Celtics pick ex-Findlay star Bradley

BOSTON -- Soon after the Boston Celtics' season ended -- on the last day possible -- Doc Rivers finally got a chance to sit down with general manager Danny Ainge and discuss the draft that was just a week away.

"The first name and the first tape he showed me" was Avery Bradley, Rivers said after the Celtics took the former Findlay Prep and Texas guard with the 19th selection in the NBA Draft. "It was a guy he really wanted to show me. And then he said, 'I don't think he's going to be there.' "

Bradley was there when the Eastern Conference champions got around to making their pick Thursday, exactly one week after they lost to the Los Angeles Lakers in Game 7 of the NBA Finals.

"It was a great feeling to know I could be a part of an organization like this and get a chance to learn from the guys on the team," Bradley said in a conference call with reporters. "I feel like the coaching staff there is going to help me get better and better. I can also learn from older guys like (Rajon) Rondo, who can help me become a better point guard."

With their second-round pick, No. 52 overall, the Celtics picked Notre Dame forward Luke Harangody, who averaged 21.8 points and 9.1 rebounds as a senior.

Rivers said the hope is that Bradley, a shooting guard in his only year at Texas, will serve as Rondo's understudy. The Celtics have lacked a dependable backup point guard even as they reached the Finals twice in three years, winning their unprecedented 17th NBA championship in 2008.

"He's really a solid backup," Rivers said. "He could be a starter one day in the league. It's tough to do that when Rondo's in front of you, but he has a huge upside."

The 6-foot-3-inch, 180-pound Bradley averaged 11.6 points in his only season at Texas. As a high school senior with Findlay Prep in Henderson, he was named the national player of the year and the No. 1 prospect in the country by ESPN.

Bradley is known as a strong defender and good outside shooter but a weak free-throw shooter. Rivers' sons played against him in summer leagues and raved about his defense.

"He's an NBA defender right now," Rivers said. "He can play point guard defense against anybody in the league."

Three other players with Nevada ties were drafted. Former Galena High School and UNR forward Luke Babbitt was selected 16th by the Minnesota Timberwolves and then traded to Portland, where he will be united with fellow UNR product Armon Johnson, who was drafted 34th by the Trail Blazers. Former Western High School and New Mexico player Darington Hobson was selected 37th by the Milwaukee Bucks.