2014 NBA Draft: Players Who Landed In Ideal Spots

Jun 26, 2014; Brooklyn, NY, USA; James Young (Kentucky) is interviewed after being selected as the number seventeen overall pick to the Boston Celtics in the 2014 NBA Draft at the Barclays Center. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports

Marcus Smart and James Young: Boston Celtics

With their picks in the draft, the Celtics took the best players available, which is basically what they always do. Marcus Smart would have been the top overall pick had he left college after his freshman season, so for him to fall to six in this draft was a pretty decent steal for Boston. As for James Young, in any other draft, he’s probably a top-10 pick, so for him to fall to Boston at 17 was another steal for Boston. That’s two steals in one round. Not a bad day at the office for Danny Ainge.

It will be interesting to see what Ainge does with Rondo, as Smart is also a point guard. Does he keep Rondo and let Smart learn from him? Does he keep both of them and play a two point guard backcourt? Who knows at this point, but Boston now has two quality point guards (three, if you count Avery Bradley) and that’s not a bad thing, especially when they’re very different players like Smart and Rondo.

James Young reminds me a lot of Michael Redd, probably because they’re each left-handed gunners. Young has the potential to be a really good player in the league, and he’s already a great athlete. I’d like to see Boston get rid of Jeff Green and Gerald Wallace to give Young some room to play, and I’m sure one of those guys will be gone before the season.

I’m really impressed with what Boston was able to do in the draft. No, they didn’t get Kevin Love (yet), but they brought in two quality, possibly star players who will, at the very least, be starters in the league. That doesn’t happen in every draft. The sooner Ainge gets rid of Rondo, Green, and Wallace, the sooner the Celtics can turn this ship completely around led by Smart and Young.