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CHRISTOPHER L. GASPER

Hopefully, the rest of Celtics’ offseason is more eventful than draft night

Danny Ainge on draft
A quick look at the Celtics’ top draft choice Jayson Tatum: ■ The 6-foot-8-inch, 204-pound forward is from St. Louis, and was ranked the No. 3 recruit in the 2016 high school class by both ESPN and Rivals. He was also the Gatorade National Player of

It’s easier to have faith in Danny the Dealer than it is in Danny the Drafter. Celtics fans got the latter and a bit of a letdown on Thursday night. Celtics president of basketball operations Danny Ainge stayed the course and stayed with the No. 3 pick, selecting Duke forward Jayson Tatum.

Trust the Patience. That’s the message Ainge and the Celtics provided fans. The only major trade the Celtics ended up making was the one they announced Monday, when they surrendered the No. 1 pick to the Philadelphia 76ers for the third selection and a first-rounder in 2018 or 2019. Hopefully, the rest of the Celtics’ offseason is more eventful and gratifying than draft night was.

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At least Celtics managing partner and CEO Wyc Grousbeck didn’t have to worry about being booed vociferously by the Parishioners of the Parquet like he was last year when the Celtics drafted Jaylen Brown. In 2016, the Celtics opened up TD Garden’s game seats to fans. The court was dark this year. There was an intimate gathering for season ticket-holders at the Legends restaurant. Grousbeck was basically in witness protection, sequestered from the media. It felt like the Celtics were bracing us for disappointment.

I wanted Ainge to cash in some of his seven (now six) first-rounders. I wanted him to get off his assets and turn some of them into move-the-needle NBA talent. I wanted Kristaps Porzingis. No dice, no deal. At 7:54 p.m., NBA commissioner Adam Silver announced that the Celtics had selected Tatum with the No. 3 pick. Tatum seems like a perfectly fine prospect. He apprenticed with college basketball doyen Mike Krzyzewski. He has scoring pedigree. But Ainge’s record shows he is more likely to strike gold with a trade than the inscrutable science of player selection.

Ainge stole Ray Allen and bamboozled old friend Kevin McHale into trading him Kevin Garnett for Al Jefferson and pocket of lint to beget Banner No. 17. He fleeced the Nets to acquire three first-round picks and the right to swap picks this year, leading to the first overall pick. He dealt an overrated and declining Rajon Rondo to Dallas, identifying Jae Crowder as a piece he wanted in return. He swindled the Phoenix Suns in a three-team deal that included the Detroit Pistons to land Isaiah Thomas, only surrendering Marcus Thornton, Tayshaun Prince, and a 2016 late-first-round pick. It was an Auerbachian heist.

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Ainge doesn’t have a flawless trade record — the Kendrick Perkins-for-Jeff Green deal was a flop — but his trade record is commendable. His drafting record is closer to pedestrian. Rondo remains the closest draftee to a genuine star since Ainge took over in 2003. Jefferson became a borderline All-Star.

During Ainge’s tenure, the Celtics’ best draft picks have mostly qualified as serviceable players, not superlative ones. Marcus Smart, taken sixth overall in 2014, is a heady, hard-nosed player, but he’s never going to be a franchise fulcrum. We’re all lighting a candle for Brown, last year’s No. 3 pick.

It’s fair to point out that the Celtics haven’t normally drafted in the position in the first round where those players are found.

But in 14 previous Ainge drafts, the Celtics haven’t had a home run pick like Stephen Curry (taken seventh in 2009), Paul George (taken 10th in 2010), Klay Thompson (selected 11th in 2011), Kawhi Leonard (15th in 2011), or Giannis Antetokounmpo, who was selected with the 15th pick in 2013, two spots after the Celtics traded up to take Kelly Olynyk. They haven’t identified a star player hiding in plain sight like Jimmy Butler (taken 30th overall in 2011). The Green haven’t uncovered a deep-in-the-draft diamond like DeAndre Jordan or Draymond Green, both second-rounders.

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First-round picks are coveted assets in theory, but when the reality becomes James Young, R.J. Hunter, J.R. Giddens, Fab Melo, or Marcus Banks, collecting and clinging to them doesn’t seem as savvy.

The rumor mill was churning all day leading up to the draft and the Celtics were at the epicenter of it with their pursuit of Porzingis.

Knicks president Phil Jackson is the King Lear of NBA decision-makers. He appears to be losing his mind, and his ability to stay awake for NBA Draft workouts, according to an ESPN report. The Knicks were asking for a bounty for Porzingis. The New York Daily News reported the Knicks wanted the third pick, the 2018 Brooklyn first-round pick, Brown, and Crowder. That cost was prohibitive for the Celtics. According to ESPN, they countered with the No. 3 pick, an additional lottery pick in this year’s draft they pledged to acquire, and a player.

Porzingis is a burgeoning star. He is 21 and averaged 18.1 points, 7.2 rebounds, and 2 blocks per game last season while shooting 35.7 percent from 3-point range. At 7 feet 3 inches tall, he is a super-sized Dirk Nowitzki. He’s the type of talent the Celtics pray to land if they hold on to their surfeit of first-round picks.

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You can forget about Butler, who has been linked to the Celtics in trade rumors ad nauseam for two seasons. Former Celtics assistant coach Tom Thibodeau, who coached Butler with the Bulls, reunited with him in Minnesota. Thibodeau acquired Butler and the 16th pick in the first round for Zach LaVine, Kris Dunn, and the No. 7 pick. That doesn’t seem out of Boston’s price range.

The Celtics’ trade options appear to have dwindled to renting George for a season before he rendezvouses with the Lakers.

The reality is that draft picks depreciate once they become players. A draft pick is an empty vessel a team can fill with endless hopes and possibilities. A player has tangible limits and liability. Reviewing past drafts is like going through a graveyard of upside and wingspan. Most of the players in this draft won’t amount to much in the NBA. That’s simply the NBA law of averages.

The Celtics were a 53-win team last season. They were the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference. They were Eastern Conference finalists, which if they were the Indianapolis Colts would be a cause for celebration. The Celtics are on an upward trajectory, but they still have to crane their necks to try to glimpse the NBA summit and the rarefied air of Cleveland and Golden State.

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There is no existing path for them to ascend from where they are to the league’s apex. They have to forge one with more talent.

Instead of wishing upon a star in the draft how about using your passel of picks to acquire one?

Full list of NBA Draft picks


Christopher L. Gasper is a Globe columnist. He can be reached at cgasper@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter @cgasper.