Pierce's mood pleases Ainge

By Shira Springer, Globe Staff  |  June 28, 2007

WALTHAM -- Where will Paul Pierce be when/if the Celtics make the fifth selection in tonight's NBA draft? And will he be smiling? If Danny Ainge and Doc Rivers answered the second question, they would probably say yes, though doubts will remain around the league.

Ainge and Rivers insist several reports of Pierce's dissatisfaction with the direction of the organization have been greatly exaggerated. Ainge and Rivers added that any notion Pierce will ask for a trade if the Celtics do not deal the pick is not true. But Pierce has long voiced a preference for adding a veteran to the team.

"Paul wants to win," said Ainge. "It's that simple. It doesn't take a brain surgeon to be able to figure out that he wants to win. They all want to win. We're all trying to become a more competitive and a winning team.

"Everything else you read into it. There's no news about this stuff. All players around the league want to win and players deal with that in different fashions, in different ways with different emotions. So, I don't really concern myself with those type of things. I concern myself with trying to get us a better basketball team."

Ainge said he last spoke with Pierce Tuesday and added, "It was a great conversation and Paul was very enthusiastic.

"I talk to Paul regularly. I talk to Paul every week. I talk to Delonte [West] and I talk to Gerald [Green] and I talk to Al [Jefferson]. I talk to them about all things they're doing, checking up on them and how they're feeling, workout plans. All sorts of stuff.

"Those conversations [about the draft] come up with every player all the time. They want to know just like [the media]."

Having last spoken with Pierce about a week ago, Rivers was even more upbeat when describing the captain.

"Paul's in a great state of mind," said Rivers. "That's another one of those reports where you say, 'Where does that come from?' I've talked to Paul, Danny's talked to Paul, and I'd say [the reports are] far from the truth. But it's out there, and I think we have to wait until training camp to figure out who we're going to be, not just tomorrow or the next day or any time after that.

After traveling to Phoenix and back and watching a workout with Joakim Noah, Corey Brewer, and Jeff Green in less than 48 hours, Ainge and Rivers were a tired pair yesterday afternoon. But both thought the trip was worth it, though the session didn't make their jobs easier.

"It was probably one of the better workouts I've seen in years, honestly," said Rivers. "The three guys that were there did an unbelievable job. They did nothing to help us because they all played well and they all were extremely competitive."

Added Ainge, "From my perspective, you hope to see some separation. You hope to see somebody really jump off the charts and make my job a lot easier, but that hasn't been the case. They all did kind of what I expected them to do and they were all good players."

Rivers sees the Celtics as having a long list of needs, including a backup for Pierce at small forward, another shooting guard until Tony Allen returns after surgery to repair an anterior cruciate ligament tear, veteran experience, and another big man to help Kendrick Perkins and Jefferson. "We need size," said Rivers. "That may be the No. 1 need." . . . Speaking of Allen, the guard was spied hanging around the practice facility yesterday. According to Rivers, Allen has been doing a lot of biking and is on schedule, if not ahead of schedule, to return in time for training camp. Allen is shooting the ball, but can't run or jump competitively yet . . . A belated congratulations to director of basketball administration Frank Burke and his wife, Tracey, on the birth of their first child. Jackson Burke arrived June 19 and came in at 9 pounds, 21 inches.