Friday's Ainge Watch

[wayray@xxxxxxxxxxxxx]

~ If the NBA Draft was held today, the Celtics would be drafting
12, 23, and 24.   Not bad, and good to see Antoine working his magic with
Dallas. There are those who would point to the Celtics record in response, 
but the essential truth is LaFrentz has been absent for almost the entire
season.  

~ Who would the Celtics draft with the above picks. Just quickly off the
top of my head, I'd say Rudy Fernandez, Dorrel Wright, and Best HS
Big Man available Jefferson/Morris/Davis.

~ Rumoured Ainge high-school favorite Dorrel Wright had a good game at the
recent Roundball Classic leading the East Squad with 17 points. Another Ainge
favorite, Shaun Livingston, wowed those in attendance with a plethora of passing 
skills, and the fact he's 6-7 and a PG, means a likely Top 5 pick.

~ Is mammoth high-schooler - 6-9, 330 - Glen Davis on the Ainge radar screen?
Despite his bulk, he exhibited some sweet athleticism and a nifty shooting
touch in the recent Classic. 

~  Dime Magazine sez: In his ongoing bid to become the Darryl Strawberry of hoops, 
Eddie Griffin agreed yesterday to a deal to serve 18 months probation for "deadly conduct" stemming from an incident in October when he allegedly hit and shot at a woman. One question: When is Danny Ainge going to sign this guy? 


~ Jack McCallum of SI gives the Celtics a "D" in his seasonal report card:

BOSTON CELTICS: I'm willing to give director of operations Danny Ainge a season to see if his long-range plan will work out. But the fact is, this once proud franchise, which made the Eastern Conference finals just two seasons ago, is fighting for its playoff life against Miami and Cleveland, two teams apparently going in a different direction than the Shamrocks.

Ray