Pick, not a big deal
C’s pass on trade talks, stick with draft plan
No splash, no fireworks, nothing other than what Danny Ainge has predicted since he traded down for the third pick in last night’s NBA draft.
The Celtics president of basketball operations took a player he has liked for a long time, combo forward Jayson Tatum of Duke. He resisted the temptations teams across the league were offering for that golden pile of assets Ainge continues to protect like a Brinks guard.
Nothing materialized, because to hear the Celtics tell it, no offer or demand regarding a veteran player was reasonable.
“There’s been a history over the last three or four years in the league of making outrageous demands for trades,” said Celtics co-owner Wyc Grousbeck. “Lot of people refuse to give in to those demands, and that’s why we have these picks and make them.”
By the time Ainge went on the clock, longtime target Jimmy Butler was on his way to Minneapolis, and a brief but tempestuous flirtation with New York over acquiring Kristaps Porzingis turned out to be nothing more than a hot air discharge from Madison Square Garden.
The 7-foot-3 Latvian also known as the Unicorn never materialized in green. The Celtics instead stuck to their draft plan and secured a player who, according to fellow Blue Devil alumnus/team owner Steve Pagliuca, the team has long prized.
Tatum is one of the most gifted offensive players Mike Krzyzewski has ever coached, and Brad Stevens could again see why after the 6-foot-8 forward’s Celtics workout last Monday.
“He never changed his expression,” Stevens said last night of Tatum’s workout demeanor. “Went at a high tempo, but when he missed a shot he never showed anything but resolve to make the next one.”
The Celtics coach told Tatum that he liked the idea of giving time to a player who, a) can guard everyone from point guards to power forwards, and b) can score.
Tatum can especially do the latter, with what Krzyzewski has told confidantes are the most “moves” of any player he has ever coached.
And with that, the Celtics continued with the draft portion of Ainge’s plan — augmenting stars like Isaiah Thomas, Al Horford and Avery Bradley with a solid base of young draftees like Marcus Smart, Jaylen Brown, Terry Rozier and, now, Tatum.
“We would have picked Jayson with the first pick. We felt the draft was very even at the top,” Ainge said. “We like his size, length, rebounding, shooting, his character. There’s a lot to like about Jayson. He’s a terrific player.”
Ainge continued into the night attempting to land even bigger targets, including Indiana’s Paul George. According to a Vertical report, the Celtics were engaged with Indiana in serious discussions about the all-star swingman, who is expected to score a max contract in free agency next summer.
It was unlikely that Ainge put Tatum or the third pick into play with the Pacers, considering that most believe George will ultimately join his hometown Lakers.
Instead, Ainge was believed to be assembling a package of players and some of his lesser first round picks over the next two years to bring in George, possibly as a oneyear rental, unless the all-star is convinced to stay.
But as of last night, drafting the right player was perhaps the calmest task on Ainge’s list.
Consider Ainge’s brief attempt to pry Porzingis loose from one of the more mercurial characters in the NBA — Knicks president Phil Jackson.
The Celtics began the afternoon waiting for the monumental asking price on Porzingis to drop.
A league source confirmed a New York Daily News report that Jackson was asking for last night’s No. 3 pick, next year’s Brooklyn first-round pick, Jaylen Brown and Jae Crowder.
The Celtics rejected Jackson’s demand, and in the process of waiting for Jackson to lower his price, turned their thoughts to the debate of whether to draft either Tatum or Kansas’ Josh Jackson.
(Ainge said he flew to Sacramento to watch Jackson work out, but the player canceled. Ainge said he wasn’t happy about it, but tried not to let it influence his decision. Jackson was eventually taken by Phoenix with the fourth pick.)
“Even the Brooklyn deal (the Celtics made in 2013) was more reasonable than that,” the source said, comparing Jackson’s asking price for Porzingis to the infamous deal that netted the Celtics three Nets first-rounders and the right to swap this year, plus players, in exchange for Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett and Jason Terry.
The Celtics, however, weren’t even sure Jackson was serious about dealing Porzingis, who has been on the Knicks personnel chief’s bad side since skipping his season-ending exit interview.
“Right now he’s just messing with things,” the source said of Jackson.
But it was far from the first time Ainge has received an outrageous demand for his assets from the 2013 Nets deal, including a Chicago demand last year for the 2017 and 2018 Nets picks in addition to two players for Butler.
In the meantime Ainge has much more to look forward to, starting with the first round of 2018 draft, when he holds the rights to the final Brooklyn pick in his satchel, a Lakers first-rounder if it falls between the second and fifth picks, and his own.
It will be a long time before Ainge has to deal out of desperation.