2012-13 Boston Celtics

The Heat and Thunder play Game 4 of the NBA Finals tonight.  The series has been entertaining and compelling, but it's never too early to talk about the future of the Boston Celtics.  This off season will be the most important for the C's since the summer of 2007.  Allow me to introduce my blueprint aka wish list for the upcoming season.

STARTERS:

PG: Rajon Rondo
SG: Avery Bradley
SF: Paul Pierce
PF: Kris Humphries (unrestricted free agent)
C: Kevin Garnett (unrestricted free agent)

BENCH:

O.J. Mayo (restricted free agent)
Mickael Pietrus (unrestricted free agent)
Jeff Green (unrestricted free agent)
Brandon Bass (unrestricted free agent)
Chris Wilcox (unrestricted free agent)
JaJuan Johnson
E'Twaun Moore
Royce White (draft with pick #21)
Greg Stiemsma (own restricted free agent)
Open Roster Spot to sign buyout player midseason

I also want to see the Celtics traded pick #22 for a future first round pick, they would be better of with just 1 rookie with this club.

Mayo is the most unlikely addition followed by Humphries, the rest are all very realistic, but not as important (not counting KG obviously).  They need rebounding and bench scoring, Humphries and Mayo solve those problems and then some.

NBA Draft is coming up a week from Thursday.  Looking forward to the whole thing.  I'll try to get a full draft podcast up before it happens.  Thanks for stopping by the Brief.

-Keefe

5 Questions With O.J. Mayo

I talked with Memphis guard O.J. Mayo prior to the Celtics-Grizzlies, Super Bowl Sunday game at the Garden. Here is what the 4th year man out of USC, who is averaging 12.5 points, 3.1 rebounds, and 2 assists per game had to say.

1. You started every game your first two years in the league, last year and this year you’ve been coming off the bench. Are you more comfortable with one role, which do you see yourself doing in the future?

Mayo: Whatever the team needs. Just a ball player, gonna give 110% whether I start or come off the bench.

2. You were a point guard in high school and college, do you think you could be a point guard for a full season in the NBA?

Mayo: Yeah, yeah, one day. It’s all about being a complete guard. People put so much emphasis on if you are a 1 or a 2. Thing is if you are a complete guard you can help a lot of teams, and right now being a complete guard is helping the Memphis Grizzlies.

3. You are a restricted free agent after this year, could you see yourself playing in a place like Boston?

Mayo: Yeah sure. If there is an NBA team I’d be happy to play there. But right now my main goal is to play for Memphis and hopefully help get them their first NBA Championship.

4. Is there any stigma about Boston? In the past not all athletes have wanted to play in Boston, it took KG some convincing. Does that still exist?

Mayo: I’ve never heard of that. It’s always been one of the top organizations in basketball. Ever since you were a little boy start playing basketball you always heard about the Boston Celtics and Larry Bird, all the great players, it’s always been a great organization.

5. You guys play well when Rudy Gay is healthy and Zach Randolph is out and vice versa, but when both are playing you are only a couple games over .500. Any idea as to why that is?
Mayo: I think our team focus level rises when one of the other is out, because we know how big they mean to the team and when they are out we feel like we may get doubted as to how great we can be, and we try to prove the naysayers wrong. But when they both get healthy I think we will be even a tougher team to deal with.

BONUS QUESTIONS:

What are the challenges for someone like you who will likely have to guard Ray Allen and Rajon Rondo in the same game, guys who play completely different?

Mayo: You know you just got to know your scouting report, and trust your scouting report. Obviously Rondo is a great point guard, great in transition and even better in the half court as far as making other players around him better. And Ray Allen is a great shooter, never stops moving, and comes well off screens. You just got to know the scouting report and make them play the other end honest as well.

Who you got in the Super Bowl today?

Mayo: I got the Giants.

You going to be able to watch it?

Mayo: Yeah we will be back in town.

-Keefe

What If They Stayed In School?

Before the 2006 draft the League and the Players Association agreed to a new collective bargaining agreement (this is not a post on the upcoming CBA, don’t worry), and part of the agreement stated that high school players could no longer be drafted. They must wait at least until 1 year after their high school class graduation and they need to be 19 years old.

Let’s play a hypothetical and say that they changed the rule, forcing players to stay 4 years in college. (It would be a terrible rule, in fact I don’t like the restriction of keeping high school players out as it is now, but that’s another article all together.)

The 2011 NCAA tournament brackets were announced yesterday, and I’m sure it will be an entertaining few weeks with upsets, great performances, and memorable moments. But can you imagine what it would it be like had players not been allowed to leave school early for the NBA? Here is a quick look at all the teams that saw players skip out for pro ball. (Something tells me the seeding would be different and there would drastic changes to the 68 team field.)

ACC:

Florida State – Soloman Alabi, Ryan Reid

Georgia Tech – Derrick Favors, Gani Lawal

North Carolina – Ed Davis

North Carolina State – J.J. Hickson

Virginia – Sylven Landesberg

Wake Forest – James Johnson, Jeff Teague, Al-Farouq Aminu

Big 10:

Indiana – Eric Gordon

Michigan – Manny Harris

Ohio State – Kosta Koufos, B.J. Mullens, Evan Turner

Big 12:

Baylor – Ekpe Udoh

Iowa State – Craig Brackins

Kansas – Cole Aldrich, Xavier Henry

Kansas State – Michael Beasley, Bill Walker

Oklahoma – Blake Griffin, Tiny Gallon, Willie Warren

Oklahoma State – James Anderson

Texas – Avery Bradley

Big East:

Cincinnati – Lance Stephenson

DePaul – Dar Tucker

Georgetown – Greg Monroe

Louisville – Samardo Samuels

Pittsburgh – DeJuan Blair

South Florida – Dominique Jones

Syracuse – Donta Greene, Jonny Flynn, Wesley Johnson

West Virginia – Devin Ebanks

Pac-10:

Arizona – Jerryd Bayliss

Arizona State – James Harden

UCLA – Kevin Love, Jrue Holiday

USC – O.J. Mayo, DeMar DeRozan, Davon Jefferson

SEC:

Florida – Nick Calathes

Kentucky – John Wall, DeMarcus Cousins, Patrick Patterson, Eric Bledsoe, Daniel Orton

LSU – Anthony Randolph

Ole Miss – Terrico White

Mid-Majors:

Memphis – Derrick Rose, Tyreke Evans, Elliot Williams

Gonzaga – Austin Daye

St. Mary’s – Patty Mills

Butler – Gordon Hayward

Xavier – Jordan Crawford

Fresno State – Paul George

Nevada – Luke Babbitt, Armon Johnson

New Mexico – Darington Hobson

UTEP – Derrick Caracter

VCU – Larry Sanders

Marshall – Hassan Whiteside

That is a total of 65 players who still would have been eligible for college basketball this season. The talent is just off the charts. This year’s All-American teams have yet to be announced, but this is how they could have looked…

Keefe’s Hypothetical 2011 All-American Team

1^st Team

Derrick Rose, Memphis

Kevin Love, UCLA

Blake Griffin, Oklahoma

Eric Gordon, Indiana

John Wall, Kentucky

2^nd Team

Michael Beasley, Kansas State

O.J. Mayo, USC

DeMarcus Cousins, Kentucky

DeJuan Blair, Pitt

Jerryd Bayliss, Arizona

3^rd Team

Jonny Flynn, Syracuse

James Harden, Arizona State

DeMar DeRozan, USC

Tyreke Evans, Memphis

J.J. Hickson, North Carolina State

(Compare that list to this year’s likely All-Americans: Jimmer Fredette, BYU; Nolan Smith, Duke; Derrick Williams, Arizona; JaJuan Johnson, Purdue; Jared Sullinger, Ohio State; Kemba Walker, UConn… Do any of those guys crack the list?)

Conference Player of the Year:

ACC: J.J. Hickson, N.C. State

Atlantic 10: Jordon Crawford, Xavier

Big 10: Eric Gordon, Indiana

Big 12: Blake Griffin, Oklahoma

Big East: DeJuan Blair, Pitt

Conf. USA: Derrick Rose, Memphis

Horizon: Gordon Hayward, Butler

Mountain West: Jimmer Fredette, BYU

PAC-10: Kevin Love, UCLA

SEC: John Wall, Kentucky

WAC: Paul George, Fresno St.

West Coast: Austin Daye, Gonzaga

By my count 11/12 of the best conferences in the country would have had different player of the year had they all been forced to stay.

How about the competition for NCAA Player of the Year? My pick is Rose, but it’s scary to think what kind of numbers Love and Griffin (all 3 were NBA All-Stars this year) would put up against college kids.

Also you see John Calipari’s finger prints all over this hypothetical. Chances are Tyreke Evans wouldn’t have gone to Memphis if Derrick Rose was still there for three years. I’m not going to try and guess where he would go, but that’s a big reason I got Evans all the way down at 3^rd Team status. Would Coach Cal leave that backcourt for Kentucky?

Three of the four 1 seeds in this year’s tournament (Ohio State, Kansas, and Pitt) all would have even deeper teams. The #1 overall Buckeyes could add Evan Turner as well as big men Kosta Koufos and B.J. Mullens to their roster. Kansas is stronger with Xavier Henry and Cole Aldrich, while Pitt is all the more dangerous with DeJuan Blair. Interestingly, Duke seems to have gone back to the way they were pre Corey Maggette, William Avery, Elton Brand, Luol Deng, and don’t have as many 1 or 2 and done players as they once did. Their best players (Nolan Smith and Kyle Singler) decided to return for their senior year after already winning a title.

Memphis, Kentucky, Syracuse, UCLA, USC, and Kansas State all would have likely battled for 1 seeds; I bet Duke ends up as a 4 or 5 this season.

Oklahoma, Wake Forest, Indiana, Arizona State, and Nevada would likely have all made the tournament this year instead of finishing outside the 68 team field.

Top 8 Seeds this year:

1. Ohio State
2. Kansas
3. Pitt
4. Duke
5. Notre Dame
6. North Carolina
7. San Diego State
8. Florida

Top 8 “What If” Seeds

1. Memphis
2. UCLA
3. Oklahoma
4. Kentucky
5. Kansas
6. USC
7. Kansas State
8. Ohio State

It’s difficult to really predict and understand what college basketball would look like with all these players still in the game. Someone like O.J. Mayo, who has already gone from a starter to a reserve in the NBA and seen his points per game average drop each season in the league (18.5, 17.5, 11.8), could be a senior at Southern Cal this year. I personally think if he was still there we’d be talking about a guy putting up 25+ points, 8 assists a game and it’d be must see TV when the Trojans face Kevin Love, Jrue Holiday and the UCLA Bruins.

Look at the jump Kemba Walker from UConn has made in 3 seasons. He went from 8.9 points per game to 14.6, to 23.5 this year. There were rumors swirling that he would go pro after his freshmen and sophomore seasons. You think we’d know his name had he done that? Imagine if some of these other players listed above, who left after their 1^st or 2^nd college season elected to stay, how many points per game would they average?

Again I’m not blaming anyone for leaving school, if you’re going to get drafted in the 1^st round and make millions of dollars, no one can blame you. My only point in comparing a player to Kemba Walker is you can see the jump they can make in school. Is 30 points per game too much for Eric Gordon or Jerryd Bayliss? 35?

ESPN interviewed Walker, Jimmer Fredette, and Nolan Smith yesterday after the brackets were announced. They were picked because they are 3 of if not the 3 best players in the country. If everyone stayed in school are they in the Top 15? 20? How tough a job would ESPN have had trying select just 3 players to talk to between Love, Rose, Griffin, Gordon, Mayo, Wall, Beasley etc.?

In the end it’s just a fun “What If” game that will never be/ should never be the reality in college basketball. Enjoy the tournament this year like you do every March, but try not to drive yourself crazy envisioning Bill Walker and Michael Beasley in a Wildcats uniform when watching Kansas State play. Or O.J. Mayo during USC’s games… or Kevin Love for UCLA… or Derrick Rose for Memphis… or John Wall and DeMarcus Cousins for Kentucky… or…

-Keefe

The Sports Brief's Preseason All-American Team

The college basketball season is underway, and I feel compelled to give you a list of the very best players in the country. As we all know it is both a blessing and a curse for college hoops, that the NBA makes players attend schools for at least a season. On the one hand college fans get to see the very best players such as Greg Oden, Kevin Durant, Derrick Rose, Michael Beasley, and O.J. Mayo (wow looks like the top of the draft the past 2 years). But as quick as they come on the scene, they are gone. Frankly I don't think 18 year olds, who can go to Iraq and fight for the United States, can not go to the NBA where there are plenty of teams that would take a chance on them for millions of dollars a season.

There is always incredible turnover from year to year in college basketball, and for me it's quite an adjustment to get used to the teams/ players. What do we know? Derrick Rose, Michael Beasley, O.J. Mayo, Russell Westbrook, Kevin Love, Eric Gordon, Joe Alexander, D.J. Augustin, Brook Lopez, Jerryd Bayliss, Brandon Rush, Anthony Randolph, Robin Lopez, Marresse Speights, JaVale McGee, J.J. Hickson, Ryan Anderson, Kosta Koufos, George Hill, Darrell Aruther, Donte Greene, Mario Chalmers, DeAndre Jordan, Chris Douglass-Roberts, and Bill Walker were all in college last season, could have been back this season, but all went to the NBA.

Where does that leave us? The same place as every new season since we've been attached to these incredble freshmen and underclassmen only to see them go pro, looking for the next big thing. We start our list with a very familiar face...

Tyler Hansbrough, SR, UNC
Like saying Tim Tebow could be a factor the year after he wins the Heisman. I would have voted for Beasley for player of the year a season ago, but truth is Hansbrough put up monster numbers in the ACC and then wisely came back to school. He's the best player on the best team, should be a force again and the overwhelming favorite to not only be All-American 1st team, but POY.

James Harden, Soph, Arizona St.
Last season the lefty Harden posted the 8th highest points per game average for a freshmen in Pac-10 history. His 17.8 ppg, helped him land on the All Pac-10 1st team, the other four players to earn that honor were lottery picks in this past draft. Harden, who is also a steals machine, flirted with going pro, but decided to come back to school. I predict a monster season that propells him into the early 1st round, a 2-and-down guy.

Luke Harangody, JR, Notre Dame
The Big East is loaded once again this year with 7 teams in the pre-season Top 25 including the Irish. Harangody burst onto the scene last year and was a 20-10 guy. If he comes close to those numbers this year, when everyone is expecting him to do it, he's a no brainer for the All-American team. The spotlight is on this season.

Blake Griffin, Soph, Oklahoma
Griffin was one of many incredible freshmen last season in college basketball. But unlike the majority of them who had success, even some who didn't, he returned to school like Harden. With Beasley, Walker, Augustin, the Kansas guys, and even DeAndre Jordan gone to the pros, Griffin should take down Big 12 Player of the Year no problem, promting him to All-American status.

Willie Warren, FR, Oklahoma
Wait a minute. Before we crown Griffin the Big 12 Player of the Year, his biggest competition could come from super stud freshmen teammate Willie Warren. Warren dropped a game-high 23 in the most recent McDonald's All-American game. We've seen freshmen make big time impacts in the past few seasons. Durant was POY and Beasely finished 2nd. I expect Warren to be in the mix as well.

Jrue Holiday, FR, UCLA
One of the few college freshmen that I actually saw play an entire game and did not just see in highlights, the McDonald's game, or read about. Holiday's high school team played on ESPN last year and he was as good as advertised. UCLA will get a lot of attention trying to make it back to 4 consecutive Final Fours. Darren Collison has been named a preseason All-American in some publications, not The Sports Brief however, but the Bruins will be in the public eye all season.
Holiday and Warren will continue the trend of freshmen showing up on post season All-American lists.

Yes I know that is 6 players, consider it a bonus. Sometimes they name 6 guys to the 1st team. Didn't 15 guys take home 1st Team All Big East last year? I'm looking forward to another exciting season.

Besse also wants everyone to keep an eye out for University of Vermont star junior Marqus Blakely (see below).

-Keefe

NBA Draft Recap

-Keefe

Here are just a few observations from last night's NBA Draft.

-I could not be more thrilled about what the Celtics did. Going into the night they held the #30 and #60 picks. What can they do there? Well Danny Ainge has always drafted well late in the first and in the second. In my piece Don't Ignore Round 2, I mentioned 3 players I thought could be sleepers in this draft. They were Bill Walker, D.J. White, and J.R. Giddens. I'm giddy, for lack of a better word, at what the C's were able to do. D.J. White went 29, so they didn't even have a chance for him, plus he plays the same spot as Leon Powe and Glen Davis. He's a good pick, but not for Boston. Instead they go after uber talented J.R. Giddens who went to Kansas out of high school only to transfer to New Mexico. He could turn in to a nice shooter/ scorer off the bench.

-Bill Walker was a 2nd round pick? I'm splitting the Celtics break down up a little bit, because Walker deserves his own space. Outside of the top tier, Walker is my favorite player in this draft. He was a high school teammate of O.J. Mayo, where they won back-to -back state titles in Ohio, and before they could make it 3 in a row, Walker was deemed ineligble. This caused quite the turn of events. Walker, at the time, was one of the best "juniors" in the country and was supposed to be a part of one of the best senior classes that consisted of the likes of Mayo, Michael Beasley, Kevin Love, Jerryd Bayliss, Derrick Rose, and Eric Gordon. Rather than sitting out the season, and feeling sorry for himself Walker took excellerated courses to graduate from high school early and enroll in college. He had to do this, of course, because high school players can not enter the NBA Draft. An article in ESPN the Magazine stated that Bill Walker may have been the first casuality of the no high school rule.

Walker graduated high school, and decided to go to the school coached by Bob Huggins, Kansas State. Huggins, the long time coach at Cincinnati, had built a relationship with both Walker and O.J. Mayo while in between jobs while the boys were at North College Hill High School in Cincy. (Mayo transferred from North College Hill once he knew Walker would not return. Mayo went back to Huntington, WV and teamed with now Kentucky star Patrick Patterson.) So Walker became one of the best freshmen in the country at K-State. He had to sit out based on NCAA rules an X number of games, but when he came back he played well. Until he blew out his knee. Walker red shirted, and came back to school for another year. This time, however, without Bob Huggins, and playing in the shadow of Michael Beasley.

With all that said Bill Walker is one of the most athletic players in the entire draft. Can he stay healthy? That, of course, will be the key. I'm not sure how much either Giddens or Walker will play next year for the Celtics, particularly if they re-sign James Posey, but I'll be rooting for them the whole way.

-Celtics used their 60th pick on 7'1 center from Turkey named Semih Erden. Not a bad idea to draft a foreign player when you have extra picks. Keep him over seas and see what happens.

-Speaking of foreign players, the 1st one selected was Italian Danilo Gallinari by the Knicks at 6. The fans booed the pick, but this could work. It's going to be a long turnaround for New York, so I don't see the need to take a guy who can help right now. Help what?

-The Miami Heat fooled everyone. They don't want Michael Beasley? Really? Great draft by the gang in South Beach. Beasley, and Kansas teammates Mario Chalmers and Darnell Jackson in the 2nd round. Great job. A lot of new "Big 3's" following the draft, and one of the most formidible is the Heat's 3 of D.Wade, Shawn Marion, and Michael Beasley.

-The Bucks trades and picks leave them with a core of Michael Redd, Richard Jefferson, and Joe Alexander. Not bad. The Nets giving up Jefferson for Yi and Bobby Simmons still leavs me scratching my head.

-The Nets did make the most of their 3 draft picks though. Brook Lopez at 10, Ryan Anderson (the leading scorer in the Pac-10) at 21, and Chris Douglas-Roberts in the 2nd round. They'll need all the help they can get after dealing Jefferson for a pair of bodies.

-The Bobcats are not a fan of their current point guard Raymond Felton (#5 pick in '05) as they select Texas PG D.J. Augustin with the 9th overall pick. This right after the ESPN crew said Charlotte should get help up front. Oops.

-Pacers work a few trades and walk away with Brandon Rush and Roy Hibbert. I like Rush a lot, think he can help them right away. T.J. Ford, Danny Granger, Brandon Rush, Mike Dunleavy... without O'Neal they're going to need Hibbert to play.

-T-Wolves and Grizz worked a late night trade. O.J. Mayo for Kevin Love and Mike Miller as well as both teams swapping horrible contracts. Could work out for both teams. Doesn't look like Mayo will play poing guard in Memphis though, like he would have to play in Minny.

-Jerryd Bayliss joins an unbelievably young and fun team up in Portland. The youngster from Arizona can play both guard spots much like new teammate and former Rookie of the Year, Brandon Roy. Bayliss will have competition from his own team for that award, as Greg Oden makes his much anticipated return.

-The Sonics made 5 picks. The more the merrier I guess.

-And if you're a fan of the Hawks, Nuggets, or Hornets, pretty boring night, as those teams combined for a grand total of 0 picks.

-Now we still need the dust to settle on some of these trades. Starting on July 1st we will see a lot more shake up in the NBA with signing free agents and even more trades. I'm already looking forward to what should be another exciting year in the NBA.

-Keefe