Celtics came "really, really close" to drafting Pat Connaughton

[Roy H.]

During a recent conversation with NBA.com's Ian Thomsen, Boston Celtics president of basketball operations Danny Ainge said he came "really, really close" to drafting Arlington native Pat Connaughton.

The way one team source has described things to MassLive, the Celtics were considering selecting a big man, maybe Larry Nance, with their first-round pick. But after the Los Angeles Lakers surprised everyone by picking Nance at No. 27, Boston opted to go for the best player available -- in this case, R.J. Hunter. Had they picked a frontcourt player at the end of the first round, the Celtics would have felt comfortable adding Connaughton at No. 33. But after picking two perimeter players, Hunter and Terry Rozier, they did not consider acquiring a third one wise and opted to choose Jordan Mickey instead.

Interesting.  I'd definitely prefer Hunter and Mickey to Nance and Connaughton, but time will tell.  It almost sounds like they backed into Mickey, although who knows with sources.

[hpantazo]

Interesting. The way I see it so far, RJ Hunter and Mickey saved the draft for us, they look like steals, far better than Rozier up to now. I would have viewed that draft as a total disaster if it had been Rozier, Nance, and Connaughton. I guess time will tell.

[SHAQATTACK]

Mickey and Hunter > Connaughton and Nance


Sometimes things turn out better than expected.

I'll keep what we got

[viulo]

My draft prediction was that the Celtics would trade their higher picks and end up selecting Connaughton at #45. Shame he didn't last that long, would have loved to see him in green, but by picking the three other picks even if he had been selected at #45 his chance of making the roster would have been slim to none - as we can see by the fact that, even without Thornton, we're at 17 guaranteed contracts right now...
maybe in a year or two...

[chambers]

Interesting. The way I see it so far, RJ Hunter and Mickey saved the draft for us, they look like steals, far better than Rozier up to now. I would have viewed that draft as a total disaster if it had been Rozier, Nance, and Connaughton. I guess time will tell.

I think Rozier could be a top 5 player from this draft one day, are you disappointed with the Rozier pick or just saying that he wasn't as big a steal at 16 vs Hunter at 28?
I also love Hunter and think he could be a Klay Thompson like guard one day (or even better).

I couldn't have been happier with all of our picks actually.

[Tr1boy]

I think Danny should not be allowed to make the choices on draft night moving fwd

We were close to drafting 4 guards . Ridiculous. 

Marcus Thornton pick was ridiculous. Why not choose a euro player to stash overseas? why not?

[saltlover]

I think Danny should not be allowed to make the choices on draft night moving fwd

We were close to drafting 4 guards . Ridiculous. 

Marcus Thornton pick was ridiculous. Why not choose a euro player to stash overseas? why not?

Did you actually read the article? We weren't close to picking 4 guards.  If we'd drafted Nance, who is not a guard, we might have drafted Connaughton instead of Mickey.  (Might have.)  Drafting four guards was never happening.

[hwangjini_1]

I think Danny should not be allowed to make the choices on draft night moving fwd

We were close to drafting 4 guards . Ridiculous. 

Marcus Thornton pick was ridiculous. Why not choose a euro player to stash overseas? why not?

ainge, it seems, drafts by available talent, not need. it is the intelligent way to draft. need is solved, one hopes, through free agency, not the draft. this is not news and has been discussed numerous times here at cb.

and please reread the earlier posts. ainge was going to go out of his way to ensure that it was not an "all guard draft." you accuse him of something he states he would not do.

your posts would be better served were they to look beyond opportunities to condemn ainge and confirm your bias towards him. this shtick does get tiresome.

[BudweiserCeltic]

I think Danny should not be allowed to make the choices on draft night moving fwd

We were close to drafting 4 guards . Ridiculous. 

Marcus Thornton pick was ridiculous. Why not choose a euro player to stash overseas? why not?

He did pick a player to stash overseas... what's your obsession with an Euro player?

[TheFlex]

I think Danny should not be allowed to make the choices on draft night moving fwd

We were close to drafting 4 guards . Ridiculous. 

Marcus Thornton pick was ridiculous. Why not choose a euro player to stash overseas? why not?

No we weren't. IF we had chosen Nance at 28, we would have selected Connaughton, leaving us with 2 guards and a big, as we have now. I'm glad we have Hunter and Mickey though, as I like both individual players better than the alternative.

Thornton being selected has little to do with position and more so that he was agreeable to the idea of playing overseas while waiting for an opening. If Juan Vaulet hadn't already been taken by the Hornets (like Hunter, a wing as opposed to a guard), I have a feeling Danny would have taken him over Thornton.

[ahonui06]

Glad Boston ended up getting Hunter & Mickey.

[chambers]

I think Danny should not be allowed to make the choices on draft night moving fwd

We were close to drafting 4 guards . Ridiculous. 

Marcus Thornton pick was ridiculous. Why not choose a euro player to stash overseas? why not?

Thornton was basically one of, if not the best athlete at the draft combine.
He stashed him in Australia. He was the 45th pick for god's sake- does it really matter what position he plays? If he was a player that Danny thought had potential, it's completely reasonable.


Are you not happy with our picks in Rozier and Hunter?

[slamtheking]

I think Danny should not be allowed to make the choices on draft night moving fwd

We were close to drafting 4 guards . Ridiculous. 

Marcus Thornton pick was ridiculous. Why not choose a euro player to stash overseas? why not?

the thought of Danny not drafting your boy Mickey has you seeing red instead of green Triboy.  must be affecting your vision -- as others have pointed out, Danny wasn't taking 4 guards.

I prefer the players he did end up taking instead of the ones he was initially targeting. 

[Alleyoopster]

I think Danny should not be allowed to make the choices on draft night moving fwd

We were close to drafting 4 guards . Ridiculous. 

Marcus Thornton pick was ridiculous. Why not choose a euro player to stash overseas? why not?

Stashing a Euro overseas...thought that same thing.  Then again, those areas are well scouted.  We haven't had much luck in stashing players have we?

I didn't see much of the summer games.  So, I can't say a whole lot about Thornton.  He didn't impress me except in the Miami game?  In that game he looked better than either Hunter or Rozier.  Anyone see anything that showed he had NBA talent?   

[ahonui06]

I think Danny should not be allowed to make the choices on draft night moving fwd

We were close to drafting 4 guards . Ridiculous. 

Marcus Thornton pick was ridiculous. Why not choose a euro player to stash overseas? why not?

Stashing a Euro overseas...thought that same thing.  Then again, those areas are well scouted.  We haven't had much luck in stashing players have we?

I didn't see much of the summer games.  So, I can't say a whole lot about Thornton.  He didn't impress me except in the Miami game?  In that game he looked better than either Hunter or Rozier.  Anyone see anything that showed he had NBA talent?

Best case scenario for Marcus Thornton 2.0 is finding a spot on a NBA team as a spark plug scorer off the bench a la Isaiah Thomas.  That will be his niche if he can ever crack a NBA team's roster.

Don't ever see him playing any minutes for Boston.