Boston Celtics Draft Profile: Damian Jones

The Boston Celtics did a solid job of finding a late gem in Jordan Mickey last season and thanks to a disappointing season at Venderbilt, the Celtics may have an opportunity to get Damian Jones later than his potential talent should suggest. Physically, there really are not many question marks with Jones, but that makes his lack of dominating in college even more concerning.

The biggest problem is that the Celtics are still searching for dominant big men. They have had their fill of decent role players in their front court and they need to draft players that have better high end potential then they have been getting.

Jones is risky for the Celtics because his demeanour and attitude on the court leaves the great risk of him fading into the background, and never assuming a large role. Jones’ physical talents alone were able to carry him in college, but he is going to need to grow significantly with the mental aspects of the game if he is going to have success with Boston.

Rebounding is where Jones’ shortcomings were most evident in college and that could be a big red flag for the Celtics. They struggled rebounding far too much to accommodate a liability in their front court and they need someone with the physical tools like Jones to be a truly dominant rebounder.

Those struggles expand on the defensive end too. If Jones has had troubles being a legitimate defender in college, then he may have a big adjustment period before he can have an impact in the NBA, especially on the Celtics who love drafting NBA ready defenders. Fortunately, he has the length and athleticism to be disruptive, but that alone will not be enough at the next level.

While there are a tremendous amount of concerns about Jones’ ability to be a capable interior presence in the NBA, the Celtics may be exactly where he needs to go to realize his potential. With all the physical tools he could possibly ask for in today’s fast paced NBA, Stevens will have an opportunity to teach Jones how to use his talent on the defensive end and bring out a consistent aggressiveness that was completely lacking in college.

Jones has never been seen as an uncoachable player. In fact, he has always been a great teammate whose attitude problems never extend to his relationship with the coach. The Celtics have established an attitude an environment that is infectious. It is hard to be on the court with guys like Marcus Smart and Jae Crowder and not try to play with the kind of relentless intensity that makes them so successful.

Jones would be a project for Stevens to work with but if he can fix those consistency problems on the court and get him to play with the aggressiveness that will allow him to flourish in Stevens’ system, then he can be a great piece of the font court, particularly on the offensive end.

Jones will need a lot of time before he can attempt to extend beyond the three point line, but he can space the floor with a solid mid range game. The most appealing aspect of Jones’ offensive game for the Celtics is the efficiency. There is no doubting that Stevens will be able to find exactly where Jones is strongest on the offensive end and that alone could make him one of the most productive players in the Celtics’ front court.

He has the speed to be a factor in the transition game, which remains vital for a team that depends on turnovers to be successful on both ends. He has great touch by the rim and his length and athleticism could expand how the Celtics have been able to attack teams in the post. Sullinger was able to attack with his size and strength but never had the ability to finish like Jones does. Jones will need time before he can go at stronger defenders but he already has enough offensive potential for Stevens to get a lot out of him on that end.

There is a great risk with Jones completely folding against NBA competition but the Celtics give him a system that will identify and utilize where he is best on the offensive end and he has the coaches and teammates that will allow him to overcomer the tentative attitude that prevented him from being the dominant player that was expected at Vanderbilt.

There are no guarantees with Jones and it may take a lot of time before the Celtics develop him enough, mentally and on the court, but this is the kind of project they can afford to take a risk on. The Celtics would not have to spend one of their higher picks on Jones and they have more than enough later picks to take risks on players that may never properly pan out.

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The Celtics need to rebuild all aspects of their front court and with all the picks they have they can greatly expand what the potential of their front court looks like. Jones’ biggest upside is certainly on the offensive end but his combination of mobility with the potential to be a shooter at 6’11 and 245 pounds could provide Stevens with a player that has all the tools he looks for in a dominant front court player.