Celts begin auditions

June 7, 2007

The Celtics will get down to more serious business today when they begin individual auditions for the No. 5 overall pick.



Florida's Corey Brewer and Florida State's Al Thornton will be put through their paces at the team's Waltham facility, as the C's proceed on the assumption they will still be holding the high pick when draft night comes on June 28.

The two are among six prospects the Celtics have currently identified as possibilities at 5. Brandan Wright, Jeff Green, Yi Jianlian and Al Horford are the others.

Green was originally scheduled to work out with today's group, but in that he is retaining his right to go back to Georgetown (he still hasn't hired an agent), he would have to pick up his own travel costs.

Celtics director of basketball operations Danny Ainge said last night that Green will be hosting his own workouts in D.C. next week, and the Celtics are expected to fly down to see him.

Ainge and the Celts crew returned home from Orlando last night after spending additional time working out players who figure to be in the mix later in the draft, if at all.

``You've got to look at everybody because you never know what your needs are going to be,'' Ainge said. ``One injury or one trade and things could really change for you.''

Blatt ain't that

There have been a number ofreports linking David Blatt to a potential job in the Celtics organization, but Ainge held up a stop sign on such talk.

Blatt is a Framingham native who played at Princeton and went on to become a highly successful coach and builder ofteams in Europe. Recent stories speculated that he could join the Celts as an assistant coach or in some front-office capacity.

And there could be openings in the latter regard if general manager Chris Wallace gets the director ofbasketball operations job in Memphis and takes assistant Leo Papile with him.

But, again, Ainge said last night that no move is being made on Blatt.

Goin' to the hole

The Celts are still looking for an assistant coach to fill the spot vacated by Tony Brown. Head coach Doc Rivers wasn't very pleased that news of Brown's departure broke in Orlando last week during the league's predraft camp, as it made Rivers a magnet for numerous job seekers.

While reiterating that he plans to take his time with choosing Brown's replacement, Rivers said, ``We just want someone who's wellrounded and has NBA experience. It's really someone who fits our staff chemistrywise.''