I couldn’t have timed it better if it was planned. I went to the mall for dinner and when I got home flipped on the TV and the Celtics were two picks away from making their selections.
Listening to sports radio yesterday in my travels there was a lot of speculation. The afternoon guys were talking about the Celtics trading up to snag Austin Rivers and how it was a bad idea. The mid day guys touched on it but were really focused on who would be available when they picked at 21 and 22.
They kept bringing up the name Jared Sullinger. Rumors persisted that he’d be slipping out of the lottery because of a bad back. No one knew if he’d fall just into the teens or all the way to the Celtics, but speculation was out there. From what I’ve read and heard he would have been the #2 pick last year had he come out of the draft.
And there he was at #21. ESPN showed their big board with the best players available and it was Sullinger and Baylor forward Perry Jones III. I said I would be psyched if the C’s came away with both. I didn’t care about Sullinger’s back or Jones’ knee. I wanted the C’s to get some athletic big men. When Jones was the #5 ranked player in the entire draft according to ESPN’s Chris Ford, and he’s sitting there at 21, I take him.
Danny opted for Sullinger. I’m happy. They said the Celtics doctors looked at his medicals and had no issues. I don’t know whether that’s a good or bad thing considering the missed Jeff Green’s heart condition on their initial trade with OKC. Coincidentally that’s where Jones ended up.
So with Sullinger in the mix I said out loud, “If they take Fab Melo here, I’d be psyched.”
Sure enough Weasel David Stern (who’s gotten wicked fat) waddles out from his crypt with his botox infused bloated self and announces that the C’s select Fab Melo with their 22nd pick. I raised my arms in the air and clapped. Yup, this is still the draft, not a game.
I went to Twitter and thanked Danny. At this point I don’t care what else happens in the draft. They got two young guys, a monster rebounder in Sullinger and a defense beast in Melo. Both big guys. Both are areas the C’s really seemed to lack in.
Sure Stew pointed out to me that Melo had a 0.65 GPA and is dumb as a bag of hammers. Perkins didn’t even go to college and he understood Doc’s playbook. The fact that Melo understood Jim Boeheim’s playbook makes me not give a crap if he failed most of his courses.
Melo’s teammate and scorer Kris Joseph a senior for the Orange was taken by the Celtics with their 51st overall pick. He has an NBA body and led the team in scoring ahead of #4 overall pick Dion Waiters. So he could be a contributor.
The team is getting younger, they’re much more athletic, and could be poised for another run with KG in the mix. But if KG decides to hang it up (I doubt it) at least these guys should be fun to watch.
