Every morning, we compile the links of the day and dump them here… highlighting the big story line. Because there’s nothing quite as satisfying as a good morning dump.
Markelle Fultz will meet with the Celtics and also undergo medical testing on Monday, and then will work out for the team on Tuesday morning, a source told ESPN.
Fultz told ESPN last week that he is hopeful of being selected by the Celtics with the top pick in the NBA draft on June 22.
“I want to be the No. 1 pick really bad,” Fultz said. “It’s been a dream of mine since I was a little kid, and I feel like I would fit well in Boston.”
Fultz, who has never visited Boston before, is expected to meet with president of basketball operations Danny Ainge and the rest of the Celtics brass.
The Celtics plan on hosting Markelle Fultz this week for a pre-draft workout, and the meeting is largely a formality. Scouts and team executives agree that Fultz is the top player in the draft and one of the better point guard prospects since John Wall and Chris Paul.
In previous years, Celtics leadership spoke more openly about trying to trade picks obtained from the Brooklyn Trade, but in recent interviews, Wyc Grousbeck and Danny Ainge talked about the benefits of keeping #1 overall pick and the immense long-term value it holds in today’s NBA. Reports indicate that the Celtics are enamored with Fultz, and reject any notions that he wouldn’t fit on Boston’s guard-heavy roster.
Individual workouts usually have little bearing on a players draft position. Sometimes a good or bad workout can differentiate whether specific teams will select that player, but several GM’s believe the most important part of the workout is the one-on-one interview. It hurt Hassan Whiteside in 2010. He was a lottery-caliber talent, but said in his pre-draft interview that he didn’t need to improve any aspect of his game. He fell to pick 33, but of course his talents won out eventually.
The Celtics are known to have a notoriously difficult pre-draft workout. From a 2014 ESPN article:
At the end of every pre-draft workout, the Boston Celtics line up the invited prospects along the baseline and have them sprint the length of the 94-foot court as many times as possible in a three-minute span.
It’s been a staple of Danny Ainge’s workouts since his time as head coach with the Phoenix Suns and it’s become well known among draft prospects, who are often tipped off in advance by their agents or fellow draft hopefuls.
“It’s known around the league, they all talk about it, that Boston comes in and [some] call it a Boston Marathon,” said Celtics director of player personnel Austin Ainge, who spends much of his time organizing these pre-draft workouts. “It’s only three minutes of running. It’s grown to be a bigger thing than it actually is, but we kinda like it.”
The full court sprints reportedly helped Marcus Smart and Terry Rozier. Danny Ainge picked Smart ahead of Julius Randle, and Rozier several spots ahead of pre-draft projections. Fultz really won’t have much incentive to over-perform the workout, and for that reason, I’m interested to hear how he does. If he works his ass off, tries to make the best first impression, and doesn’t take for granted that he’s the top prospect, it’s a great sign for the next generation of Celtics fans.
Related: CSNNE | Boston Globe | MassLive | WEEI
Page 2: Where Doc Rivers Admires the work of Danny Ainge
“You look at the Celtics, they’ve drafted well,” said Rivers, who carries the title of president of basketball operations in addition to coaching the Clippers. “But one thing I’ve always loved about Danny over all, and I think it’s the thing that I miss the most, is that he’s never been afraid to cut his losses, too. That’s really important. You can look at all the great draft picks, but I look at some of the bad ones where he didn’t hesitate. I’m talking about first-round picks that he released. Most teams wouldn’t do that. Most teams would hold on to them anyway.”
Among the picks from whom Ainge has walked away was R.J. Hunter, the man chosen with the draft chip the Celtics got from the Clippers for the right to sign Rivers away from the C’s.
We’ve long maintained that the best thing that can be said about Ainge is that he’s never done his job to keep his job. While other personnel chiefs gauge how a potential move will look and whether he could be blamed, Ainge — right or wrong, popular or unpopular — takes his shots. If he were to be fired tomorrow, it wouldn’t wound him in the least to have more time to spend with his wife, children and grandchildren and on a golf course (not necessarily in that order).
“That’s exactly right,” Rivers said. “Danny does what he thinks is right, and that’s it. If he and I have anything alike, it’s that. I could have stayed there and been safe. I could have stayed, but I’m thinking, I want to do something more. I want to do it again. I want to do something special.”
Doc Rivers usually gets a pass for how he left the Celtics. From the time Boston lost the 2010 finals until he departed in 2013, there were constant rumors about him wanting to leave coaching and spend more time with his family. He didn’t want Danny Ainge to blow up the roster, and with Rivers regarded as one of the league’s best coaches, he could easily secure any open head coaching job if he decided to part ways with Boston.
Essentially, it turned into a leverage play, with Doc threatening to leave if the Celtics front office wanted to rebuild. It’s unclear whether the possibility of Doc leaving influenced Ainge’s decision to keep the core together past the 2010 season. It’s easy to forget the internal debate Celtics Nation had during this period — whether they should blow up the big-3 team or continue to build around them, and it seemed like Danny always leaned towards the “tear-it-down” rebuild.
Can you really blame Doc Rivers for wanting to coach a winning team? He fought through losing seasons relying on young players in Boston and Orlando, and once he tasted championship level basketball, he didn’t want to go back to a rebuilding situation. But he was always shady about his intentions, and in 2013, when Ainge discussed a deal that would send Garnett and Pierce to the Clippers, Doc wanted to jump ship and join them in Los Angeles. That particular KG/Pierce trade never happened, but Doc got his wish, was released from his contract, and got to coach a supposed “contender” with the Clippers.
It appears that Doc misses having a competent GM. His clumsy work as an executive has prevented the Clippers from getting over the hump. He traded Jared Dudley and a first round pick just to clear cap space because he didn’t know the luxury tax rules. He signed Spencer Hawes over Paul Pierce in 2014. He traded a first round pick for 27 games of Jeff Green. He payed his son $5 million more than any other team would offer. This offseason, he stands the risk of losing Chris Paul and Blake Griffin, and getting nothing in return.
The rebuilding team he left reached a conference finals before the contending team he joined. During Doc’s final years in Boston he wanted more power, but he knew Danny Ainge was one of the league’s best executives and ownership would not take away his power. His quotes help complete the story on the bittersweet breakup between Rivers and the Celtics.
The Rest of the Links:
Globe: Durant Pushing Warriors to Greater Heights| Pierce Says Durant is Better than Lebron
CSNNE: Pros and Cons of C’s Backcourt | Thompsen: ‘Don’t know why we’re assuming Ainge will take Fultz (video)
Fansided: How Fultz Impacts Isaiah’s Future
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