Boston Celtics want best player for long term, according to Danny Ainge

Jay King wrote:With an up-and-coming team that has reached the playoffs in each of the last two seasons, the Boston Celtics have some incentive to target draft picks who will provide immediate help. Still, team president of basketball operations Danny Ainge said he will try to target players with the best long-term futures.

"I can't talk about any players specifically, but a player that is going to take time to develop or a player that may not come over to the NBA for a year or two, if we really believe that player's the best player, we have to take him," Ainge told Dan Roche during a recent interview on WBZ TV's Sports Final. "We cannot let a player slip by us just because it doesn't fulfill our immediate satisfaction, or the objective for the fans to see something more exciting. We have to pick the best player under any circumstance."

Assuming the Celtics hold onto the No. 3 pick, Ainge's desire to take a long-term approach could be important. Dragan Bender might have the highest upside of any prospect at that spot, but, at age 18, could need years to develop. Jaylen Brown has an elite physical profile, but needs time to build his skills and awareness. Jamal Murray might not have the immediate impact of an older guard like Buddy Hield or Kris Dunn -- but what if the Celtics think Murray has the greatest potential, and are willing to draft another guard because they want the best player available regardless of position?

During the television interview, Ainge issued a reminder that New York's Kristaps Porzingis selection was booed last year, while other great picks, like Steve Nash, have also been viewed unfavorably immediately after a draft. In other words: fans don't always have a clue.

"You can't base any of your decisions based on what the public thinks and based on what other people think you should do," Ainge said. "You just really have to use our experience, our work and our eyes. And we communicate all the time on what the best road to go is."

"I'm excited about the No. 3 pick," the Celtics executive added. "I would have been excited about it (on lottery) night -- if you'd have told me before the night started that, 'Hey, you're going to get the No. 3 pick,' I'd have been very happy with that. But there for one minute I let my mind drift to, like, 'Hey, we may get the No. 1 pick or the No. 2 pick.' But No. 3 is fine. We're excited about that.

"It certainly doesn't have the same cachet in trade conversations, in trying to get better quicker, so that sets that back a little bit. Or we would have to give up more (assets in a possible trade). ... But I think that there are good players (who will be available at No. 3). If we end up using that draft pick, we're excited about the potential players."

With eight draft picks, including the No. 3 selection, the Celtics are expected to explore the trade market for established players. They could also potentially clear enough cap space to sign two maximum-contract free agents, although Ainge cautioned the competition for top players will be "fierce."

"There is a lot of money out there in the free-agent market because of the new TV contract that is kicking in. I think it's going to be challenging. It's sort of a new territory for the NBA. I think two-thirds of the league can offer at least a max contract to a player. That's never happened before. We're a team that can offer two max contracts to free agents, but there aren't that many max contract players (on the market). And so the competition is fierce," Ainge said. "We have plans that we would like to do and what we will do everything we can to try and do, but there's no guarantees in any of that. It's my job to pull the brakes back and make sure we don't do something stupid that hurts our chances in the long run."

Ainge would like to push the Celtics into the NBA's upper echelon this summer, of course, but wants his opportunity to be the right one. Multiple times now this summer, he has pointed out Boston could potentially take a small step backward in the short term in hopes of setting up a better future.

"Right now, we're trying to become a better team as fast as we can without selling out. I guess that's the best way to put it," Ainge told Roche. "We want to become a more significant team this upcoming year. And at the same time, we want to build something that's sustainable for a longer period of time."

"I think (maintaining patience is) my job in the organization. I think that ownership would like to see something happen faster. I know my coaches would like to see something faster. I know that my players want to see something faster. I've been in their positions and I get it. And I want to see something faster, too. But I just have to protect us from doing something irrational, just to get a little bit better. If it's something that gets us to be a true championship contender faster, then I think we're all on board -- as long as it's a sustainable formula and not a one-year quick hit sacrificing future assets."

"I have high expectations this summer," Ainge added. "But I also know there's a chance that we go a direction that we take some of these draft picks, and we bring in some young players. Because there are some good young players that may not be as good as a couple of the veterans on our team, and may take some minutes away, and our team record may not be as good, but we think in the long run it's going to be much, much better for our team and our development down the road."