“We never got to a point where teams wanted to move for what we were offering,” Ainge said. “I’m not sure how close we were. We weren’t going to sell the farm to move up in the draft.

“I liked Jared longer than his years at Ohio State. He was a dominant high school player. What I like about him is he’s complete, he can pass, he can think, he can rebound, he can shoot. And, one thing you didn’t see him do in college that I believe he can do, he can make shots, he can shoot from the perimeter. I mean, you see him do that a little bit on film, but he makes free throws and I really like his stroke. So, hopefully he can improve that part of his game because that’s an important part of our offense.

“Length is an issue. He has good width. There was a lot of these same kind of issues with Glen Davis, when he came in — you know, they just find a way, guys that are smart and have a good feel, they just make an adjustment.

“A team that is trying to win, it’s tough to count too much on three rookies coming in. So, maybe one will be ready to go, maybe two of them will be able to play a certain role. But we’ll fill in with veterans from here on out.

“I’m very optimistic for these three guys. I think they have a bright up-side. And all of them are workers, they put in the time, and want to improve and we’ll see if they can make the adjustments.”

Frank Dell’Apa can be reached at f_dellapa@globe.com