Ainge: Smart had 'horrible' workout with Celtics last year
The pre-draft evaluation process is an arduous one for every single team in the NBA. To get a grasp on which player should be picked, there are countless interviews and thousands of hours of film are consumed.
But the individual and team workouts that happen leading up to the big day have an impact, too. How important are they? For the Boston Celtics, it's a tough question to answer.
Here's ESPN Boston's Chris Forsberg with more:
"The Celtics have spirited internal debates about how much to value a single workout, but what's clear is that these team workouts are often a final glance at the players the Celtics hope will serve as part of their foundation moving forward...The Boston Celtics knew that Marcus Smart might be their guy when he worked out for the team two weeks before last year's draft, which is why members of the team's front office cringed a bit when he labored through what Celtics assistant general manager Austin Ainge bluntly described Wednesday as a 'horrible' workout."
The Celtics didn't cross Smart's name off the list after the terrible workout, and instead gave him another shot. He performed a bit better in the second chance, and the rest is history.
So it just goes to show that when evaluating potential draft picks, it's always good to keep in mind that anyone can have a bad day.
(h/t: ESPN Boston)
Photo Credit: Mark L. Baer/USA TODAY Sports
