the team, we still have guys like Blonut making a lot of money but doing nothing.

I'm willing to do whatever it takes to make our team better. And if moving Pierce or Ricky, or both, makes us a better team in the long run, then so be it.

[CelticsLoyalist]

I was reading up on some players just to see who we might have a shot at and here's some guys I liked.

-Rodney Carney Scouting Report: Highly athletic ... Excellent long-range shooter, especially for an athlete ... Shows great smoothness on his jump shot, but if he doesn't have time to set up, he gets slightly rattled ... Can use his athleticism to go over the top of the defense ... Solid rebounder, and an even better shot- blocker ... Possesses excellent defensive upside ... Has tremendous potential to develop into a big scorer if he develops his in-between game.

-Rudy Fernandez Scouting Report: An impressive talent, wise beyond his years ... Seems better every time you see him ...He has a wonderful bag of tricks, especially offensively ... Excellent one on one guy ... He knows how to take what the defense gives him, knows when to pull up, when to drive and when to pass... In his first "true" year, he had a fantastic season, putting up over double figures in scoring in the most important (toughest) league in Europe ... He has good numbers, but you have to see him play to truly understand how talented he is ... He is so fluid, so composed, so smooth and always under control, he makes the game look so easy... He is not too aggressive but not afraid either ... He makes great decisions, and never gets out of control, which is incredible considering his age ... He has such a court awareness, and always knows how to make the right play, without thinking of himself ahe puts the team first ... He could still be growing and has long arms which add to his length ... He has been playing at the SF spot for Badalona, but can handle either guard positions as well ... Unlike many players as athletic as he is, he doesn't rely on it ... He uses intelligence and skills instead ... Has good quickness and speed and is extremely fluid ... His first step is insane, as is his ability to start and stop ... He's always on balance ... Really excells when pressured and understands how to handle a press ... Stays within the system well ... Uses screens well to gain separation for shots or drives ... He doesn't like to drive into traffic because of his skinny frame, but he is not afraid of contact and if he sees daylight he'll go to the hoop fearlessly ... He has great skills (like Navarro of Spain) to let the ball go early against big men ... He loves to take the big shot and excels in important situations ... He has nice change of speed with the ball in his hands and very good ball handling making him dangerous with the dribble. He also passes extremely well, beating the double team and finding the open man ... He has great vision, he doesn't look for the "oooooh" pass, but the easy (and right) one…. Very good free throw shooter ... In the open court he can lead the fastbreak or fill the lane… he likes to run and the main thing is how fast he is able to change from defense to the break ... He can come off the bench and get into the flow of scoring very quickly …. He can defend bigger players and quicker ones ... Has very quick hands, and reads the passing lanes, and can rip someone from the dibble … With Badalona he lacks touches, because he is not the star of the team. But he is showing glimpses of what the future has in store and that is great things at the highest level: NBA ...

-Rashad McCants Scouting Report: Played his junior and senior seasons at New Hampton Prep in New Hampton, New Hampshire after growing up in Asheville, North Carolina, where he attended Erwin High School. Scored more than 2300 points over his high school career. Averaged 25 points and seven rebounds as a senior. Teamed with Raymond Felton and Sean May to lead the East All-Stars to a win in the McDonald's All- America game, scoring 22 points. Teamed with May again in the Capital Classic in Washington, D.C., scoring 23 points in the all-star contest. Posted 17.0 points (a UNC frosh record) and 4.6 rebounds per game as a Tar Heel freshman, shooting 49.1 percent from the field, good for fourth in the ACC. Earned All- ACC Freshman Team and honorable mention All-ACC accolades. Posted 20.0 points, 4.6 rebounds and 1.8 steals as a second-year player. Was the leading vote-getter on the All-ACC Team, and named third-team All-American.

-Andrew Bogut Scouting Report: Tremendously gifted passer at 6-10 ... Has incredible hands ... Snatches rebounds like he has velcro attached to them ... Has all the makings of a dynamic low post game ... Great drop step ... Possesses excellent touch ... Owns a great feel for the game ... One of the best players of his age group ... On NBA scouts' radar screens before arriving at Utah ... Has developed an international reputation due to his play as a member of the Under-19 Australian National Team ... Named the MVP of the 2003 FIBA Junior World Championships in Greece in July after leading the Aussies to the title ... In eight games in the tournament, averaged 26.3 points, 17.0 rebounds 2.5 assists and 1.5 blocked shots per game ... Had 22 points and 18 rebounds in a 106-85 win over the USA in the quarterfinals of the medal round ... Played for the Australian Institute of Sport (AIS), which toured the United States in November of 2001 and '02, playing exhibitions with college teams ... Also competed with AIS in the South East Australian Basketball League in 2003 ... Averaged 22 points, 14.5 rebounds and 2.7 blocked shots ... Played with the AIS team in the in the 2002 Albert Schweitzer Tournament ... Ranked in the top 10 in the tournament in scoring (17.3 ppg) and rebounding (7.3 rpg).

- Reymond Felton Scouting Report: Tremendously gifted passer at 6-10 ... Has incredible hands ... Snatches rebounds like he has velcro attached to them ... Has all the makings of a dynamic low post game ... Great drop step ... Possesses excellent touch ... Owns a great feel for the game ... One of the best players of his age group ... On NBA scouts' radar screens before arriving at Utah ... Has developed an international reputation due to his play as a member of the Under-19 Australian National Team ... Named the MVP of the 2003 FIBA Junior World Championships in Greece in July after leading the Aussies to the title ... In eight games in the tournament, averaged 26.3 points, 17.0 rebounds 2.5 assists and 1.5 blocked shots per game ... Had 22 points and 18 rebounds in a 106-85 win over the USA in the quarterfinals of the medal round ... Played for the Australian Institute of Sport (AIS), which toured the United States in November of 2001 and '02, playing exhibitions with college teams ... Also competed with AIS in the South East Australian Basketball League in 2003 ... Averaged 22 points, 14.5 rebounds and 2.7 blocked shots ... Played with the AIS team in the in the 2002 Albert Schweitzer Tournament ... Ranked in the top 10 in the tournament in scoring (17.3 ppg) and rebounding (7.3 rpg).

Well there's what caught my eye right now. Any comments by our host Derren?

[DERRENMATTS]

Question (Loyalist): Well there's what caught my eye right now. Any comments by our host Derren?

Of course ;D

I won't go too deep with a couple of the players you commented on, being that I've written a bunch already on Raymond Felton and Andrew Bogut (and for those of you interested in reading what I've written, you can check it out at celticsgreen.proboards18.com/index.cgi?board=derren&action=display&thread=1106549825).

As for Rodney Carney, I think he has a lot of potential to fit in with an uptempo style team like us, or the Suns, Sonics, or even the Wizards. He's a gifted athlete with springs in his legs. Think of a quicker Quentin Richardson who loves to run more. He's a slasher all the way. He's a bit streaky because of his unusual shooting form, but I believe this can be corrected with an intense offseason training regimine of 500 jumpers per day. I see him fitting in well on the bench, coming into the game for his energy and quick burst of points. Not a one on one player--depends more on getting out and running and coming off of picks. Dangerous in the open court.

As for Rashad McCants--this guy is a scoring machine. Don't be fooled by his decreased scoring numbers this season. Its all in the plan. He's become a team player and has given up a lot of his offense to make the team better (doesn't this sound like what Pierce is going through?). But if he wants to, he can light up the score board with an array of moves. He can get to the basket at will and finish plays at the rim with the best of them. His jumper is deadly, as is his slashing. A bit short for a true SG (6'4"), but he's got long arms and his built ruggedly. He has a sort of Mike Tyson-like character about him, on the brink of being looney.

I haven't seen Rudy Fernandez play, so I'm going to pass on this one. But his scouting report does sound good.

I think both Carney and McCants have a place on the Celtics. Carney could be a solid bench contributor alongside of Buckets and give us 2 electric athletes who love to run 120 mph and finish with strong and acrobatic dunks. But if McCants comes here, Pierce will need to go. McCants is a future starter in the NBA, if he latches on with the right team. Pierce could possibly slide over to SF and McCants starts at SG, but that means Tony Allen moves to the bench with Buckets. This could work also, but I like what the Kid Dynamite can do in the starting lineup.

Raymond Felton is the PG I really want running our team.

Andrew Bogut is an extremely gifted 7 footer, and his scoring, rebounding, and shot blocking ability are above average. And his hands catch anything in sight. My only reservation of Bogut is that he's not physical enough for my taste. I have grown tired of Mark Blount and the likes of him, but to his credit, Andrew Bogut is a lot better than Blonut.

[cfoo]

What do you think about Marvin Williams Derren? Do you think he will come out this year? And what do you think the chances that Ainge is planning something big under our noses? There were rumors last year that Ainge was interested in him.

[DERRENMATTS]

Question (CF00): What do you think about Marvin Williams Derren? Do you think he will come out this year? And what do you think the chances that Ainge is planning something big under our noses? There were rumors last year that Ainge was interested in him.

Marvin Williams has an extremely bright future ahead of him. First of all, you can't teach height and athleticism, and he's got both. You also can't make a player grow long arms and limbs, and he's got those also. On the skills department, Marvin will be a future low post guy who can step out and shoot the three. He's really raw right now under the basket, but you can see that he's comfortable with his back to the basket and he knows what to do down there. I really like his shooting form from the FT line and that's why he's able to shoot the 3 pt'ers also. He's quick and can explode to the rim, and he's got enough ball handling to get by right now.

Marvin Williams is more of a PF than a SF, even if his body is constructed otherwise. He's a lot like Chris Bosh, except that Marvin is more physical in the post. But like Bosh, on the outside, they may seem like SF's, but their movements are like PF's.

I don't believe Williams is coming out this year. He's too raw still and he's all over the place. I believe he knows this too. I'm sure Ainge likes this kid and would draft him if he could. But will Ainge draft him to be a SF? PF is already set with Big Al Jefferson. Williams should be able to play SF because he has good quickness and he's long. He'd make us a Big team. But like I said--he's more natural as a PF.