Celtics Notes: Ainge, Adams, Dudley, Horford

It’s been a rough few weeks for the Celtics since their playoff run ended, but president of basketball operations Danny Ainge insists he’s excited about the team’s new direction, relays Chris Forsberg of NBC Sports Boston. Kyrie Irving appears certain to leave Boston and Al Horford is gone as well. The Celtics missed out on Anthony Davis and traded Aron Baynes to the Suns. There’s also uncertainty over the future of free agents Terry Rozier and Marcus Morris. The benefit of all that movement is that the organization could have up to $34MM in cap room when free agency begins.

“We have a very attractive franchise to play for, and there’s a lot of people who would be dying to come play here,” Ainge said.

The Celtics’ first step into the future came at Thursday’s draft, where they picked up Romeo Langford and Grant Williams in the first round and Carsen Edwards and Tremont Waters in the second round. Forsberg notes that Ainge pointed frequently to the character of his draft class.

“Good people. Actually all four of (the picks).” Ainge said. “Very good guys. That played a very big part into why we selected them. Who they are, not just what they are capable of doing on the court. Very excited about their personalities and their character and I think they have the will to become great.”

There’s more this morning out of Boston:

  • Steven Adams could be a possibility if the Celtics want to solve their center issue through trade rather than free agency, writes A. Sherrod Blakely of NBC Sports Boston. The Thunder are looking to trim salary to reduce their league-high luxury tax bill and may be willing to part with Adams, who will make $25.8MM next season and $27.5MM in 2020/21. Adams is among the league’s best defenders and rebounds and has a career shooting percentage of .588. Blakely lists Nikola Vucevic, Dewayne Dedmon, Ed Davis and Noah Vonleh as other possible targets.
  • Free agent Jared Dudley had good things to say about Celtics coach Brad Stevens in a tweet on Friday. Dudley responded to a question about Stevens by posting, “One of the best X and O’s in the game.. players coach but not afraid to try all types of lineups… Rewards playing time by playing smart but Hard.. heard only good things.” Dudley has expressed interest in joining the Celtics, notes Michael DePrisco of NBC Sports Boston.
  • Celtics legend and ESPN analyst Paul Pierce supports Horford’s decision to leave the team. “A lot of these guys when they get in their late 20’s or early 30’s and they know there’s light at the end of the tunnel, they try to maximize their dollars,” Pierce said in an interview with John Karalis of MassLive. “So if there’s an opportunity for Al Horford to get more money, I’m sure that’s something you have to look into.”
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