Danny Ainge says not so fast on the 2014 draft class...
If you watched the double header that featured at least 14 future NBA players, you know not only did the kids live up to the hype, they may have even surpassed it… almost impossible to do. But Ainge was not quite as impressed as others.
Here is what Ainge had to say, courtesy of Mass Live's Jay King:
“I can’t talk about individuals,” he said Thursday morning on 98.5 The Sports Hub’s Toucher & Rich show. “But I do think this draft is a good draft. I don’t think it’s as spectacular as it’s made out to be, but I do think it’s a good draft. We have two draft picks this year, our own and Brooklyn’s, and we’ll be watching these players continually throughout the year. Our staff is busy watching every game and doing background checks, checking them all out.”I am pro tanking, lets get that out of the way. Young players can still improve while losing, and the top of this draft looks just irresistible, especially my man crush Jabari Parker. But why does Ainge not see this? He has to be just playing it cool, right? Sure you can try and protect yourself by winning and saying you don't like this draft class, but that's a lie. Just be honest, the top of this draft is to die for, the Celtics may just not find themselves there.
Here's an Ainge quote on tanking from the same article:
“I really don’t pay much attention to it. I understand where we are as a league, I understand where people see us as a franchise. But we’re dealing in the moment and we’re trying to find out who we want on our bus, and who we want to move forward with to win another championship. So that’s my objective, just to evaluate the players and see who we have and see who really we can rely on, night in and night out – who can help us go forward and where we need to make changes.”Sure I can see the other side of the argument. Boston has decent young pieces with nine first rounders in the next five years. The middle of this first round will still be good. I get it. Sure there are no guarantees no matter which route you choose, but if Ainge is saying this class is not worth going after he must have had his eyes closed on Tuesday.
Source: Jay King, Mass Live
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