Seeing as the backup point guard spot is essentially all the Celtics have left to address this offseason (unless we magically ship out a player or two to formerly acquire Marquis Daniels), I think it's time to take another look at Lester Hudson.
To an extent, I still feel like he's something of a man of mystery to all of us. We really don't know THAT much about him, and seeing as his summer league time was cut short by his broken ring finger on his left hand, all we have to go by is what we can find in the press. It's difficult for us to make any opinionated decisions about his game.
However, I feel like for the most part we can all agree that it is not time for Hudson to be our backup point guard. Not yet, anyway. Not with what we aim to do this coming season.
This season, arguably more than ever before, we'll be relying heavily on our bench. We supposedly are looking to cut the minutes of our three key stars and Danny Ainge has slowly but steadily put together a very strong core for the second unit.
My main concern is whether or not Hudson, a rookie, can withstand the pressures of being an NBA point guard right now, particularly when the postseason rolls around. Now that doesn't mean I don't have faith in him for the future. I just believe the timing isn't right in this case. How confident would we feel knowing Hudson was our second option at point guard in a crucial Game 5, 6 or 7 scenario? Can a single season prepare a player for the mental rigors he will endure once the postseason hits?
Now, if this were three seasons ago and we were dealing with the Sebastian Telfair-Gerald Green-Al Jefferson Celtics, then I would immediately say, yes, throw this guy into the fire and let's see what he's got. But this season's carrying too much weight. And the rest of the league is frankly too good to take any chances. We need proven support at the backup point guard position, preferably someone with a substantial amount of playoff experience.
Hey, if Hudson ends up being capable of doing the job, then, like the rest of you, I'd be thrilled. Problem solved, right? But it's unlikely for us to turn to the 58th overall selection in this most recent draft when we're not exactly facing a crisis (I won't get into specifics about what qualifies as a crisis, but let me just say it involves injuries to certain players at a certain position).
Could 57 other teams have made a mistake by not drafting Hudson? Absolutely. Time will further tell, but that possibility always remains. But then you can argue, why haven't the Celtics signed this guy yet? If he's THAT good and THAT valuable, surely they would lock him up quick, regardless of the financial or roster situation. And then of course, even if we sign him, there are no guarantees he'd even make the active roster. He could easily find himself in street clothes all season, competing mostly in D-League affairs.
The most we can do right now is interpret people's perspectives who are close to the situation, such as his agent:
“There are so many free agents available at the minimum they can get,’’ said Lance Young, Hudson’s agent. “It depends on what direction they want to go - with someone more experienced as a mentor for Rondo, or go with Lester, who can do more things but is learning."And we can listen when Hudson himself speaks:
"I just want to compete every day, work hard in practice and show Danny [Ainge] that I'm the right guy for the pick," Hudson told NBA.com earlier this month.And then of course, we'll pry apart anything Ainge says:
"Every year there's players picked at No. 58 and they rarely make it. Lester has an opportunity of a lifetime," Ainge told NBA.com. "It really is on him to prove to Coach Rivers that we need him."
“We still have to . . . really decide what we’re going to do with that third point guard position, which I’m not feeling great urgency because I think that both Eddie (House) and Marquis can play there,” Ainge said.
Does that mean House and Daniels are ahead of Hudson on the point guard depth chart? You could argue that it sure sounds that way.
Hey, we all just want to win and it just doesn't seem like Hudson can be a key cog in that plan just yet. But, as always, we'll see what happens.
Stay Tuned.
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6 comments:
Since they are at 14 on the roster right now, it might be highly likely that NOBODY will be signed at this point. Maybe midseason a trade for a PG (involving TA or Scal) might be possible or they may just sign a FA guard at that time giving them 15 on the roster
They could sign Hudson now and put him in the D-league, then hoping that they will be able to make a trade at mid, but not sure. My guess is that they will stick with 14 right now
Yeah it's so rare to see teams go into the season with the roster completely packed. I wouldn't mind seeing Hudson sent down to the D-League, but I just can't see him as the answer right now.
I hope TA gets traded somehow. I'm not sure who would want him, but if we could somehow make that work, it'd be fantastic. I think he's almost making too much money to be traded though, simply because a lot of quality guys are making around 2.5 mill a year, and TA has dropped to below quality status in my book. I stuck with him for a long time, but you've got to cut the chord eventually.
I agree with you on TA. They have Walker and Giddens now who can take his role and not play any less consistent lol
But unless a roster spot is opened my guess is what we see now is how we go into the season. Limp along with House, Daniels, and maybe (ugh) TA at times in backup point.
But you know they will probably sign a PG eventually, but probably not at the beginning unless a spot is opened.
How do you feel about Eddie House potentially backing up Rondo? At least to start the season. I wrote a piece a week or two back, and I think the stat was like the Celtics were 49-12 two seasons ago when they won the title, with House as the backup PG before Cassell came in.
Sure, there's a little less certainty if you want to pick someone up late in the season, because you won't know who's available, but according to the stats, Eddie can get the job done.
From what I see out there I am OK with House to handle that role at the beginning.
My only worries are when he gets pressure in the back court. He seems to panic at times. But left alone he seems to do an OK job distributing the ball.
Just hope the opposing team does not press too much
Yeah I agree with you there. But if he does assume that role, I think one could argue that this year's second unit is more talented than the one that helped win the title back in '08, so with that in mind, House should have enough help around him to make it work.
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