Ainge Works with McHale

<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">Friendship has its limits, but it?s nice to see Danny Ainge and Kevin McHale are still on good terms, even after the former stuck the latter with Mark Blount. The former teammates have now formed a carpool of sorts as they head for next Wednesday?s NBA draft.

The Celtics director of basketball operations was in Minnesota over the weekend to see Rudy Gay and Brandon Roy (among others) go through their paces, and McHale, owner of the sixth pick, will be here Monday to see Marcus Williams, Rajan Rondo, Jordan Farmar and Randy Foye.

?We?d had a tough time getting Rudy in, so Kevin and I just made an exchange on workouts,? said Ainge, who, barring a trade, will pick seventh. ?Kevin wanted to watch those point guards work out, so instead of having them go to Minnesota, too, he?ll come here.?

The Celtics are leaving no stones unturned as they prepare for the league?s annual talent dispersal. Even the two-day free agent camp that ended yesterday in Waltham will be helpful on draft night for the perspective it brings.

?The reason I like these things is because you can see the difference between the rookies that you bring in and the veteran free agents,? Doc Rivers said of the minicamp. ?You can kind of get a scale on where some of the young guys are. It?s good to see what the level is on some of the guys we?re thinking about drafting compared to this level. I actually like doing it (having a free agent minicamp) at this time of the year. I think it really gives you a good guide. This way you can see guys who are a little seasoned. Obviously they have flaws, otherwise they would be signed somewhere. But you get to compare them to other young guys - even our young guys.?

Said Ainge, ?There are a lot of players out there who are former draft picks and players who weren?t drafted who went overseas or into the D League and proved they could play. A lot of these guys are people we?ve liked in the past, and we kind of want to chart their progress in case we ever have injuries or a roster spot opens. We keep these guys fresh in our minds in case we need something down the road. I think it?s beneficial for us in a lot of ways.?

The sessions were certainly beneficial for former Temple point guard Lynn Greer, who did nothing to tarnish his status as the reigning MVP of the Italian League.

?Lynn came into the camp with the best credentials,? Ainge said. ?We all saw him play this year and liked what we saw. He?s just a very good basketball player. He shoots the ball extremely well, and I think he can help a lot of NBA teams.?

Assistant director of operations Leo Papile called Greer a big-time player.

?He?s an NBA player,? he said. ?Lynn?s a great shooter, and playing in Europe at a high level has improved his point guard skills. He was more like a scoring point guard at Temple, but now he?s a complete point guard. He can play.?
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