Ainge is finally the chosen one for Celtics

["Stephen Beauregard" <sb@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Ainge is finally the chosen one for Celtics


By Jackie MacMullan, Globe Columnist, 6/26/2003

echnically speaking, tonight will be Danny Ainge's first official draft as the
Man in Charge.



But that hardly means this is the first time he's handicapped the field, and
determined who should go where. Did you think he is any different from the
rest of us? He's been sharing his opinions on the draft since the day he
slipped on the green and white Celtics jersey.

''I tried to get the Celtics to draft A.C. Green,'' Ainge revealed Tuesday
afternoon. ''I knew A.C. He was from my hometown. I'm from Oregon, and I had
seen him play a lot.''

Green, a hard-working, albeit unspectacular forward from Oregon State, was
taken by the Lakers with the 23d pick of the 1985 draft. The Celtics, picking
20th, took the flashy guard, Sam Vincent, from Michigan State.

Green went on to play 16 seasons as the league's iron man, appearing in a
record 1,192 consecutive games. He won three championships and established
himself as one of the NBA's most respected players. Vincent flamed out in two
seasons with Boston, and spent seven modest years in the league bouncing
around among four teams.

Ainge also liked Texas El-Paso guard Tim Hardaway in the 1989 draft. Former
Celtics owner Alan Cohen shared his enthusiasm, but president Red Auerbach
took Brigham Young forward Michael Smith with the 13th pick, allowing Golden
State to gobble up Hardaway one selection later. Hardaway went on to be a
five-time All-Star; Smith was out of the league in three seasons. (The
Celtics, incidentally, also drafted Dino Radja that year with the 40th pick.)

''I liked Hardaway,'' said Ainge, ''but I honestly thought Michael Smith would
be a good player for Boston, too. I remember one night in Phoenix, he had 18
points in the fourth quarter.''

Smith, a prolific college scorer, had trouble getting off his shot against the
pros, and even more trouble defending forwards who were quicker, stronger, or
both.

''That's definitely one thing you have to weigh,'' Ainge admitted. ''A
player's offensive skills might be excellent, but how much will he hurt you
defensively?''

Ainge understands when the defining moment comes, his staff may not be
unanimous in its choice of picks. Although some members in the Phoenix front
office had their doubts, Ainge, an assistant coach who had input into the
draft, applauded his team's selecton of Steve Nash with the 15th pick in the
1996 draft. Phoenix would trade Nash two years later to Dallas for Bubba
Wells, Martin Muursepp, the draft rights to Pat Garrity, and a 1999
first-round draft choice, which turned out to be Shawn Marion.

Although Ainge played a role in those decisions, they were not his call. This
time, it's on his head.

Don't expect miracles. As Milwaukee general manager Ernie Grunfeld points out,
''If you take someone 15th or later, and they are still around in three or
four years, then you've made a successful pick.''

It's unrealistic to expect Ainge to unearth a point guard at 16 or 20 that
will turn around his team's fortunes next season. Don't expect him to tag the
next Dirk Nowitzki, because players of that caliber simply don't fall through
the cracks anymore.

The last time Boston had a draft pick of any lasting importance was in 1998,
when Paul Pierce slipped all the way into the laps of the Celtics at 10. He
has been making the teams that passed on him pay ever since.

Will the Celtics benefit from such a slide again? Will Ainge be the GM who
identifies the next Tony Parker, the young French guard who was taken with the
28th pick by San Antonio in 2001 and helped the Spurs win a championship a few
short weeks ago?

The Green People are hoping Ainge can Parkerize this draft. Since the Pierce
selection, fans have watched Jerome Moiso, Joe Johnson, and Joseph Forte come
and go, and Kedrick Brown ride the pine.

''I know what the expectations are,'' said Ainge, ''but history shows that
players drafted [that low] do not have a major impact. Do I hope for the best?
Absolutely.

''We've done our homework, but there's a lot of luck involved. Obviously we're
not going to be picking from the cream of the crop. What you hope for is for
someone in front of you to make a mistake.''

Many times, teams make their own luck. Ainge clearly believes the Celtics gave
up on Johnson too soon. He's still not willing to declare the selection of
Brown as a failed experiment.

Whether it's Zarko Cabarkapa, Aleksandar Pavlovic, Marcus Banks, David West,
Troy Bell (he shouldn't be overlooked by the Celtics at 20, and he won't be)
or some other alphabet soup prospect, the players Boston takes will have ample
opportunities to prove themselves -- not over months, but years.

Tonight's draft may be Ainge's official coming-out party as the draftnik but,
quite frankly, it's only one of many actions that will ultimately define his
tenure.

''To tell you the truth, I make decisions every day that very well could have
as much impact as the draft will,'' Ainge said. ''You can't rebuild through
the draft anymore, unless you are picking really high.

''Even then, you can never tell. If you look back at Red's drafts over the
years, he's had a ton of stinkers. But the thing about Red is he was always
willing to take risks, and some of those risks paid off.''

The Man in Charge has never been short of opinions on draft day. Tonight, the
difference is Danny Ainge's preferences will have a direct result on the
future of the Celtics.

Thanks,

Steve
sb@xxxxxxxxxxxx

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