Danny Ainge has final say on draft picks, but does Brad Stevens have the most influence?
COMMENTARY
There’s a tug of war that goes on in most war rooms on draft night, no matter the sport. The NBA is no exception.
The Association’s annual draft is Thursday night at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn. The Celtics hold four picks: Nos. 16 and 28 in the first-round, followed by the 33rd and 45th overall selections in Round 2.
What will the Green do? As director of player personnel Austin Ainge said recently, the club will stay patient and be ready for anything. Austin’s father, Danny Ainge – better known as the team’s president of basketball operations and the architect of this rebuild – was more matter-of-fact Tuesday in declaring Boston’s aspirations to trade up with both of its opening-round picks. Rumors have circulated more widely by the day of Ainge’s interest in moving as high the No. 3 choice.
Wherever the C’s pick in the draft, provided they don’t trade out for future picks or a proven pro commodity, there’s sure to be a debate over which player would best fit the team’s goals once Ainge and co. are on the clock. All he’s divulged is a desire to take the best-available player rather than the one who would most seamlessly fit the Celts’ needs.
Danny Ainge has the final say; there’s no mystery there. But does he have the most significant one? In other words, whose opinion should hold more water; the man tasked with taking a team from the lottery to championship contention, or the promising coach employed to achieve that same goal with those players on the court and in the locker room? Would Ainge ever defer to the man with a mental map of how everything should shake out on the floor?
“It doesn’t really work that way,’’ Austin Ainge said by phone over the weekend. “It’s more of a constant conversation. This happens for a month leading up to the draft. Brad’s with us every day in the workouts, he’s watching film with us, and he’s in all of the discussions, so all of his opinions are already being accounted for; they’re already in there.
“We all give our opinions throughout the time to question, so we go back and re-watch and re-discuss and do more research,’’ he continued. “All of these opinions are kind of all built-in. It’s not as separated as where Brad, on draft day, will say, ‘I want this guy.’ If he likes a guy, we’ve already had that discussion many, many, many times and that’s usually all resolved.’’
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From dealing disgruntled veterans like Keith Bogans and Courtney Lee to drafting Marcus Smart and James Young to adding eager, coachable contributors like Tyler Zeller and Evan Turner, among other moves, it’s become increasingly clear the Celtics are building in Stevens’ vision for, if you will, a better tomorrow. That’s a good thing. In a league where many coaches are hired and fired at the behest of their stars, the team-before-player C’s have their priorities in order.
Looking specifically at the draft and not the reshaping of a roster that required Stevens to have a spreadsheet on his computer last season simply to remember which players were still part of his team from day-to-day, Smart (taken sixth overall in last year’s draft) was an organizational favorite after multiple pre-draft workouts. The combo guard’s competitive edge, defensive readiness, and offensive promise, along with his versatility, made him a popular pick with the club’s first choice.
Pick No. 17, however, may have been more complicated. At 18, Young was already one of the best shooters in the draft after a lone season at Kentucky, but he was raw – as evidenced by his considerable time in the D-League as a rookie. Still, last June Stevens made it a point to say Young was ranked 11th on his personal Big Board.
We don’t know where Danny Ainge had Young slotted, but say it was 20th? Generally speaking, would Stevens’ enthusiasm over a budding prospect be enough for Ainge to acquiesce to his coach?
“Certainly it helps if your coach is excited about a player and how he could use him the chances for his success are be much greater. We would be crazy not to take that into account,’’ admitted Austin Ainge. “Having said that, my dad has strong opinions and sometimes he likes a guy more than anyone else, or vice versa, and it’s ultimately his decision. But our group is very tight and we usually can get together on guys and form some sort of consensus, at least on the groups.
“Like I’ve said, often it comes down to three guys and as a group we can always get it down to the three guys we like as a group, and then deciding between those three there’s often some discussion and some dissension, but they’re three guys that we all like a little bit at least, so then my dad will make the final decision on that.’’
Decisions that, depending on where those picks fall, can shape a franchise for years to come. No pressure, right?
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