Ridiculing mock gestures

During his tenure as Celtics executive director of basketball operations, Ainge has kept the so-called experts guessing when it comes to their mock drafts. He doesn't pride himself in being unpredictable. He just trusts his instincts and his eyes. He compiles rankings, irrespective of rumors. He looks for ``competitors" and players with a ``special, special skill," whether it is ballhandling, shooting, rebounding, or shot blocking. He thinks about how a player will work with the coaching staff. He eschews conventional wisdom as far as to who may be available when the Celtics pick.

Almost all the mock drafts have Ainge selecting University of Connecticut point guard Marcus Williams with the No. 7 overall pick tonight. For that reason alone, it is a good bet he won't, that he has other players ranked higher. Barring a player projected in the top three sliding, Villanova guard Randy Foye looks like the favorite for the No. 7 spot based on his second workout with the Celtics Monday morning. Kentucky point guard Rajon Rondo, North Carolina State forward Cedric Simmons, and Arkansas guard Ronnie Brewer also could be in the mix.

Looking for a dark horse and a way to impress friends at a predraft cocktail party? Mention Thabo Sefolosha, a shooting guard who played in Italy last season and reportedly left Ainge very impressed. For now, a handful of mock drafts project Sefolosha as a mid-first round pick, possibly to Chicago at No. 16. No one considers him a lottery pick. But that doesn't necessarily mean anything to Ainge.

``I don't bury my head in the sand, so I do watch [what is going on elsewhere]," said Ainge. ``But I don't grind on it. I don't spend a lot of my time trying to figure out what other people are doing. I spend a lot of my time evaluating and ranking players, so I'm prepared for anything that might happen. Nobody knows for sure what Toronto or Chicago or Charlotte is going to do. We just can all guess. I have to be prepared for anything that might happen."