Suddenly this becomes one of the bigger drafts of the Danny Ainge’s tenure, with Doc Rivers gone, the Celtics apparently preparing a rebuilding plan, and the roster aging and underachieving.
In past years, the Celtics could take chances in the draft such as Fab Melo, JaJuan Johnson, or J.R. Giddens, but the club cannot afford to blow a first-round pick this season.
Let’s go back two years ago when the Celtics owned the 25th pick and selected Providence scorer MarShon Brooks,then traded him to New Jersey for Johnson, who played 36 games as a rookie, was traded to Houston in the Courtney Lee deal, and then waived by the Rockets. He is currently out of the NBA.
While Johnson aided the Celtics in netting Lee, they completely missed on players such as Chicago’s Jimmy Butler, Miami’s Norris Cole, and even Houston’s Chandler Parsons, a Rivers favorite who worked out for the Celtics twice and was convinced he was going to Boston. Full story for BostonGlobe.com subscribers.
Gary Washburn can be reached at gwashburn@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter at @gwashNBAGlobe
