Purdone: C's go with 2 Boilermakers Johnson & Moore

"Two really good, productive college players. Mature kids, great character and attitude. We got some shooting, we got some length, and I think they're a good fit for us."

"We think [Johnson is] a both-ends-of-the-court player. He can shoot, he can rebound, block shots. He's got some good energy and good length. I think that he fits a lot of parts that we need."
-Celtics president of basketball operations Danny Ainge

"I like it. Big 10 Player of the Year, athletic, can shoot -- I like it a lot. We didn't think he'd be there and he was. [Johnson can] pick-and-pop, he's a terrific shooter for his size and [is] extremely athletic. Obviously, he rebounded well in college which you hope translates over. But we've proven we can get bigs shots and, so we can get him shots and he'll make them. The defensive part, he comes from a great program, he's a high-character kid, and at [No. 27], that's what you hope for."
-Celtics Head Coach Doc Rivers

Personally I really like the Moore pick a lot, he's a smart kid and had a very impressive collegiate career (in 2010-11 he had eleven 20+ points games, three of which were 30+ point games). Johnson seems like a risk, particularly with his need to bulk up for the NBA game. He's shown flashes of brilliance, a 17 rebound 7 block game against Michigan State and was the Big Ten Player of the Year and also Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year. Both are 4 year college players and have the ability to contribute right away. Moore was an Academic All-American and a Third Team All-American. Moore is only the fourth player in Big Ten history to tally 2,000 points (2,136), 500 rebounds (611), and 350 assists (400) in a career.


JaJuan Johnson's Draft Combine Interview:



E'twaun Moore's Draft Combine Interview:

2011 Draft Prospecting - Our Pick for #25 - Jeremy Tyler

Overview:
Jimmy Butler out of Marquette, Jeremy Tyler the High Schooler/turned pro in Japan/Israel and Norris Cole out of Cleveland State seem to be the primary targets for the C's. There have been murmurs of moving up to get USC's Vucevic, but for a guy who's upside is basically Nenad Krstic, it just doesn't seem likely, particularly if it involves the very valuable 2012 Clippers pick. JaJuan Johnson is another name that seems to be mentioned, but my guess is that Ainge is hoping he drops into the second round as he needs bulk, he's so skinny he makes Tayshaun Prince look obese.

Our Pick:
Jeremy Tyler, San Diego, CA
The risk/reward factor is there with Tyler, but quite simply the Celtics need to swing for the fences and get someone who can immediately help the Big 3 on the run for #18. While Butler is the safest bet, he is another Swing Forward and, provided Green comes back and Marquis returns for 3.0, the C's are stocked right now. The depth at the 5 is Jermaine O'Neal. Delonte West (hopefully back as well) and Avery Bradley (expecting huge year out of him), make Cole's a Lobsterclaw almost by default. I like Johnson, but moving the 55th pick and the 2013 2nd rounder to get a pick in the 40's seems a better approach to nabbing him. Which brings us back to Tyler, whom seems like the best fit for the C's at #25.

After initially committing to the Rickator & Louisville, Tyler went straight from High School to the Israeli Super League's Maccabi Haifa, but was labeled a "bust" after playing in just 10 games. Somewhat ridiculous considering he was just 18, should have been a High School Senior and instead was living in a tumultuous Foreign Land. Tyler quit and moved home after just under a year with Haifa.

"Was he ready to accept the responsibility of going to a foreign country? Probably not. It's quite different from Brandon Jennings," his advisor Sonny Vaccaro said. "It's more embarrassing than detrimental."

Moreover when you look at the comments from Tyler, even more questions arise as to what type of environment it was in Israel:

"If he just gave me a little confidence, said something to me in practice, it would make a big difference," Tyler said of then-coach Avi Ashkenazi. "But he doesn't. He just ignores me."


Tyler then went to Japan to play for pro ball for the Tokyo Apache, while seeing 33 games of action the performance was still underwhelming, but once again it is skewed due to lack of playing time. In 15.4 minutes per game he averaged 9.9 points on 51.7% shooting and 6.4 rebounds, not exactly horrific numbers, particularly when looking at other foreign prospects like Enes Kanter or Bismack Biyombo. For a team desperate for offense, like the Celtics, 10 points in 15 minutes of play is exactly what this team needs. Combine that with the tutelage of Kevin Garnett, whom had a few off years coming straight out of highschool, and its an ideal scenario for Tyler to come to the Celtics.

This is the pick that is not the safest bet, but with the C's desperate need to contend now, the necessity to hit a home run with this pick is huge, not so much is the need to find someone to ride the pine.

The NY Times did a very interesting Bio of Tyler a few years back and its worth reviewing to get a better idea of why Tyler might have been motivated to take $140,000 to go to Israel rather than the privilage of a few years with the Ricktator. Here's a quote on his current motivation, in case you're envisioning the second coming of Andrew Bynum:

“I have a vision, and my vision is to make the pros and have a successful life,” Tyler said. “Partying and all that stuff isn’t in my arsenal.”

Obviously crazy things will happen on draft night and who knows if Tyler's stock will rise/fall in the coming hours. It would not surprise me if Bishop Ainge traded all of his assets for the BYU savior Jimmer, but I'm pretty sure Doc and Wyc would not be attending the Draft "Party" if he did!

Notes
As previously mentioned, we've been using the tremendous Draft Profiles put together by Chris Forsberg/Grag Payne @ ESPN's Boston Celtics Blog, here's an overview of all of their hard work:

THE BIGS
Nikola Vucevic, 7-0, 260 lbs., USC
Jeremy Tyler, 6-11, 263 lbs., Tokyo Apache
Kenneth Faried, 6-8, 225 lbs., Morehead State
Justin Harper, 6-9, 228 lbs., Richmond
JaJuan Johnson, 6-10, 220 lbs., Purdue
Jon Leuer, 7-0, 223 lbs., Wisconsin
Jordan Williams, 6-9, 247 lbs., Maryland
Trey Thompkins, 6-10, 239 lbs., Georgia
Malcolm Thomas, 6-9, 223 lbs., San Diego State
Greg Smith, 6-10, 253 lbs., Fresno State
Keith Benson, 6-11, 217 lbs., Oakland

THE OTHERS  
PG Malcolm Lee, 6-6, 198 lbs., UCLA
PG Norris Cole, 6-2, 175 lbs., Cleveland State
PG Reggie Jackson, 6-3, 208 lbs., Boston College
SG Marshon Brooks, 6-5, 195 lbs., Providence
SF Jimmy Butler, 6-8, 222 lbs., Marquette
SF Kyle Singler, 6-9, 228 lbs., Duke

Teardrops on the City - Clarence Clemons - January 11, 1942 – June 18, 2011

Teardrops on the city
Bad Scooter searching for his groove
Seem like the whole world's walking pretty
And you can't find the room to move
-Bruce Springsteen Tenth Avenue Freeze Out


Its always difficult to find the appropriate things to say when summing up a legendary career/life as that of Clarence Clemons. I personally am reminded of some wonderful stories, particularly that of a friends experience at the E-Streets weeklong residency in 1973 at Oliver's in Boston, MA (which was long before Jan Landau famously "saw rock and roll future and its name is Bruce Springsteen"). But I recently read what JT, who authored the an extremely nice 6 month long 101 song Bruce Springsteen countdown from his home in Perth Australia, had to say about the death of Clarence Clemons, and it summed things up far better than I ever could:

Fuck.

There's one thing that I've learned this week and that is preparing for the inevitable doesn't make the inevitable seem any easier when it occurs. Massive strokes like the one suffered by Clarence Clemons don't turn into miraculous recoveries. Sure, you hope and pray that for once the inevitable conclusion is never reached, but deep down you know that isn't going to be the case. As such, today we say goodbye forever to the 'Big Man', Clarence Clemons.

It's hard to articulate the feelings you have when you lose someone you only know through their work. I've never met Clarence Clemons and never saw him perform, yet I'm filled with sadness. It isn't the sadness that one gets when a death comes as a complete and utter shock, just the sadness that is felt when one of your heroes has breathed their last, final breath. The sadness in knowing that the man will never get to play on stage with one of the greatest rock and roll bands, the sadness in knowing that one of the world's greatest rock and roll bands will never get to play again with the man who helped them get to where they are. No matter how many more concerts the remainder of the E Street Band play, history has already judged them. They have nothing left to prove, and Clarence Clemons is a massive reason as to why the legacy of the E Street Band is secure.

And what's that legacy? Well, it's the legacy of countless concerts giving every last breath each of the band members had to ensure that every single person in the room was changed. That every person in the room walked out at the end of the night knowing that they were better than when they walked in. That the hard-earned money they spent to see the show wasn't wasted on costume changes or fancy light shows which distracted from the music... it was spent on a band which night-in, night-out gave you pure rock and roll. At the moment, I can't help but talk about the life of the Big Man in terms of his life with the E Street Band. Because the two go hand in hand. Without Clarence, it can't be the E Street Band. They may have the same name, and the faces may be the same (for the most part), but without Clarence Clemons, it won't be the same. It can't be the same. And we wouldn't ever want it to be the same.

When the Big Man was on, it was heavenly. There's countless songs which have his imprint left on them... three of which are coming to me at the moment. There's the epic theatricality of 'Jungleland'. The sad but melodic solo in 'Drive All Night', then there's the playful burst which makes 'Janey Don't You Lose Heart' just that little bit greater than it honestly should be.

We lost Danny Federici in 2008 and that hit me like a tonne of bricks. I was sure he was going to survive, I thought he was going to get better. But then I woke up one morning and found out he was gone. That was tough to take, just as Clarence Clemons' death is. I'd heard he was on the mend. I heard he was getting better. Even though I knew the possibility of that happening was remote (to say the least), I just wished the rumours to be true. Wishes like that don't get granted too often.

But the Big Man's now in peace at least. He'll be up there somewhere, sax draped around his neck, walking freely like he hasn't walked in years. The strains on his body will be gone but the same old smile will be there for all to see, and when he raises that saxophone to his lips, we'll finally get to say that Clarence's saxophone is the music that's played in heaven.

R.I.P

The Potential of Marquis Daniels 3.0 - 2011 Free Agents

"When the time comes, he's going to look at and explore all his options. But Boston is certainly a team he knows well, has a great amount of respect for and really enjoyed his time there." - Marquis' Agent Mark Bartelstein

There has been a lot of speculation in regards towards the 2011 Free Agents, largely due to the potential of a lockout and lack of a CBA. With just over $72.4 million on the books, Jeff Green's situation unresolved and a hard cap looming, the Celtics are options are going to be pretty thin. Sure they would love to make a run at Jamal Crawford, JR Smith or Josh Howard, but in reality they would have to clear cap space for those players and that is just not going to happen.

But one likely possibility is the return of Marquis Daniels. He was an integral contributor until the severe injury to his spinal cord forced the Celtics into a series of erratic stop-gap solutions. The Celtics actually paid cash to Sacramento to move Daniels and clear a roster spot, which turned into the under-utilized Sasha Pavolvic. But most importantly, Daniels has the support of Doc Rivers, which is why he returned to the C's last season for his resurgence prior to the injury.

"I just know what he has," Doc Rivers said of Daniels this past season. "You know the old saying with coaches: 'You don't coach a player to what he is today. You coach him to what you think he should be someday.' I just think he can do that a lot, and I think he wants to do that."

Obviously nothing is set in stone, but the foundation is there for Daniels, its a scheme he already fully knows which would allow him time to concentrate on recovering fully not learning a new playbook. Dallas seems like the only other logical destination for him, where he would have a chance for a ring and has a strong relationship with Darrell Armstrong, Jason Terry, etc, but once again he'd be learning a whole new system.

Looking at his Media Day interview from last season, one can only think Marquis has unfinished business in Boston:



FYI, you can follow @Marquis_Daniels and all his craziness on Twitter.