C’s chime in
BOSTON GARDEN — Danny Ainge got the hard question out of the way first.
“We think Ray Allen is a great player and has a lot of good basketball left in him,” Ainge said when asked about his new acquisition’s recent injuries. “We had some concerns, but our medical staff checked them out. He’ll be ready to go by training camp.
“It’s really hard to add an All-Star caliber player.”
Ainge said publicly Wednesday it was “unlikely” the Celtics would make a deal during Thursday’s draft, but Boston made the biggest deal of the night, landing seven-time All Star Ray Allen and the No. 35 pick for the No. 5 pick, Wally Szczerbiak, and Delonte West.
“I thought it was unlikely we would make a trade at 6:30 tonight,” said Ainge.
Did Seattle accept somebody different to make the deal work?
“Yes,” Ainge acknowledged.
Despite days of rumors filled with half-truths (or none, depending who you ask), Ainge insisted this was the only deal the Celtics were ever close to completing.
“This is the only legitimate deal because the others were just conversations,” he said.
During those conversations, Ainge said he made one thing clear: Al Jefferson, Rajon Rondo, and Paul Pierce were players he did not want to part with. The deal also appeased Pierce’s longstanding request to bring in another veteran.
“This is something we’ve been trying to do,” said Ainge of keeping Pierce happy.
The Celtics have played the youth card each of the past three seasons, insisting this group of players would make the playoffs with a little more experience. Ainge made his first public declaration countering that philosophy Thursday.
“This team, they have no excuses,” he said. “I’m not saying our team is perfect. It’s not a perfect fit right now. We have some more work to do this summer.”
— No. 32 Gabe Pruitt: “Pruitt’s really athletic. He’s got great juice, great spring. A nice jump shot.”
— No. 35 Glen Davis: “Glen Davis was a 20 and 10 guy in college. He’s got a lot of potential. If he keeps himself in shape and works hard, he can be a nice forward.”
“He’s a top 25 player in this league,” Rivers said just as Allen was calling in to the coach’s cell phone. The two had talked earlier. “He’s thrilled to death to be coming here.”
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