Passing Up Talent for Picks & Financial Flexibility

That's right ... Brad Stevens and the Celtics traded out of Round I possibly because their potential picks may have been taken right before their #25 pick that they received from the Grizzlies as part of the Marcus Smart trade. Whether financial alchemy was the plan all along or Plan B if their short list was empty come time to pick at #25 we may never know but one things for sure ... once they traded out of #25 down to Round II where they locked up having the MLE ($5MM), they didn't take advantage of the non-guaranteed and lower salary scale to fill in their roster with talented prospects that had years of college experience. No, they opted to play the high risk futures market where a 2nd round pick in a few years might be used to entice a trade for a veteran player now or in the short term unless held to maturity.

As a result, fans watched any number of coveted ballers get ignored not only in round I but especially in round II where they had multiple opportunities to add some guys that were projected to be late 1st rounders ... Jackson Jr, Lewis, TJD to name a few. And some of the top franchises in the NBA came to the same conclusion as we fans and jumped into action. The Lakers were happy to pick Maxwell Lewis and media gave them props for the pick and a grade of "A" for the selection and move to attain that #40 pick for cash. The Bucks jumped on Andre Jackson and the Warriors were shocked to see TJD available with the next to last pick in the draft and cut a deal with the Wiz to land him.

Think about that ... 3 talented players and look him got them - Warriors, Lakers & Bucks!

The Celtics were popping corks on champagne bottles over their Bill Belichick like chess moves trading down to enrich their coffers with 4 additional 2nd round picks that would fill in those they have used already that stretch out from 2024 to 2027 or so. Whoopty-doo! More draft capital for trades we can't predict in the future in lieu of talent from a deep draft now ... I can't contain my joy! There's foolishness, mistakes and errors made in basketball drafts all the time but this borders on outright STUPIDITY!!!

Here's a media report on one of those 3 ballers cited - Trayce Jackson-Davis:

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — The number is 57, and it mattered on Thursday night during the second round of the 2023 NBA Draft. That's when Trayce Jackson-Davis' name got called in the midnight hour.

The Indiana star who spent four years in Bloomington excelling at the college level, heard his name called near the very end of the two-round draft. He was selected by the Washington Wizards, but his draft rights were immediately traded to the Golden State Warriors.

He's in the NBA now, with a great organization that's won four NBA titles in the past decade and still has championship pedigree.

So, in other words, on Friday morning that No. 57 is now completely irrelevant. Whether he would have — or should have — been picked higher doesn't mean a damn thing. The NBA is all about fit, and this is the perfect fit for Jackson-Davis.

I was asked on Wednesday night about which teams would be the best and worst fits for Jackson-Davis, and I immediately said the Warriors, for a lot of reasons. (The Pacers would have been the worst fit in my book, despite location.)

I also wasn't sure how that could work, though. I had heard through sources that the Warriors really liked what Trayce could bring to their roster, but they had the No. 19 overall pick and that might have been too high as a value pick for Jackson-Davis. They took prolific Santa Clara shooter Brandin Podziemski there, and were happy to do it.

Golden State didn't have a second-round pick, but on a night full of trades, they got back in late to get Jackson-Davis, mostly because he was very high on their draft board and were stunned that he was still available so late in the second round.

So they jumped back in to get their man. And let's be clear. The Golden State front office really likes Trayce Jackson-Davis.

“We think there’s tremendous value (with Jackson-Davis), another guy we had pretty high on our board,” new Golden State general manager Mike Dunleavy Jr. said. “A little surprised he made it that far, but you’ll take what you can get. He’s been a four-year college player, a proven player, skilled player, can do a lot of things — defend, rebound, finish. I thought his passing really improved over his last year or two in college.

“We’re really excited about the stuff we’ve done. These guys fit our makeup, fit our fabric and we’re excited to get them out here and hit the ground running.”

For many Indiana college fans who never watch the NBA, there was a lot of grumbling during the draft when Trayce's name didn't get called. But what most of those people don't know is that the NBA game is completely different from college basketball. Many teams would never pick a 6-foot-9 center/forward who doesn't shoot threes — Trayce never made one in college and was completely fine with that — and wasn't even on their draft boards.

It's all about fit. There were a half-dozen teams that really wanted him, and it was Golden State that made it happen. Jackson-Davis made it clear that he thinks other will regret passing on him — especially the Pacers.

You have to remember that there are no guarantees in life. Purdue center Zach Edey was the 2023 national player of the year and he went back to West Lafayette after being told he wouldn't get drafted.

Kentucky's Oscar Tschiebwe was the 2022 college player of the year and he didn't get drafted Thursday night. Gonzaga's Drew Timme, who's won more than anyone the past four years and put up flashy numbers, didn't get picked either. Adama Sanogo of national champion Connecticut and Azuolas Tubelis of Arizona went undrafted, too.

All of them were college All-Americans.

The knowledge level works in reverse, too. Many NBA fans don't watch a lot of college basketball either, and there are certainly a ton of Warriors fans on the West Coast who haven't watched Jackson-Davis play well in the Big Ten.

C.J. Holmes, who covers the Warriors for the San Francisco Chronicle, tweeted a TJD highlight reel with a one-word compliment — ''sheesh.''

And why the good fit? Several reasons. They need size, moving former first-round pick Patrick Baldwin Jr. earlier in the day as part of their trading with the Wizards to bring in veteran point guard Chris Paul.

There is also some concern that the Warriors might lose veteran big man Draymond Green, who declined his 2024 player option and is now an unrestricted free agent. Green has been an All-Star, but a lot of the things Green does well are on Jackson-Davis's resume as well. Green turned down more than $27 million. Jackson-Davis will make one-tenth of that.

Jackson-Davis has dropped Green's name when asked about players with similar skill sets. Green is more of a threat from the perimeter, but I'm still a believer that we're going to see Jackson-Davis add that threat to his game. Many others agree with him. Tom Izzo, who coached Green at Michigan State, constantly raves about Jackson-Davis's game. That's a solid endorsement.

Right now, whatever happens in Jackson-Davis' pro career is 100 percent up to him. He will get a fair opportunity with the Warriors, and that's all you can ever ask for. Now Trayce needs to prove he can help them win games — and win NBA titles.

He has to go earn that now.

I'm reminded of a quote from golfer Tiger Woods that fits this situation perfectly.

''Nothing is ever going to be given to you,'' Woods said. "Everything is going to be earned. If you don't go out there and put in the work, you don't go out and put in the effort, one, you're not going to get the results. But two, and more importantly, you don't deserve it. You didn't earn it.''

The NBA journey begins. And any of last night's noise? Well, today we move on.