Every morning, we compile the links of the day and dump them here… highlighting the big story line. Because there’s nothing quite as satisfying as a good morning dump.
In its latest mock draft, DraftExpress predicted Chriss will go to the Celtics at that slot — a huge jump after he was previously projected to go later in the lottery. ESPN’s Chad Ford wrote that “while we have generally pegged him in the No. 7-10 range, teams as high as the Suns at No. 4 are considering him.”
Chriss, 18, is one of the draft’s most intriguing prospects. He never played organized basketball until his first year of high school, and almost got cut from the freshman team.
Chriss is an unbelievable athlete — the type of high-flyer capable of bringing a crowd to its feet on any given play. That athleticism manifests itself most notably in his explosive leaping ability, which makes him a monster lob threat at all times. He’s very agile, and his quick feet and excellent stride allow him to get out in transition in both directions. On the offensive glass, his leaping ability and excellent timing allow him to get up for big tip dunks.
This is where you want to take a measure of just how teachable this guy is. He has the physical ability to be dominant both on offense and defense, but where exactly is his head? If he’s coachable, there’s no doubt that Stevens and staff will be able to help him develop to the best of his abilities. If he’s not……
This pick isn’t ‘make or break’ for the Celtics. They are poised to have two picks in next year’s (deeper*) draft as well, and one of them should easily be in the top 10 and likely in the top 5 (the Brooklyn swap). However, if they gamble and miss on this one, the future starts to look a lot less rosy. With few or no changes to their lineup, the Celtics should still improve next season, but the team absolutely has to use their assets to improve faster than they would simply by keeping a young group of players who are still improving their games.
*Isn’t next year’s draft always alleged to be better than this year’s draft? Certainly they seem to be hyped that way more often than not.
Page 2: Where Noel to the Hawks means ATL is moving on from Horford?
Atlanta and Philadelphia are discussing a possible trade centered on Hawks guard Jeff Teague and 76ers center Nerlens Noel, league sources told The Vertical.
The sides have discussed the deal recently, but an agreement isn’t imminent, sources said.
For Philadelphia, there has been strong interest over the past year in acquiring a high-end starting point guard
This report is interesting for Celtics fans on a couple fronts. The first is that Noel to Atlanta means that Noel to Boston (which was a pretty faint chance, really) is dead. It also means that Atlanta is planning on moving on from Al Horford. And if Boston signs Horford, it could be real interesting to see who else Boston could bring on either this year (see below), or next year–when things get really crazy.
Page 3: More Durant tea-leaf reading
The team is competitive, having won 48 games this past season, and only looks to get stronger with eight picks in the draft, including the No. 3 selection overall, as ESPN’s Chris Forsberg writes.
“Boston, with an intriguing young core signed to team-friendly deals, also has the cap space flexibility this summer to pursue two max-contract free agents.”
There is also the stability of the organization. The Celtics extended the contracts of Ainge and head coach Brad Stevens ahead of the free agency period. Durant doesn’t have to worry about who will be calling the shots in the front office, or diagramming plays from the bench. He won’t have to worry about Stevens bolting for another job.
This article is almost 1,400 words long. There’s nothing new in it, but if you’ve got a few minutes to kill and want to remind yourself that Durant to the Celtics is nowhere near as far-fetched as Durant to the Lakers, have at it. I mean, smart money is still on Durant going back to OKC, but if you want to daydream, here’s a few paragraphs worth of fodder.
Finally: Do you want to see Shaq in costumes and wigs driving people around? Of course you do.
The rest of the links
MassLive: 2016 NBA Draft rumors: Boston Celtics would need ‘pretty special’ opportunity to trade No. 3 pick
CSNNE: Blakely: Noel to Hawks could help Celtics’ chances at Horford | Stevens not looking for larger Celtics front office role
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