The Celtics are readying themselves for every possible scenario on draft night

The Celtics have the most first-round picks (three) out of any team in the 2019 NBA Draft and that's kept the franchise plenty busy in the last few weeks even after a disappointing exit in the Eastern Conference Playoffs.

"We've had 70 guys in," Celtics director of player personnel Austin Ainge said Monday at the Auerbach Center. "We've been to Portsmouth, we've been to G-League camp who had draft guys and the Combine. Between all of that, it's a lot of guys we've been able to see so far. We still have some to go but we've had a good chunk of the guys we're evaluating in already."

Six of those players were in the building on Monday as the C's hosted a workout that featured potential first-round picks in Admiral Schofield (Tennessee) and Ty Jerome (Virginia) while they search for ways to improve internally after an ugly loss to Milwaukee.

"I mean the obvious ones are length and athleticism," Ainge said of the C's priorities. "You start there, then you move on to the skills -- shooting, thinking, competitiveness are always at a premium at every level. But then, pick-and-roll play is obviously very important in the NBA, and you just have bigger, better athletes in the NBA, so that’s why these workouts are good, because you have all high-level athletes, the best college players and see if they can do those same things against higher-level competition."

The big question that many are wondering about the Celtics this summer is whether there will even be an opportunity for one rookie, much less three, on a roster that has hopes of contending for a title in 2019-20. Boston only has seven players under guaranteed contracts although Al Horford and Aron Baynes could exercise player options to return by June 29 to bring that number up to nine. While there may be some open spots, bringing aboard three young players would not be a win-now move. However, Ainge wasn't willing to rule it out on Monday. 

"We've been down this road in the past few years where we've had lots of picks," Ainge said of taking all three selections at No. 14, 20 and 22. "It's something you have to consider. Just so many other things will dictate whether that's feasible or not, but we do like a lot of guys in this draft and there are scenarios when we would have three guys and keep them all. It's certainly manageable on a 15 or 17-man roster now with two-ways to have some rookies."

While no first-round pick at No. 14, 20 or 22 would be a two-way contract, it is possible that the Celtics could sign a player at No. 51 (their only second-round pick) to a two-way. A potential alternative in the past to maintaining young players for the long haul (draft-and-stash) appears to be a long shot solution for the Celtics in 2019 after limited success with that route in 2016 (Guerschon Yabusele at No. 16, Ante Zizic at No. 23).

“It’s tough in the first round," Ainge admitted of draft-and-stash possibilities. "Not too many guys are going to be willing to do that stateside. But yeah, we talk about all those things. Everybody says no early and then sometimes late they change their mind. But those are conversations you have.”

The international crop of talent (those who are usually open to being draft and stashed) also does not appear to be at the same level in 2019 as recent drafts, limiting the possibility even more that someone will ultimately be willing to be stashed.

There will be alternatives for the C's if they don't want to use all their picks on draft nights, but they become limited quickly without draft-and-stash candidates. Trading for a future first-round pick from the middle of the first round can usually be pulled off if a willing trade partner can be found. The same can be said for the consolidation of draft picks by moving up. Perhaps the most likely scenario for Boston would be involving some of the first round picks in a bigger trade on draft night, but that might be tough to pull off without some direction from the team's own free agents about their futures in Boston. Whether or not the Celtics get that knowledge by June 20th remains to be seen but the tricky situation it puts teams in has led to Ainge advocating for a flip to the NBA offseason calendar.

“I have been a big proponent of switching the draft and free agency," Ainge said. "I think that most teams build from veteran players first. If you have a top 5 pick you’re most likely a rebuilding team so free agency isn’t affecting that. If you have a top 5 pick you’re probably going to pick with that first but free agency doesn’t affect you much. And then all of the other teams, you more likely are fitting in draft picks in and around a veteran core group. So I think the calendar should follow our decision making tree. So I think it should be switched. Some people see it that way, some people don’t. It’s something I think we should look at very strongly. When I ask why it is the way it is, no one has a great answer just inertia. Just history."

In the meantime, the Celtics front office can only continue planning for every kind of scenario for draft night since literally everything is on the table for this team this offseason, including a commitment to more youth.

"We try to get in guys of all different draft ranges and guys to evaluate for the future," Ainge said. "You can only draft a few every year but if you have them in, you get to know them, get to meet them. Then, if in three years from now, they play well in the G-League or Turkey, at least you've got to know them a little bit. We're evaluating for many years in the future, as well as now."