BOSTON (AP) – Danny Ainge became a marvel among his fellow league executives in 2007 when he pulled together the megadeal that became Boston’s Big Three and led to an NBA title.
Nine years later, the Celtics president of basketball operations is again primed to pull off some offseason magic, and he’s hoping a cache of draft picks he’s collected can serve as both his four-leaf clover and magic wand.
The Celtics have a total of eight picks to play with entering Thursday night’s draft, including the No. 3 overall selection, as well as two more in the first round. It’s again placed the Celtics president of basketball operations in a unique spotlight – and bargaining position – as the Boston looks to use the draft as a springboard back into the Eastern Conference’s top tier.
The draft once had as many as 21 rounds in 1968. It reduced from three to its current incarnation of two rounds in 1989. Since then, the highest number of picks by one team was 14 by the 76ers in 2014.
Ainge said even with so many bites at this year’s draft crop, his approach remains unchanged. He is, however, allowing for the likelihood that there other teams will offer to trade up.