reflections
May 23rd, 2008 Ainge & Staff Preparing For Draft Process

Marc Spears of the Boston Globe reports:

General manager Danny Ainge and his scouting staff will be rooting on the Celtics from Orlando, Fla., during part of the Eastern Conference finals.

The NBA pre-draft camp is Tuesday through Friday. The Celtics have the 30th pick in the first round and the 30th and last in the second. The draft is June 26. Ainge, assistant GM Dave Wohl, assistant director of basketball operations Leo Papile, director of international scouting Ryan McDonough, and brain doctor Jon Niednagel are expected to represent the team in Orlando. About 70 NBA prospects are expected to play.

“There is a really good chance a player we draft will be in Orlando this year,” Ainge said. “Last year, it was a long shot we’d find a player in Orlando. This year, both picks could be in Orlando. You never know. That’s why I’ll probably be in Orlando instead of [at some playoff games]. We will watch a lot of this Detroit series on TV.”

If the Celtics make the NBA Finals, Ainge and his staff could miss some games while they work out prospects at the Celtics’ Waltham training facility. Ainge said about 50 players will be worked out, and scheduling is in the works.

“We’ve worked out that many before,” Ainge said. “We’ve worked out more. We’ve worked out 75-80 before. Now the window’s a little bit shorter. We’re in the process of confirming dates, workouts.”

Ainge said there are no plans to share workouts with other teams to reduce costs. The Celtics won’t have a summer league team, but tentatively have rookie and free agent camps in Waltham scheduled July 3-7.

I personally like our chances of getting a helpful player at 30. I think the depth of this draft class is better than last year’s draft, especially on the wing (which we may need). Eddie House’s contract expires this summer, Tony Allen’s contract expires this summer, and James Posey has a player option. House’s track record of being on eight teams in eight years suggests that the odds are against him to return next season. Allen’s erratic mental attitude and on-court play may have cost him. As much as I like “TA,” I’m not one to vouch for his return.

Going into these draft camps and workouts, I’ll say that I want a swingman (or a 2-guard). Guys that I like, who we may have a legitimate shot at, are:

I also wouldn’t necessarily be mad if we drafted a center like DeVon Hardin (California) or Jason Thompson (Rider).

But overall, I want a swingman to replace “TA” and House.

If Danny trades up a few picks, which could absolutely be plausible, an excellent option would be Brandon Rush (Kansas). I think he’s gonna make a very solid pro. He does just about everything, and he plays both ends. He would be a great addition to our bench right away, and I think he can be a guy who could step in and start for us when Ray Allen goes.

At the end of the day, it also wouldn’t be much of a surprise if we traded out of this pick, sold it, or used it to select a European player to stash overseas. I hope not though, because once again, I think we can get ourselves a nice role player here at 30.

In Danny I trust.

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