Uncertain Times: Possibilities
I had a “Hey, Waitta Minute” moment in the aftermath of the draft as I sat contemplating my navel lint and the whipsawed emotions of recovering from contemplating an All-Selfish lineup featuring Marshon Brooks, Glen “Black Hole” Davis, Von “Quick Trigger” Wafer (hey, bring back 'Toine and Ricky Davis and the rebounder always gets the next shot). Two picks and a trade later my blood pressure had dropped to safe levels and I was ready for “What Next?” Much of the remainder of the draft was consumed with dark thoughts of the vacuum at center, the complete lack of a grip on what the rules will be in the new NBA-CBA, and the diminishingly small number of options for Ainge to make good things happen. As the evening wound down and the already sparse supply of entrants playing the five disappeared, I was left staring at a bare cupboard and pining for Semih Erden. And then, mired in the despair of vanished prospects of even long shots like Tyler, Benson, and Williams, it struck me. With a half dozen strange picks like the best player in Quatar, there are going to be some interesting “undrafted’s” left hanging.
Perhaps there is a wedge of opportunity here? If the final third of the second round is full of alphabet-soup picks (Adam Hanga, Ater Majok, Tanguy Ngombo, Chukwudiebere Maduabum, Milan Macvan—yeah tell me they were all climbing on your boards), then there
are going to be some hopefuls available whose limitations outweighed the hazy rose-tinted views on those foreigners about whom GM’s must have said “Well at least I don’t ‘know’ of any fatal flaws!” Following this line of thinking, it then struck me—if shop is closing in another week, perhaps for months, is there a chance to steal the march on the rest of the league? What if the Celtics snatch up a handful of the undrafted free agents on non-guaranteed contracts and hold a week-long mini-camp? Now I don’t know if this is even possible under the current CBA in its last week, but I love the idea of an outside-the-box preemptive strike.
Ideally there would be at least two full 5-on-5 teams so I have mixed some current free agent D-leaguer’s and undrafted. Here is my wish list for the Pre-Lockout Celtics’ camp:
C/PF Greg Smith, Gary McGhee, Rick Jackson, Jamie Skeen, Michael Dunigan
SF Jereme Richmond, Joe Alexander, Malcolm Thomas, Tony Gaffney
SG Scotty Hopson, David Lightly, LaceDarius Dunn
PG Demitri McCamey, Malcolm Delaney
I’d try to get my two draft picks signed and into training also. With the prospects of an extended lockout staring us in the face, any opportunity to jumpstart the recruiting, training, and course setting should be a definite advantage. Insurance all around, fourteen make-good minimum contract initial payments, and a week of coaches salaries-- ~$200K; stealing the march on building a contender, priceless.
Update: From the Globe: "Both Johnson and Moore will be in Waltham Monday. Ainge plans on having them work out with coaches and may bring in some undrafted free agents even though he can’t sign them."
Ah well, it was a nice dream.
Perhaps there is a wedge of opportunity here? If the final third of the second round is full of alphabet-soup picks (Adam Hanga, Ater Majok, Tanguy Ngombo, Chukwudiebere Maduabum, Milan Macvan—yeah tell me they were all climbing on your boards), then there
are going to be some hopefuls available whose limitations outweighed the hazy rose-tinted views on those foreigners about whom GM’s must have said “Well at least I don’t ‘know’ of any fatal flaws!” Following this line of thinking, it then struck me—if shop is closing in another week, perhaps for months, is there a chance to steal the march on the rest of the league? What if the Celtics snatch up a handful of the undrafted free agents on non-guaranteed contracts and hold a week-long mini-camp? Now I don’t know if this is even possible under the current CBA in its last week, but I love the idea of an outside-the-box preemptive strike.
Ideally there would be at least two full 5-on-5 teams so I have mixed some current free agent D-leaguer’s and undrafted. Here is my wish list for the Pre-Lockout Celtics’ camp:
C/PF Greg Smith, Gary McGhee, Rick Jackson, Jamie Skeen, Michael Dunigan
SF Jereme Richmond, Joe Alexander, Malcolm Thomas, Tony Gaffney
SG Scotty Hopson, David Lightly, LaceDarius Dunn
PG Demitri McCamey, Malcolm Delaney
I’d try to get my two draft picks signed and into training also. With the prospects of an extended lockout staring us in the face, any opportunity to jumpstart the recruiting, training, and course setting should be a definite advantage. Insurance all around, fourteen make-good minimum contract initial payments, and a week of coaches salaries-- ~$200K; stealing the march on building a contender, priceless.
Update: From the Globe: "Both Johnson and Moore will be in Waltham Monday. Ainge plans on having them work out with coaches and may bring in some undrafted free agents even though he can’t sign them."
Ah well, it was a nice dream.
