The problem?
“You can’t get all those things,’’ Rivers said. “Obviously, we understand that. You get some of them and you don’t get some of them.’’
A month after exiting the playoffs in the second round — as deflating a development as it was unexpected, for a team that had every intention of returning to the Finals — Ainge and Rivers have the Celtics’ needs pinpointed.
They’re most certainly looking for size to fill the holes where Shaquille O’Neal, Kendrick Perkins, Nenad Krstic, and Semih Erden used to be. They’re looking for shooting, because if the Mavericks proved anything by beating the Heat in the Finals, it’s that you can never have enough shooting.
The Celtics are aware that they’re not likely to instantly address those issues in tonight’s draft; they are realistic about how much help they can get with the 25th and 55th picks.
“When we’re drafting where we’re drafting — I’m not trying to put a negative spin on this, I’m trying to be realistic — the 25th pick in the draft is probably not going to help us immediately,’’ Ainge said.
“But there are some players that we’re thinking can fill our roster, will fit in with the personality of our team, and have a work ethic and make our team better in practice and add depth to our roster.’’
The general opinion is that this year’s talent pool isn’t particularly deep. The Cavaliers will likely use the top pick on Duke’s Irving, who played all of 11 games for the Blue Devils last season. There are no clear franchise-changers. No Derrick Roses, no Blake Griffins.
“There are only a certain amount of superstars born,’’ Ainge reasoned.
The Celtics aren’t expecting a quality 7-footer to fall into their laps so late in the first round.
“If size is available at the 25th pick, I don’t know if that’s a good sign or a bad sign,’’ Rivers said.
“We have to address size in the offseason for sure,’’ Ainge said. “It doesn’t necessarily have to be in the draft.
“We have a busy offseason this year, with a lot of free agents and a lot of roster spots to fill, and as soon as the draft is over, we’ll be focusing on that.
