Boston Celtics

Celtics’ Isaiah Thomas on draft lottery: ‘You can’t be mad at the third pick’

Or, can you?

76ers head coach Brett Brown, left, Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchak, center, and Celtics guard Isaiah Thomas await the announcement for which teams would win the top three picks in the 2015 NBA draft. AP Photo/Julie Jacobson

Isaiah Thomas did his part, even if the ping-pong balls didn’t exactly do theirs in the way that Boston Celtics fans were hoping.

Thomas represented the Celtics at the 2016 NBA draft lottery in New York on Tuesday. He brought his lucky charms. But the Celtics, who arrived with a 15.6 percent chance at securing the No. 1 overall selection thanks to the Brooklyn Nets, came with away with third pick in the upcoming draft.

“You can’t be mad at the third pick,” Thomas said, via ESPN.com’s Chris Forsberg. “Hopefully, we can either pick a great player in this draft, or use it for something else.”

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Thomas seemed able to stave off frustration with the outcome thanks to his confidence in Celtics president of basketball operations Danny Ainge.

“I know Danny will do his part, whether that’s drafting a really good player in this draft or using it for something else,” Thomas told Marc D’Amico of Celtics.com. “So I’m excited.”

In his own post-lottery comments, Ainge also struck a positive tone.

Of course, he couldn’t deny that he had gotten his hopes up about leapfrogging the Los Angeles Lakers and Philadelphia 76ers for the top pick.

https://twitter.com/celtics/status/732733477112676354

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