We would have known more about Lester Hudson earlier this week… that is… if he had shown up for a schedule workout with the Celtics. But he canceled that, probably because he thought there was no way in hell that he would slip all the way down to the #58. But on draft night, Hudson almost slipped all the way out of the entire draft.
ESPN analyst Jay Bilas’ best player available chart can be useful, but for Lester Hudson it was an instrument of torture.
There were three picks left in Thursday night’s NBA draft, “and he
had me as the third-best player available,” the 6-foot-1 guard said
yesterday, traces of panic still present in his voice 12 hours later.
“Yeah, I was worried. I thought it was going to run out.”
Good thing Danny didn't hold the canceled workout against Lester. Now he's at least going to get a shot with the C's. And Hudson knows that he has fallen into what could be a very good situation.
“This is an opportunity to play on a great team, to play with Kevin
Garnett, Paul Pierce, Ray Allen, Rajon Rondo,’’ Hudson said. “They
didn’t draft me for me to go overseas, they drafted me to be on the
team. And this is a chance to make a team that will compete for the
championship. I’m going to work hard and prove I deserve a spot on the
team. You’ve got to be confident. And I think they got a steal in the
draft.’’
I've made this comment before, but I'll make it again. If Lester Hudson becomes a contributor on this team, they should just name the second round of the NBA draft after Danny Ainge. In fact, I'd argue that the Celtics should find ways to trade into the second round in every draft from now on.
Hudson will be in town on Tuesday. Hopefully everything will get worked out to get Hudson into the summer league so we can see what he's got. I won't go back on my long-standing belief that summer league success means nothing…. but it would be a little more significant for Hudson. If he walks into that situation and plays well, it will at least show he's got the skills to make the team. And as I said yesterday… it could also mean the end of Gabe Pruitt's days here.
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Remember, I'll be on Maine's Big Jab Weekend Warm-up at 10 am. If you're in Maine, that's 96.3 FM. If you're not in Maine, just go to their website and click "Listen Live".
Jackson Sun: Hudson ready for challenge with Celtics | Southern Illinois PG Bryan Mullins to play for C's summer league team | Ric Bucher on twitter (Via Celtics Blog): Rasheed Wallace won't do Boston | Michael Jordan wants to buy the Bobcats | Knicks interested in Rubio | Turkoglu opts out
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