The Boston Celtics took an unexpected pass on Josh Jackson with the third pick in the 2017 NBA draft on Thursday night.
Now we might know why.
After the draft, Celtics president Danny Ainge revealed that Jackson and his reps canceled a workout with the team while head coach Brad Stevens and others from the organization were on a flight to Sacramento to meet with him, according to ESPN’s Chris Forsberg:
“Never talked with Josh. No one in our organization did,” Ainge said. “They cancelled a workout on us when we flew out to Sacramento, and they just decided to cancel it as we flew — just [coach] Brad [Stevens] and I and [assistant general manager] Mike Zarren flew cross-country.
“So there was something that he didn’t want to play for the Celtics.”
Ainge goes on to admit he was irritated about the ordeal, as any normal person would be. But at the same time, he tried to not have hard feelings over it.
Rather than drafting a player who didn’t want to play for him, Ainge went with Duke’s Jayson Tatum. Jackson fell one more slot and landed with the Phoenix Suns.
Provided the Celtics keep Tatum, it’ll be interesting to look back on this moment in hindsight. Jackson could’ve played alongside Isaiah Thomas, but will now suit up next to Devin Booker.
Either way, it’s a situation future NBA hopefuls will want to watch unfold.
Add The Sports Daily to your Google News Feed!
