Normally, the Auerbach Center is full of hundreds of college prospects working out over the final two months before the NBA Draft as the Celtics front office works diligently to make their final evaluations ahead of draft night.
Teams have had to change their approaches dramatically in 2020 however in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic. Zoom meetings and watching video workouts are in, multiple player workouts are out. The NBA did start approving in-person visits in October for teams with up to 10 players and the Celtics have seen a number of top prospects live so far including RJ Hampton, Precious Achiuwa and Aaron Nesmith later this week.
To get a better sense of how the Celtics are navigating this new world when it comes to draft prep, I chatted with Celtics director of player personnel Austin Ainge earlier this week to get a look behind the curtain from the team’s preparations.
Boston Sports Journal: How has it been adapting from a prep standpoint to be out of the office for a big stretch with such a big draft coming up? Have updated protocols allow you to get back to more in-person meetings at Auerbach Center? How are you guys primarily communicating?
Austin Ainge:
BSJ: How have those visits gone so far? Have you been able to travel to them or do they come to you guys?
Ainge:
BSJ: You guys normally hold up to 100 workouts during a normal draft year so cutting that by 90 percent seems like a pretty drastic switch. What's the debate been like internally about which guys to see in person?
Ainge:
BSJ: For guys you can’t work out in person, do you just have to trust they are in shape? How much do you talk to people with relationships to people around them to have a better sense how ready to go they will be for December?
Ainge:
BSJ: You guys have had five or six more months than usual to get ready for this draft. Do you feel more prepared for this one than any other with that extra time?
Ainge:
BSJ: Speaking of that, have you guys heard anything from the league about rules regarding scouting for next year's draft class?
Ainge:
BSJ: You guys pros at zoom calls now? How tough is that in trying to attempt to get to know a prospect versus in-person meetings or you used to it with international prospects from past years?
Ainge:
BSJ: What have you guys done with the extra prep time? Are you watching older film from high school more? How helpful can that be?
Ainge:
BSJ: Given the lack of summer league and developmental time before the start of the season, does that adjust how you guys have to approach this draft at all?
Ainge:
BSJ: Decisions probably won’t be made until draft night but has even more groundwork been put in there than usual to know what potential options could arise given length of time? Or has that been tough without cap guidelines in place?
Ainge:
BSJ: How tough will it be to go through draft and free agency in such a tight window next week from a planning standpoint?
Ainge:
