Celtics' Danny Ainge says he's relieved Hornets rebuffed his offer for No. 9 pick

Even the brightest NBA executives make mistakes. The lucky ones manage to get away with them.

That's what Boston Celtics president and general manager Danny Ainge did, by his own admission, during Thursday night's NBA Draft. Ainge, whose team owned the No. 16 and 28 picks in the first round, was so set on moving into the top 10, he reportedly offered the Charlotte Hornets a package of six picks - including four first-rounders - to move into the Hornets' No. 9 spot.

Michael Jordan and the Hornets, equally steadfast, were locked in on their man. They turned the Celtics down and drafted Frank Kaminsky ninth, while the Celtics kept their picks and drafted Terry Rozier at No. 16 and R.J. Hunter at No. 28.

Ainge may have been disappointed at the time at his inability to get a deal done - he was said to covet Justise Winslow, who unexpectedly tumbled to No. 10 - but in the light of day, things looked different. He woke up feeling himself exceedingly fortunate to have been rebuffed.

"In hindsight, the next day, it’s probably a good thing," Ainge said during an appearance on Boston radio station 98.5, according to the Charlotte Observer's Rick Bonnell. "We were probably going to spend too much to do what we needed to do.

"This morning I woke up and I’m refreshed that we got guys that we like, but also that we didn’t overspend for some of the players that were in the draft; actually just basically one player we were chasing."

Meanwhile, this places a good deal of undue additional pressure on Kaminsky, who now faces the tall task of not only playing up to his top-10 billing, but also justifying the Hornets' decision to pass up six extra picks (not to mention the more highly-touted Winslow) to nab him.

No sweat, big fella.