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We have finished looking at the 2003 draft, a draft that featured current starting center Kendrick Perkins. Now, we'll turn our attention to the 2004 draft class, one of which helped land us all-pro power forward, Kevin Garnett.
2004 Draft
Round 1: Pick 15: Al Jefferson [PF; Prentiss High School]
Unlike with Marcus Banks, Danny Ainge landed a big fish with Al Jefferson with the 15th pick in the first round of the 2004 draft. Jefferson, who was thought to be a top 12 selection, perhaps being drafted by the Seattle Supersonics, now known as the Oklahoma City Thunder, before the Sonics drafted Robert Swift. Although it took Jefferson a couple of years to be the player that most of us thought he would be, he has now developed into a prime big man in this league. With the Celtics, Jefferson really started to play up to par in 2006 as he was the go to guy when Paul Pierce was injured in the mist of an 18 game losing streak. Obviously, Jefferson would later be the big target in the Garnett trade and hey, that move won us a championship so we cannot complain. All in all it was a very good selection that helped us win a championship, just in a different way then expected.
Round 1: Pick 24: Delonte West [PG; Saint Joseph's]
Both Jameer Nelson and West were the darlings of the 2004 March tournament as little beknownced school Saint Joseph's ended up surprising some teams. Nelson would play point guard as West saw his reps come courtesy of the shooting guard position. Being a tweener intrigued general managers like Ainge, however, with the same token it turned some people in the front office off. Apon arrival to Boston, Delonte found himself playing PG from the start and aside from a couple of injuries had a nice little career with the green. West was and still is a terrific shooter as he now plays with the Cleveland Cavaliers. West was traded to Seattle during the 2007 draft is part of the Ray Allen trade. Like Jefferson, this selection would win the Celtics a championship. West will never be a true star in this league but he is definitely a player you want on your team.
Round 1: Pick 25: Tony Allen [SG; Oklahoma State]
The slasher from Oklahoma State brought his gritty game to the Celtics right off the bat and was the most productive of the rookies in 2004. However, an injury would force a big setback for Allen and after a full comeback in 2006, Allen would tear his knee apart as he found himself playing under 100% for most of the 2007 season. Allen is now back, once again, and he is playing like he did back when he was a rookie. Allen's slashing ability is top notch in the league however, his ball-handling leaves a lot to be desired along with his vision as a passer. Still, for someone who was picked 25th in the draft, you can't ask for me. After recently signing a two year deal with the Celtics this summer it will be interesting to see if Allen will continue to get better.
Round 2: Pick 40: Justin Reed [SF; Ole Miss]
Reed had some flashes with the ball club but never really had a future and was expendable.
Overall Grade: B +
Although he isn't with the Celtics, Jefferson is a top five big man in the league and both he and West brought up Garnett and Allen respectively. Not only that but both were productive during their stay in Boston. Allen is just now returning to form and he is quickly becoming known league wide as a top defender.
Final Notes
Weeks and months prior to the NBA Draft, Ainge appeared to be really high on Robert Swift. He talked him up greatly and was thought to have loved the high school prospect. Well, ironically enough, Seattle, a team that had no prior interest drafted Swift last minute on draft day thus letting Jefferson fall to pick 15 and into Boston's lap. So there, credit Ainge.
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Monday, 01 December 2008
We have finished looking at the 2003 draft, a draft that featured current starting center Kendrick Perkins. Now, we'll turn our attention to the...
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Comments
Big Al was awesome! I know I am not alone on this, but when Ainge first traded him for KG I wasn't completely sold on the trade. Al was finally coming into his own and statistically the too were very comparable. I originally underestimated KG's defense and leadership. It became clear very early on though that the trade worked out perfectly for the C's.
The Delonte and Tony Allen picks were great value picks. It's a shame Tony had to injure his knee. He was crazy in his rookie year. The guy would come flying in over everyone and throw down put back dunks. Now he seems as if he can barely get it over the rim on a dunk attempt. It remains to be seen if he can really replace Posey's contributions come playoff time.
Do you really think Ainge was talking up Robert Swift so that another team would take him? I was under the impression that he was taking him whether Big Al was there or not. Either way were lucky Seattle took him because it would have been impossible to move a big man coming off a torn ACL for anyone never mind a future hall of famer. Ironically the only GM I could see trading for Robert Swift coming off a torn ACL is Ainge...LOL!
2010 and what we do prior to that year if done right will bridge the gap between a few championships and the official and obvious return of The Celtics Dynasty as we knew it as youngsters! One central part and major part of any success in the 2010 Free Agent Market will depend heavily on what happens with Ray Allen. I truly think that Ray Ray and Danny will help each other stretch out this run for decades to come! Hell, if Ainge has the big hit in '10' that he is expecting he will have spun absolute perfection in every aspect of running a NBA team and through those spectacular efforts he will ensure the Dynasty I type of... BTW, you read my mind on the Doc/D-Wade thing.