Chris Cenac Jr. was disappointed when he slipped in the draft, but his college coach, Kelvin Sampson, assured him that he was going into the best possible situation when the Celtics selected him at No. 27, Adam Himmelsbach of The Boston Globe writes in a subscriber-only piece. Cenac was expecting to be taken between 19 and 24, as Toronto, Philadelphia and New York, three teams that he worked out for, entered the night holding picks in that range.

“I said, ‘Chris, I’m glad those teams didn’t take you,’” Sampson told Himmelsbach. “Then when Boston took him, I said, ‘They believe in you, Chris. You went to the right team.’ (President of basketball operations) Brad Stevens is one of the best basketball people in the world, and I’ve been so impressed with (coach) Joe Mazzulla.”

Sampson is a believer in the “culture” in Boston, which he said has helped plenty of role players maximize their talents. He added that Cenac fits into the organization’s tradition of having big men who can space the floor.

“I don’t know that (Payton) Pritchard would be a great player everywhere, but he made it in Boston, and I don’t think it was a coincidence that it was in Boston,” Sampson said. “Jayson Tatum is going to be good everywhere, but some of those other guys might not be. I think Chris can develop there.”

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In a radio interview this week on WEEI (Twitter link), Celtics owner Bill Chisholm discussed the status of TD Garden, which opened in 1995 and is the seventh-oldest arena in the league, relays Khari Thompson of The Boston Globe (subscription required). The Celtics lease the building from Delaware North, which owns the NHL’s Bruins, and while Chisholm said he doesn’t currently see the need for a new facility, he didn’t rule it out as a future possibility. “I think we’ve got a really good partner right now on that front and we’ve got a really good location,” Chisholm said. “So making sure that we’re all aligned on that objective, which is creating the best fan and player experience possible and make sure we don’t lose focus on what really matters, which is putting up banners.”
Veteran point guard Mike Conley shared his excitement about coming to Boston in a “Behind the Banners” documentary series released by the team (YouTube link), relays Souichi Terada of MassLive (subscription required). Conley revealed that he had other options in free agency, but he wanted to join the Celtics. “Too excited,” he said. “This is a legendary organization. I’ve been a fan of the game for a long time. The Celtics have been at the forefront of that. Just excited to be here.”
In an interview with Bobby Manning of CLNS Media (YouTube link), Pritchard said he wasn’t surprised by last month’s trade that sent Jaylen Brown to Philadelphia. “It’s a part of the business. So, nothing’s actually really that shocking to me anymore,” Pritchard said. “You’re just used to seeing big things, and I think changes happen all the time. It always sucks to see a brother and a teammate that you played with for a long time go, but you move on, and you get ready to go to war against him.”