BOSTON — Celtics general manager Danny Ainge says he sees potential starters but no franchise players likely to be available with the No. 6 pick in the NBA draft.
That’s where the Celtics will be drafting.
Boston entered Tuesday night’s draft lottery with a 10 percent chance of obtaining the first overall pick. The most likely outcome was that the Celtics would land the sixth pick, and that’s what happened.
“It’s a momentary disappointment. You hope to get the lucky ball,” Ainge told reporters. “Now we have some clarity and some marching orders.”
The Celtics finished with a 25-57 record last season after purging the team of stars Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce, who went to Brooklyn, and allowing coach Doc Rivers to leave for the Los Angeles Clippers. The trade with the Nets landed Boston the 17th overall pick in next month’s draft.
In all, the Celtics have nine first-round picks in the next five years. That gives them the possibility of packaging picks to move up or to land a star like they did in 2007, when Ainge traded the fifth overall pick for Ray Allen and then made a trade for Garnett.
Pierce, Garnett and Allen led Boston to the NBA title their very first year together.
Ainge said this year’s draft is “just not loaded with a cornerstone player, from what I see.”
“There will be choices there that have a lot of potential,” he said. “I don’t think there’s anyone who’s going to come in and change the face of our franchise, but I do think there’s good quality in this draft.”
Comments are not available on this story.
Send questions/comments to the editors.
