Celtics rookie Jordan Walsh arrived in Boston Sunday night, and when he toured the Auerbach Center in Brighton Monday, the magnitude of this wonderful opportunity finally hit him.
He saw the team’s sparking facilities. He received his first Celtics jersey and quickly decided where he would hang it at his home. He saw the championship banners and could not resist the first chance to take a photo in front of them.
He’d like to one day have a role in winning the next one, a task that has thus far proved elusive for the current iteration of the Celtics.
“I just hope I can be a part of it,” Walsh said.
The Celtics acquired the 25th pick in last Thursday’s NBA draft in the three-team trade that sent guard Marcus Smart to the Grizzlies and brought center Kristaps Porzingis to Boston. President of basketball operations Brad Stevens spent most of draft night trading down, acquiring one future second-round pick after another.
But he kept one for this year, the 38th overall choice, and he used it on Walsh, the athletic and gritty 6-foot-7-inch freshman from Arkansas.
The second round can be frenetic, with just two minutes between each pick. And the Celtics’ trade activity probably made the night even more chaotic, so Walsh found out he was with them at the same time as the rest of the world, while watching at home with his family.
Stevens and coach Joe Mazzulla called him soon after that, and then the night could truly turn into a celebration.
“I mean, it’s amazing to be, like, their only pick in the draft,” Walsh said. “And for them to trust that and trust that with me, that means a lot and it says a lot, because I’m going to an organization that loves winning, and I love winning. So it means the world to me.”
Walsh is eager to get started. He said he has already exchanged text messages with veteran big man Al Horford, stressing that he is ready to work, and hopeful that the 37-year-old forward can be a mentor. He is also excited to learn from stars Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown, who could be teammates with Walsh for years.
“To be able to have those people who have that experience who can teach me and give me hints of wisdom so I can better my game, that means the world,” Walsh said. “And I have a whole summer to work with them to prepare for the season, so that’s the most important thing. I’m taking all the advice I can to be able to hopefully be able to achieve what they’ve achieved.”
Tatum and Brown are elite scorers, of course, and Walsh generally thrives more in the trenches. He offered a description of his style that sounded very much like a description of Smart, the team’s heartbeat for the last nine years whose departure created an obvious void.
“I heard that Boston likes people who dive on the floor more than people who dunk the ball,” Walsh said. “That guy is going to be me. I’ll still do a little dunking, but that guy will be me. I’m just a guy who wants to do whatever it takes to win.”
Walsh said he takes pride in his defense, adding that he can guard everyone from point guards to power forwards “relentlessly.”
“I’m going to do whatever it takes to get that stop that’s going to give us the advantage against the other team,” he said. “That’s the foundation for my game.”
His skills as a scorer remain raw. He made just 27.8 percent of his 3-pointers and 71.2 percent of his free throws at Arkansas. But he and his former coaches believe his runway for growth in that area is long.
“I want to be able to open the floor for guys like Tatum and Brown,” he said. “Just being able to make that shot when they need it and they know that if they pass it to me and I’m open, I’m going to shoot it and it’s going to go in. For them to have that confidence and trust in me, that’s what I want to earn.”
Adam Himmelsbach can be reached at adam.himmelsbach@globe.com. Follow him @adamhimmelsbach.