Batum and Hibbert Falling, Possible at #30?

With the Celtics selecting at #30, it’s always interesting for us to sit and watch some players’ stock drop. Sure you’d like to see that potential lottery pick fall into our laps with the last pick of the first round, but doesn’t that say something to you? Maybe it shoudl scare us away, but when you are selecting that late in the first round, beggars can’t be choosers. Now considering we are champions of the basketball world (I get chills every time I say that), I wouldn’t consider us beggars, but we’re always looking for that next good role player to add to this roster.

Roy Hibbert was a potential top-10 pick last year if he had kept his name in the draft with his teammate Jeff Green. Instead, he decided to return to school for his senior season and try to win a National Championship. With his Hoyas being bounced from the dance before claiming the ultimate prize, Hibbert’s draft stock took a terrible tumble down the boards compared to just one year ago. He was looking like a top-20 pick, but now there are reports he will fall to the Celtics at #30. This is from Marc Spears of the Boston Globe:

On Georgetown center Roy Hibbert’s draft stock, one NBA scout said, “Hibbert is going to need a parachute on draft day. The young centers have passed him in the eyes of teams. His stock is just plummeting, when last year he could have been a top-10 pick. Guys were able to really get a good look at him last season, and more questions were answered by his performance last year.” The scout also said the 7-foot-2-inch, 278-pounder, an Associated Press second-team All-America selection, would likely be available when the Celtics pick 30th. Keep in mind that Doc Rivers knows Hibbert very well, since his son, Jeremiah, played at Georgetown the past two seasons before transferring to Indiana.

It would be nice to add a big man like Hibbert behind Perkins, but there’s another player I would rather see the Celtics draft. Nicolas Batum, one of the intriguing French prospects in the draft, was projected as a late first rounder but most likely not available at #30. Batum cut short his workout in Toronto due to getting a reading on his heart that came back “borderline”. His father had suffered a severe heart attack while playing basketball in France when Batum was 2, so perhaps there is a history of heart problems in the family. Now in no way am I hoping this is the case, but for the Celtics’ sake, I hope this scares off a few teams from selecting him making him available to the Celtics at pick #30. The kid has got all the offensive tools you could ask for (NBA Comparison: Rudy Gay) but he still needs work. Still, how much can you expect from a 20 year old foreign kid when it comes to playing for the NBA champs? If he was able to give 7 minutes a game averaging three or four points and gives his all on the defensive end, that would satisfy me for his rookie season.

If it came down to selecting between both Hibbert and Batum, I would say take Batum. We could use another good swingman off the bench and the ceiling for this kid is far higher than Hibbert’s. And who knows, by the time the Big Three end their reign of terror over the rest of the league, maybe Batum would be ready to step in as an all-star for this franchise.

Nicolas Batum

• Height: 6-8
• Weight: 210 pounds
• Age: 19
• Country: France
• Draft Projection: Mid to Late First Round

Roy Hibbert

• Height: 7-2
• Weight: 275 pounds
• Age: 21
• College: Georgetown
• Draft Projection: Mid to Late First Round

2008 NBA Draft: What Do We Do?

In just four short days, the NBA will be holding its annual draft in New York City. Just think back to one year ago when we were all sitting around still wollowing in our pain of being slapped in the face with the 5th pick of the draft. Good bye Greg Oden. See ya later Kevin Durant. You didn’t really think Al Horford would be there, did you? Many Celtics fans hung their hat on an unproven commodity in Yi Jianlian, a soft, 7-foot Asain baller that we prayed would be the next Dirk. Then Danny went for broke, trading the pick for Ray Allen and never looked back.

Fast forward to today. Some of us may still be hungover from the thought of a 17th championship banner being hung in the TD Banknorth Garden. Some still might have not went to sleep yet (Paul, as our captain, please get some sleep and rest that knee). Usually we sat around for months waiting for the draft as our team was done playing basketball in April. Now, just one week after completing the absolute destruction of the Los Angeles Lakers in game 6, Danny Ainge needs to be ready to select the next piece of the Celtics’ puzzle. But who should we take? Do we go draft mainly on position? Do we draft best player available? Do we try to move the pick for a veteran player? Only Danny knows what he will do, but whatever that decision is, I will stand by it. If you really think about it, when it comes to the draft, Ainge and Coach Belichick have become geniuses. They have both made great picks and questionable deals, but in the end, they have always lead to something positive for their respective franchises.

To get back on topic, what should we do with this pick? What I would like to the see the Celtics do is to move the pick, probably with one of our bench players (Tony Allen or Glen Davis) and bring in a veteran. But what veteran could we really get with the 30th pick and a player with knee problems or an overweight, undersized power forward? If Danny were to be able to steal a good player with a deal like that, I would be all for it. But since it doesn’t seem reasonable, maybe holding on to the pick is a better idea. Besides, Ainge is a expert at drafting good talents later in the draft (Rondo, Powe, Big Baby, Pruitt).

Do we draft specifically for a position? I think this really hinges on whether or not Ainge has a good feel for the chances of James Posey returning to this team. If not, then I believe we must draft a wing player with above-average defensive skills that will be able to step in and play right away. Some names that possess some (and probably not all) of those characteristics are: Brandon Rush, Bill Walker, Gary Forbes, Courtney Lee, Chris Douglas-Roberts, Kyle Weaver. Now many of those players will not be available at #30, but it’s not out of the realm of possibility to move up into the early to mid-20s in order to get one of them. But if the Celtics get a good feeling that Posey will be sticking around for the long haul, then we don’t need to select one of these players, but they are all great candidates for being our selection at #30.

Should we look for another young big man that could spell Perkins in the post? Sure we have Leon Powe and Glen Davis on the bench, but they are undersize power forwards and this team could use a legit center that can give this team some hard-nosed defense and even a little offensive ability would be a nice touch. For me, I like to break down big men into two categories: US big men and foreignors. Not to be biased or any of that, but I think there is a huge difference between the two. For the most part, American-born big men usually play a much more physical game while the foreignors are more finesse. For the Celtics, the we strive to be the best defensive team in the league and a physical one at that. With that said, I’d prefer we go with a big man out of college rather than an oversees center. Some good options for college big men are: Roy Hibbert, Robin Lopez, Jason Thompson, JJ Hickson, DeVon Hardin. Once again, the Celtics could attempt to move up into the early-20s for a player like Hibbert or the 2nd Lopez twin, but Thompson or Hardin would also be very nice picks at #30. Once believed to be around at our pick, Thompson has been absolutely shooting up the draft boards and some are even talking lottery pick. If we were to walk away with any of these players, I’m not sure I could be upset at all.

Now I know I sounded pretty down about drafting an international big man, there are a couple out there that have been having great workouts and could be a huge asset to this team. The biggest name climbinb up the draft board is Alexis Ajinca. This 7-footer from France is very long and athletic and has beeng wowing front offices across the country. Once considered perhaps a project, Ajinca is looking like he could make an instant impact for any team that selects him. Nathan Jawai, a bruiser from Australia, is a borderline first-rounder. He’s got the description of a typical bruiser: big body, very physical, hard worker, extremely raw. He would need to work on his all-around game and pick up some more basketball IQ (something Ainge always looks at) before he could see some extended burn for this team. But would we really need another 6 foot 10 inch bruiser? I guess you can’t have enough big men.

Coming into this article, I was going to actually try and convince myself of which route we should take when approaching our 30th pick. After the two hours of writing this article, the only thing I know is that I want to keep the pick. Who we draft, whether we base it by position or best player available, US born or foreign big man, none of those questions I have a strong opinion on. All I know is that whatever Ainge decides to do, I’ll stand behind it 100%.

NBA Draft graphic provided by NBA.com