Fight for 15: Making the Case for Kammron Taylor
Wisconsin’s Kammron Taylor talks with his teammates during the second half. (AP Photo/Andy Manis)
With the start of training camp on September 30th, the Boston Celtics final training camp roster will have 18 spots unless another player is added shortly before the start. There are a few players who are going to have to fight for the final roster spot on the team. The Celtics have 14 guaranteed contracts, so those players will likely not be going anywhere. In the fight for 15, we’ll discuss the four players who received invites to camp that could make the cut.
Kammron Taylor accepted a training camp invite from the Boston Celtics just a bit under a month ago. Taylor was a four year player at Wisconsin and has been playing overseas since. He went undrafted in the 2007 draft and participated in the summer league with the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Kammron will be competing with Phil Pressey at the point guard position. With Rajon Rondo out indefinitely at this point, Taylor could be a very important piece to this team. Lets discuss.
Why Taylor Should get the 15th Spot
Well, this is will probably be the easiest explanation in the Fight for 15. In my opinion, Taylor will likely win the spot. Even though he’s been out of the league for quite some time and Pressey will surely have a leg up on him, the Celtics need to keep two point guards on the roster.
Although they have only had one point guard for the last few seasons, neither of the point guards currently active on the roster are Rajon Rondo. Neither of them are going to be as good as him and playing them for 36 or more minutes per game could hamper the Celtics offense. Neither one will be ready to carry that offensive burden.
Taylor doesn’t necessarily have to impress to win the 15th spot–that’s where he has a leg up on his competition. With Pressey being the only healthy point guard under contract, the Celtics will need a backup to run the offense.
Avery Bradley could come into play here, but that depends on how much he impresses Stevens with his grasp of the offensive system that will be employed and how bad Taylor performs. The ideal spot for Avery Bradley is going to be off of the ball where his offense isn’t as depended upon. They’re going to need him to be their best perimeter defender.
This is why Jordan has a great shot at getting the final spot. I think that, at this point, it is his spot to lose. He just has to be a decent player throughout camp and he’ll be on the team–at least until Rondo returns.
Why Taylor Shouldn’t get the Spot
Well, frankly, Taylor shouldn’t get the spot because he’s probably not that good. There is a reason that Taylor has been outside of the NBA for so long after getting such ample opportunity in the Summer League and performing overseas. He wasn’t that impressive at Wisconsin and that will likely be the case here if he’s retained.
Taylor was consistently a guy who would average more turnovers than assists in Wisconsin and his field goal percentage was also consistently hovering around 40%. His shot selection wasn’t ideal and with his turnovers in mind, that isn’t a great combination to have on your team as a point guard.
Even though he wouldn’t have to do much to make the team, he’s going to have to show that he’s dropped his bad habits and can play the point guard position the right way and effectively. Its alright to be a scoring guard, but turning the ball over is not an option. If he can’t do that, he’ll be dropped sooner rather than later.
Prediction
Well, I gave this away earlier in the piece, but I think that Taylor will get it. I don’t trust Avery Bradley to play point guard in spots and I think Phil Pressey is going to need tons of help running a new offense. This is going to be completely different from what we saw in the Summer League in terms of play calling and schematics. It wouldn’t be surprising if Pressey struggled.
The Celtics are going to need a relief man and Taylor can possibly provide that in stretches. Hopefully Rondo will be back healthy soon and Pressey can learn and serve the back up role, but until then the Celtics may want to just roll with Taylor.