BSJ Exclusive: Austin Ainge opens up on Robert Williams, 2019 draft class, Celtics offseason plans

LAS VEGAS — For the second-straight season, the Celtics have looked abroad to strengthen the back end of their roster (Brad Wanamaker).

One Celtics executive at the forefront of locating and luring talent from overseas is Celtics director of player personnel Austin Ainge. As one of Boston’s top scouts, Ainge has spent a large chunk of the past several seasons not only evaluating college prospects, but also building the C's reach within Europe (Daniel Theis, Guerschon Yabusele, Shane Larkin)

BostonSportsJournal.com sat down with Ainge for an exclusive interview in Las Vegas this week to get an inside look at the pursuit of Wanamaker, his view of the upcoming 2019 draft class (Celtics could have up to four picks), rehab updates on Daniel Theis and Gordon Hayward and how he views the Celtics core against the rest of the league heading into the 2018-19 season.

Boston Sports Journal: How long had you guys been tracking Brad Wanamaker and when did you feel like he became ready to make the jump?

Austin Ainge: I'd say Brad has been on our radar since college, but seriously for NBA consideration for the last four years. Last summer, we actually flew Brad in, had a meeting. It was too expensive for him to get out of his deal in Turkey, so he wasn't able to make it work last year. We had discussions with him over last year and this year, he was free. It made sense for him and his family to make the trip. He's universally thought of as one of the top guards in Europe. It's not a secret. He's a tough player, a good guy and fits well with our squad.

BSJ: You guys have a pretty loaded roster as is and Wanamaker is clearly looking for an opportunity after turning down millions overseas. Was it tough at all to sell him and how much did the success of others in your system help attract him?

Ainge: Certainly, that's part of it. The fact we've recruited him pretty well helped. I've stayed in touch with him, have seen him play and tried to develop a little bit of a relationship. He came over and met our coaches and staff last year. I think all of those things just made him feel comfortable.

BSJ: What aspects of his game should translate the best to the NBA level?

Ainge: Brad was always an extremely tough dude. Defensively-minded, aggressive, fearless and he's learned to shoot in Europe. He was not a good shooter in college. The pick-and-roll was always okay but that's gotten better, and the shooting has made huge jumps. That's been the biggest thing. He's always been a nasty, tough competitor. He's a guy we really like.

BSJ: After their battles growing up in Philly, I imagine Marcus Morris was pretty excited to hear about the signing?

Ainge: Jerome Allen, too. They've all known each other for a long time.

BSJ: How much concern is there in the organization with Robert Williams knee condition?

Ainge: It was a little sore and then he got hit on it. With summer league stuff, it's a long year. We treat everyone with kid gloves in summer league. Super cautious. He's looked great in practice. Two-a-day training sessions and all of his training stuff. We're really excited about him.

BSJ: How much does it help you guys to see a guy like Williams with lottery talent get the second year in college to help identify in his strengths and weaknesses?

Ainge: The biggest advantage is he fell to where we were. Experience always helps. Experience and age is always a benefit. We're going to put him in a little bit different situation than he had at A&M. Through no fault of the coaches, they just had great bigs and lots of bigs. We're going to play him almost exclusively at the 5 and we think he's going to take advantage of it. We think he's going to be able to show more in the NBA game than he was able to in college. It's going to take some time and some work.

BSJ: What kind of balance do you guys plan to strike in terms of keeping him around the team with veteran leadership and getting him the added reps?

Ainge: I think we'll all play that by ear and see how things are going. Brad has shown that he's not scared to play young guys if they earn the minutes. We're certainly not going to close the door on that if he earns the minutes. Typically, if guys aren't able to earn minutes, we try to get them game reps in the G-League.

BSJ: You guys have had a lot of success on that front with past players like Avery Bradley and Terry Rozier.

Ainge: Guys need to play. NBA teams don't really practice that much during the season. They really don't.

BSJ: There have been a number of roster players (Guerschon Yabusele, Semi Ojeleye) that have seen expanded roles in summer league. What have you seen from their progress?

Ainge: I thought they've done well. It's interesting how guys in summer league have to get out of the role that we'll use them at. Some guys are great role players at any level. Some guys are offensive creators and some are role guys. It's been interesting to see them out of their comfort zone a little bit and have some ups and downs with that. Very happy with how hard they're playing, they're playing to win and playing within the team system. These guys are really athletic, you can see that on the court. You can see that they're a cut above athletically than most of the guys out there and the skill keeps developing.

BSJ: Despite some meaningful contributions from guys like Ojeleye in last year's postseason, it seems like the road to playing time is going to be a challenge. How do you guys plan on managing that as the year progresses and keep everyone happy?

Ainge: I feel we have a chance to have the deepest team in the league. If everyone is healthy and playing up to their capabilities, I think we are the deepest team in the league. It's a great problem to have and we're going to need everyone to be focused on winning and pulling in the same direction. We have great guys who have done that their whole lives so I'm not worried about that. When you're focused on a championship, all of your own personal goals fall by the wayside.

BSJ: Do you guys feel comfortable heading into the season with the roster currently assembled as is, obviously with the hope that you'll be able to retain Marcus Smart?

Ainge: Absolutely. We feel great about where we're at and feel great about our depth. There aren't really roster spots left. We're always looking and exploring and staying ready, but we feel really good about the group we have.

BSJ: You guys have up to four first round picks for the 2019 NBA Draft, yet the general consensus by experts on that draft is that the class is far weaker than this past year. How much weight does that really carry 12 months ahead of the draft?

Ainge: Very little. I've seen a lot of the top high school kids for next year's draft and obviously, all of the returning guys in college and I think it has a chance to be great. Our team is going to get expensive as free agents come up. We're going to need to draft guys on rookie contracts that can contribute. That's what we're going to need. We're really excited about those draft picks to try to keep the talent pool flowing.

BSJ: Any updates on the recoveries of Daniel Theis and Gordon Hayward?

Ainge: Daniel's been in Boston a lot and maybe a couple weeks in Germany. He's making great progress and getting ready for the season. We hope he'll have an even better second year after being in our system and in the league and getting more comfortable. He's been great for us and we think he can be even better. Gordon's been bouncing around. Our staff has been in and out checking in with him. He's been great, on schedule, running, jumping and shooting. He looks good.