Celtics Draft Options

The NBA Finals are on the verge of becoming one of Jay Leno's punchless jokes so my attention, as far as it goes for the NBA, is now being fully turned to the Draft. The annual, overhyped, hopeless (for many) gathering of teams to select the best the NCAA and Europe have to offer is just over two weeks away, on Wednesday, June 28 in New York. My Boston Celtics are picking at No. 7, in the lottery for the first time since 2001, when they took Joe Johnson and Kedrick Brown. What will Danny Ainge and the C's have up their sleeve come the 28th? There are three options. Option Number One: Stand Pat at No. 7 This is the most likely option from where I stand way, way, way in the back. For the most part this is a very weak draft. The potential top pick is a 7-foot, 20-year-old Italian power forward who is compared favorably to Dirk Nowitzki. Meet Andrea Bargnani. The rest of the best include the underachieving Rudy Gay, the talented-but-raw Ty Thomas, the overweight Marcus Williams, the underweight LaMarcus Aldridge, and the not fast enough Adam Morrison. Hopefully for the Celtics, the six teams picking in front of them (Toronto, Chicago, Charlotte, Portland, Atlanta, and Minnesota) won't find fault with those players, allowing University of Washington combo-guard Brandon Roy to slip to the Green. Roy is a versatile, tough player who can score and defend. If Roy doesn't fall to Boston, I am pulling for Ainge to go after Bradley University center Patrick O'Bryant. The 7-foot O'Bryant comes from a system in college where he was forced to rebound and run the floor to get his points -- two skills that will help him fit in Boston. Option Number Two: Trade Down An option that may be attractive to Ainge. Take the seventh pick and move it to a team such as Orlando, who is rumored to be trying to move up, and gain an asset, such as 2005 first round pick Fran Vasquez. If the Celtics move down that would assure me that they believe that the 2006-'07 season will be finished with a deep playoff run. By moving down, Ainge & Co. are telling Celtic fans that we don't need any more youth and that this current roster is on the verge of contending -- whether or not that is correct will have to be seen. Option Number Three: Trade Up Sam Smith of the Chicago Tribune has mentioned the C's trading Paul Pierce and the seventh pick to Chicago for Luol Deng and the second and sixteenth picks. If that were to happen -- and the chances of Manny Ramirez winning the Nobel Peace Prize in physics may be higher -- then the C's would be admitting that there just isn't that much chance of contending in the near future so why not look 4-5 years down the road. At No. 2 the Celtics would have a chance at a player like Thomas, Bargnani, or Morrison. At No. 16 the C's could then search for a point guard, possibly Rajon Rondo of Kentucky. Whatever the Celtics do count on one thing, another year in between championships.