Eye on the Draft 2 - Guarded Concerns

Reggie Jackson. Iman Shumpert. Nolan Smith. Malcom Lee. Marshon Brooks. Just a handful of the names linked to the Boston Celtics’ first round pick. All guards. And each one worries me.

I’m not opposed to selecting a guard in the draft. Just not at 25.

Depth at the position wasn’t as bad as it looked as Delonte West played well behind Rajon Rondo and Ray Allen. The trade deadline acquisition of Jeff Green allowed the Celts to put a big backcourt of Green and Paul Pierce on the floor. Von Wafer was available if Doc Rivers cared to use him.

Free agency will leave the backcourt very thin, but there are affordable options starting with West and Wafer.

Then there’s the wild card combo guard Avery Bradley, the 2010 first round pick. If the Celtics really are interested in any of the guards named above, does that mean Bradley has fallen out of favor with Ainge and head coach Doc Rivers already?

And is a combo guard that much of a need? Truth is a combo guard is an undersized two guard playing the point. We saw in the playoffs the value of a true point guard as superstars Russell Westbrook of Oklahoma City and Derrick Rose of Chicago played one-on-five in their respective Conference Championships, derailing their teams’ playoff runs.

Based on evaluations of the guards listed above, they all have glaring weaknesses, from volume shooter/scorer, to lack of a jump shot, to poor decision-making as a point guard.

A combo guard off the bench for Boston should work. Someone to take a load off Rondo and Allen would only make all three players better by splitting minutes three ways. But is a combo guard good enough to become a full time two guard in the future?

Projections for the guards named above are all over the board. Most could go anywhere between late first round to halfway into the second. If one that Ainge likes is slipping in the second round, I’m all for that selection. But drafting one should be complimented by trading Bradley for an additional pick. More than one combo guard isn’t a good combination on a NBA roster if you ask me.