Post by DERRENMATTS on Jun 29, 2005 4:18:32 GMT -5
Danny Ainge on first round pick Gerald Green
June 28, 2005
“We’re really excited about our pick here at 18. A lot of people say this kind of stuff but we had him ranked way up in the draft. We thought he was going sixth to Portland, we found out in the last couple days that he didn’t work out in Portland, that they might pick Webster instead, we did a little research and thought man, this guy might not have a home but I thought that someone would definitely take him so I guess we’re the lucky team that got to take him. We think he has a tremendous upside and he can fly. I will say on a downside he’s 19 and he’s not ready to win in the NBA, so I would be surprised if he beat out our young guards in Delonte and Tony and Paul and Ricky. He’s just another piece for the future that has tremendous upside.”
“We said that last year. This is a kid who were not bringing in, we said the same thing last year when we drafted Al and we got Delonte and Tony later in the draft, that could contribute to our team, they were college all-Americans, we thought they could come in and play and we didn’t think that Al could play. We thought he would be a project, in training camp he proved that he was better than some of our veterans and that he earned time. We didn’t give him time because he was Al Jefferson, the 15th pick, and he had to earn it. Unless there’s something with this kid I think it is going to be harder with the competition he has with Paul, Ricky, Tony, and Delete, Marcus. I just don’t see that happening, I got two players that are at that same position right now. He gives us tremendous flexibility. There are other ways to go with our team right now, we have opportunities through free agency and trades and other things. We have always said the three D’s- Deals, Development, and Draft - and this is the best player that we thought we had a chance. Rather than get a player right now who we thought could help us win a few more games, we’re trying to get the best player available.”
“Shoot and Jump, I mean athletic, quickness, he’s the best athlete in the draft. He’s one of the better shooters in the draft. He does not have a great NBA understanding but I would say the same thing about some of the college players that were drafted ahead of him. It is not just about age, he’s just an inexperienced player who needs time.”
“He’s got potential I see a lot of good things, I see him make good instinctive plays, I don’t know how much coaching he’s had. But I would not say that this is the answer by any stretch, he’s too young to even evaluate that. I don’t know that much about his basketball IQ because he’s so young, but I do want to add basketball IQ still.”
“We had of the players that were drafted in the top 20, I think Antoine Wright was the only player we had workout because there was 23 players that were going in the top 15 so, no we did not work him out. I saw him in High school stuff, I saw him play in a high school game in December, and I saw him play in all the postseason high school stuff and I watched him in practice, just about the same kind of evaluation we had on Al.”
“We were begging from 12 on that he was going to be there. As soon as he bypassed Portland we were wondering… I knew Minnesota and I knew Indiana were teams that were drafting guards. Indiana feels that their ready to win right now. I mean Danny Granger was a great pick too, and when both of those guys were available at 16 we were celebrating in the draft room because we knew we had one of those two. We’re thrilled.”
“There were some surprises, I think the draft is so unique in that there is not a great deal of separation. I mean its really in the eye of the beholder, with so many of these players and needs coming into play, you could see as the draft was going on, you didn’t see that teams were taking the best athlete or the best player, I think that there were some needs being filled. I’m trying to think if there were any shocks, no, I was not shocked at Charlie Villanueva he’s a heck of a player. Diogu was not a shock either he’s a fantastic college player that was two-time Pac-10 player of the year, he is a great rebounder.”
“They (Portland) wanted to get him really bad you should have heard our phone ringing with about two picks to go. We had everybody drooling to get Gerald Green. Sometimes you start to say, dang, is there something wrong? And then you find out that the team that coveted him from the beginning, Portland, is calling and offering some of their picks. Houston where he lived, they start calling and trying to get him, these are the people that knew him the best throughout this whole evaluation process.”
“I think there were some deals that would have been consummated under certain conditions, we were tempted to make some deals if things didn’t happen our way and that’s why we were really excited when we saw Granger and Green still on the board after 16.”
“No, we never saw Gerald Green dropping below tenth.”
June 28, 2005
“We’re really excited about our pick here at 18. A lot of people say this kind of stuff but we had him ranked way up in the draft. We thought he was going sixth to Portland, we found out in the last couple days that he didn’t work out in Portland, that they might pick Webster instead, we did a little research and thought man, this guy might not have a home but I thought that someone would definitely take him so I guess we’re the lucky team that got to take him. We think he has a tremendous upside and he can fly. I will say on a downside he’s 19 and he’s not ready to win in the NBA, so I would be surprised if he beat out our young guards in Delonte and Tony and Paul and Ricky. He’s just another piece for the future that has tremendous upside.”
“We said that last year. This is a kid who were not bringing in, we said the same thing last year when we drafted Al and we got Delonte and Tony later in the draft, that could contribute to our team, they were college all-Americans, we thought they could come in and play and we didn’t think that Al could play. We thought he would be a project, in training camp he proved that he was better than some of our veterans and that he earned time. We didn’t give him time because he was Al Jefferson, the 15th pick, and he had to earn it. Unless there’s something with this kid I think it is going to be harder with the competition he has with Paul, Ricky, Tony, and Delete, Marcus. I just don’t see that happening, I got two players that are at that same position right now. He gives us tremendous flexibility. There are other ways to go with our team right now, we have opportunities through free agency and trades and other things. We have always said the three D’s- Deals, Development, and Draft - and this is the best player that we thought we had a chance. Rather than get a player right now who we thought could help us win a few more games, we’re trying to get the best player available.”
“Shoot and Jump, I mean athletic, quickness, he’s the best athlete in the draft. He’s one of the better shooters in the draft. He does not have a great NBA understanding but I would say the same thing about some of the college players that were drafted ahead of him. It is not just about age, he’s just an inexperienced player who needs time.”
“He’s got potential I see a lot of good things, I see him make good instinctive plays, I don’t know how much coaching he’s had. But I would not say that this is the answer by any stretch, he’s too young to even evaluate that. I don’t know that much about his basketball IQ because he’s so young, but I do want to add basketball IQ still.”
“We had of the players that were drafted in the top 20, I think Antoine Wright was the only player we had workout because there was 23 players that were going in the top 15 so, no we did not work him out. I saw him in High school stuff, I saw him play in a high school game in December, and I saw him play in all the postseason high school stuff and I watched him in practice, just about the same kind of evaluation we had on Al.”
“We were begging from 12 on that he was going to be there. As soon as he bypassed Portland we were wondering… I knew Minnesota and I knew Indiana were teams that were drafting guards. Indiana feels that their ready to win right now. I mean Danny Granger was a great pick too, and when both of those guys were available at 16 we were celebrating in the draft room because we knew we had one of those two. We’re thrilled.”
“There were some surprises, I think the draft is so unique in that there is not a great deal of separation. I mean its really in the eye of the beholder, with so many of these players and needs coming into play, you could see as the draft was going on, you didn’t see that teams were taking the best athlete or the best player, I think that there were some needs being filled. I’m trying to think if there were any shocks, no, I was not shocked at Charlie Villanueva he’s a heck of a player. Diogu was not a shock either he’s a fantastic college player that was two-time Pac-10 player of the year, he is a great rebounder.”
“They (Portland) wanted to get him really bad you should have heard our phone ringing with about two picks to go. We had everybody drooling to get Gerald Green. Sometimes you start to say, dang, is there something wrong? And then you find out that the team that coveted him from the beginning, Portland, is calling and offering some of their picks. Houston where he lived, they start calling and trying to get him, these are the people that knew him the best throughout this whole evaluation process.”
“I think there were some deals that would have been consummated under certain conditions, we were tempted to make some deals if things didn’t happen our way and that’s why we were really excited when we saw Granger and Green still on the board after 16.”
“No, we never saw Gerald Green dropping below tenth.”
