I couldn’t have been more excited for the 1997 draft lottery. I was 13, and had spent my formative hoops-watching years watching idly as Bird, Mchale and Parish got old, Reggie Lewis died and Dino Radja shot too many baseline jumpers. That year, thanks to two top picks (one acquired from nearly-as-horrid Dallas), the Celtics had a 36 percent chance at the No. 1 pick, and Tim Duncan.

But we all know this story. We know about 51 games of Chauncey Billups before Pitino tired of him. We try to forget about Ron Mercer (even the Celtics war room looked like the line at the unemployment office). We know the team got better anyway, thanks to the No. 10 pick the next year and the — you guessed it — sixth pick from the year before.

Last night the Celtics once again found itself clutching a wilted four-leaf clover, destined for a six-spot, too low for Embiid or Parker or Wiggins or even Exum. This, Danny Ainge’s 12th draft as the Celtics GM, will be spent be in the land of Randles and Gordons and McDermotts.

The options are endless, with a roster in flux and few legitimate pieces going forward. Like 2007, the upcoming month could determine Boston’s next half-decade. How will Ainge fare? To look forward what do we do? Look back, of course.

If you don’t like reading 3,000 words on 11 Celtics drafts, skip to the bottom for my conclusions.

2003

Marcus Banks (16th), Kendrick Perkins (20th), Brandon Hunter (56th). Technically, Ainge drafted Troy Bell 16th and Dahntay Jones 20th, but he swapped them for Banks (13th) and Perkins (27th) on draft night. For purposes of comparison, we will base this draft on the slots Ainge started with.

Analysis: Ainge did a solid job his first season on the job, but not because of Banks or Hunter. Hunter played 67 games before he was out of the league at age 24. Banks spent a little more than two seasons in Boston, averaging just over 5 ppg before being dealt in an eight-player deal with Minnesota (Banks, Ricky Davis, Justin Reed and a 2nd round pick (turned into Craig Smith) for Wally Szczerbiak, Michael Olowakandi, Dwayne Jones and a 1st rounder (turned into Jonny Flynn)). Banks bounced around the league, was twice traded alongside Shawn Marion and never averaged more than 10 ppg or 3.8 assists in a full season. The steal here was Perkins, who piled up 22 win shares in eight seasons in Boston. Using baseball-reference.com’s research, we know the 20th pick should bring 20.6 career win shares (if you really want the nitty-gritty math on this type of analysis, it’s broken down here), so Perkins more than earned his slot, even before he left town (he’s been worth 27.8 for his career thus far). But we remember how this ended, on a frustrating night in Denver when Ainge dealt Perkins for Jeff Green when the team was desperately looking for another swingman to take some of Pierce’s minutes.

(Side note, I was at that game in Denver, but didn’t realize Perkins had been dealt until I was in my seat and checking my phone. We were sitting right by the Celtics’ tunnel. I have never seen a team look so demoralized. They had only eight guys in uniform and the unforgettable Chris Johnson (the first one) was called up from the D-League and played nearly 17 minutes despite obviously not knowing a single one of the team’s plays.)

Best case: There wasn’t a lot waiting there by the time Ainge got to draw. David West went 18th, Boris Diaw went 21st and Mo Williams went 47th. A few other guys had some decent seasons (Leandro Barbosa at 28, Josh Howard at 30, Steve Blake at 38), but nobody who would have changed Boston’s fortunes much.

Grade: B

2004

Al Jefferson (15th), Delonte West (24), Tony Allen (25), Justin Reed (40)

Analysis: You don’t have to analyze the numbers much to know this was a great draft. When you have three picks, none in the top half of the draft, and come away with an All-Star and two rotation guys, it’s time to tip your cap. This will go down as Ainge’s best draft, and it’s not even close. Despite later having two top-seven picks, Ainge has never picked a better player than Jefferson, who has piled up 59.7 win shares before hitting 30, putting distance between himself and the 26 win shares expected from the No. 15 pick. Picks in the 24-25 range should bring 16-17 win shares and West (24.5) and Allen (29.0) have both easily surpassed that. Reed didn’t do much in parts of four NBA seasons, and is the start of a string of useless second-round picks Ainge has made.

Best case: Josh Smith went 17th, but as Detroit and Charlotte have learned, you’d rather have Big Al. Kevin Martin at 26th would be an upgrade over West or Allen, but only if you’re looking for efficient offense (who isn’t) and lackluster defense. Anderson Verajao kicked off the second round, but the real kicker here is Trevor Ariza, who was selected three spots after Reed.

Grade: A

2005

Gerald Green (18th), Ryan Gomes (50th), Orien Greene (53rd)

Analysis: Celtics fans will never forget the frustration of Green, whose athleticism was unparalleled (who can forget Kenny Smith screaming “HE BLEW OUT THE CANDLE!! HE BLEW OUT THE CANDLE!!” during the Slam Dunk contest?) and his shot looked pretty, but his inability to grasp the nuances of the game undermined him. It wasn’t until this season in Phoenix, when he averaged 15.8 ppg, that he unearthed that promise. Still, he’s only been worth 10.2 win shares in his seven-year career, and more than 60 percent of that has come since October. He has a shot of exceeding the 26 win shares expected of a No. 18 pick, but when six franchises gave up on you by the time you were 27, it’s hard to laud the pick too much. Ainge did well with his next pick, in fact Gomes is the best second-rounder he has ever drafted. Even just counting his two years in green, he earned more wins (7.8) than was expected (3.5). He’s closing in on 20 win shares for his career, and had a stretch of four straight seasons averaging double-figure points. Not too shabby for a guy in a throw-away spot. That’s opposed to Greene, who lasted just 48 more games after his rookie season in Boston and wrapped up his career with negative win shares.

Best case: There were a trio of good picks between 21 and 23 (Nate Robinson, Jarrett Jack and Francisco Garcia), but the best guy still on the board was plucked by Isaiah Thomas (who this kind of analysis loves) when he nabbed David Lee at No. 30. Also, not that anyone was going to pick him at No. 18, but it’s worth noting Monta Ellis was 40th, Ersan Ilyasova was 36th and Andray Blatche was 49th. As strong a selection as Gomes was (and a Providence guy, to boot), Marcin Gortat went 57th.

Grade: B.

2006

Randy Foye (7th), traded along with Raef LaFrentz and Dan Dickau for Sebastian Telfair, Theo Ratliff and Leon Powe (49th). Traded the Cavaliers’ 2007 first rounder (acquired for Jiri Welsch) and cash for Rajon Rondo (21st) and Brian Grant.

Analysis: In his first three drafts, Ainge has been a solid student who excelled a third of the time. This time, he hit a home run, but also struck out. While the selection of Foye was Portland’s choice (Boston essentially picked him for the Blazers), Ainge’s haul for a 40-win spot in the draft was anemic. While Telfair was important in the famous Garnett trade, he never lived up to his promise and Ratliff and Powe were hardly a good get for a spot that had brought Nene, Kirk Hinrich, Luol Deng and Charlie Villaneuva the previous four seasons. But Ainge made up for all that by acquiring Rondo for a pick that turned into Rudy Fernandez.

Best case: The only players picked after Rondo who can come close to his value are Kyle Lowry (24th) and Paul Millsap (47th), so that was a win. But say Ainge kept the seventh pick, and didn’t trade it for a pu pu platter? Well, there’s still not much left. Rudy Gay went eighth, but while he’s a 20 ppg scorer, he commands the ball, isn’t woefully inefficient and every team he leaves seems to get better in his absence. After that it’s a wasteland. JJ Redick at No. 11 is probably the best player who was left that we haven’t mentioned already.

Grade: A-. If Ainge had used the No. 7 pick on Rondo, it would be an unbridled success, but he has to get knocked down a bit if he could have come out of it with Gay instead of Telfair/Ratliff/Powe.

2007

Jeff Green (5th), traded with Delonte West and Wally Szczerbiak for Ray Allen and Glen “Big Baby” Davis (35th). Plus, Gabe Pruitt (32nd).

Analysis: If the Rondo trade was the start of the upswing, this is the deal that turned the franchise around. Without Allen, Garnett doesn’t approve a trade to Boston. But with Allen and Pierce in the fold and a promising point guard in Rondo, he signed off on the deal just a month after this draft, and as they say, the rest was history. Two finals appearances, a championship and four conference championship showings later, Ainge is considered an upper-tier GM. It all started here. It’s quite possible the Celtics would have selected Green fifth if they had kept the pick, considering they were enamored enough to deal for him just three years later. His 23.8 win shares are underwhelming from a slot that should bring 46.6 for a career. It’s possible Green gets there, but his win shares have decreased for four straight seasons and he had the worst true shooting percentage of his career in 2013-14. Meanwhile, Allen put up 43.4 win shares in his five seasons in green, but more importantly gave the franchise a credibility it hadn’t had since 2003, when Pierce and Antoine Walker were shooting the C’s into their second-straight conference semifinals. Pruitt, who scored just 125 points in the NBA, added to Ainge’s legacy of struggling with second rounders.

Best case: If he had held onto the pick and avoided Green, Ainge could have had Joakim Noah (ninth) … and that’s about it. Spencer Hawes (10th), Wilson Chandler (23rd), Aaron Brooks (26th) and Tiago Splitter (28th) are solid players, but none would have been demonstrably better than Green. One of the best players picked after Pruitt was Davis, who Ainge got anyway. Of course every GM wishes they had seen the promise of Marc Gasol (48th), but even Josh McRoberts (37th), Aaron Gray (49th) and Ramon Sessions 56th) would have been better than Pruitt.

Grade: A. No one Ainge could have drafted would have been better than Allen, and it’s not like any of them would have stuck around longer. None of the guys above still play for the team that originally drafted them.

2008

JR Giddens (30th), Semih Erden (60th), traded cash for Bill Walker (47th)

Analysis: It’s tough to be drafting at the end of the first round, but I’m sure even Ainge would like to have this one back. Giddens lasted all of 38 games in the NBA, started just one of them and made just 30 field goals. Meanwhile, Nikola Pekovic (31st), Mario Chalmers (34th), DeAndre Jordan (35th), Omer Asik (36th) and Goran Dragic (45th) went soon after. While Walker had some moments (he averaged nearly 10 ppg in his sophomore season), his knees never held up and he was out of the league by age 24. Erdin never even showed Walker’s glimpses, and was unemployed within two years. All told, Ainge picked three guys who are all out of the league and totaled just 6.4 win shares, while their combined slots should have paid off for 17.6.

Best case: See above. Any of Pekovic (17.7 win shares), Chalmers (25.1), Jordan (30.8), Asik (13.3) and Dragic (25.1) would have been a significant improvement, and the first four of those guys went in the next seven picks after Giddens.

Grade: F. With three picks Ainge managed the equivalent of the 43rd pick. Yuck.

2009

Lester Hudson (58th). This first round pick was sent to Minnesota in the Garnett deal and netted the Timberwolves Wayne Ellington. Of note, the other pick Boston sent the Wolves in the Garnett deal was a return of Minnesota’s own pick, which it had dealt away in the Szczerbiak-Davis deal.

Analysis: Hudson who? Exactly. Hudson was a 25-year-old rookie out of the University of Tennessee at Martin. Where? Just minutes from Kentucky AND Missouri! Exactly. I was actually surprised when I looked it up and found Hudson lasted three seasons in the NBA, and even averaged 12.7 points during a 13-game stretch with Cleveland in 2011-12. But he scored all of 22 points in 16 game in a Celtics uniform.

Best case: Could have been the immortal Chinemelu Elonu (59th) or Robert Dozier (60th). Wouldn’t have changed anything.

Grade: C. You’re not expected to do anything with the 58th pick, and trading a late first rounder in the Garnett deal was a no-brainer. There has never been a productive NBA player picked 58th. In fact, the only one I even recognized when running through the list was Purdue product Robbie Hummel. This is particularly strange since in the last three years alone, Isaiah Thomas and Robert Sacre have been the 60th pick. And if you think Sacre is a bad 60th pick, look at the list of guys at 58 and 59 and get back to me.

2010

Avery Bradley (19th), Luke Harangody (52nd)

Analysis: We’re now getting into the range where guys haven’t been in the league long enough to make final determinations on their legitimacy. Bradley is a fine example. Coming into the league, everyone knew he was a shut-down defensive guard, but could he provide enough offense to keep him on the court, or was he destined to be a Raja Bell or Tony Allen? This year, particularly in the second half of the season, after returning from injury, Bradley proved he’s a legit two-way NBA 2-guard. He shot 44 percent from the field, 40 percent on 3s and averaged just about 15 ppg on the season, ratcheting things up in the second half by pouring in 16.5 per game on 47 percent 3-point shooting after the All-Star break. But since he doesn’t contribute in any other categories — he barely averaged seven combined rebounds, assists and steals per game — he was worth only 1.8 wins, bringing his four-year total to 4.1. That’s still a long way from reaching the 21.5 win shares the average 19th pick contributes in his career, but can he get there? Absolutely. Harangody played 28 forgettable games for the Celtics, 42 more for Cleveland and is currently playing in Russia.

Best case: It takes 21 more picks after Bradley to find a guy the Celtics would reasonably swap out for him, and that’s 40th pick Lance Stephenson. Next best guy? Jordan Crawford? Trevor Booker? Greivis Vasquez? Ainge did pretty well here.

Grade: B+. Bradley could push it to an A with a lengthy career, or push it down to a C if he’s never more than a second-rotation guy. If you’re wondering why the plus, it’s because of the previous paragraph.

2011

MarShon Brooks (25), E’Twaun Moore (55th). Traded Brooks to the Nets for JaJuan Johnson (27th) and a second-rounder in the upcoming 2014 draft.

Analysis: Brooks was another Providence guy, but this time he didn’t suit up for Boston until two years later, when he spent a brief 10 games in green. Back when the Nets were terrible, Brooks was a steal, averaging better than 12 ppg in his rookie season. He came out of the gates particularly strong, averaging 15 ppg in the first two months. But he played for three teams this last season (Celtics, Warriors and Lakers) and appears on his way to the D-League. That’s precisely where Johnson already is after playing just 36 games his rookie year, then being traded for Lee, and not finding his way back to the league since. Basically, nothing from a first rounder, and the second rounder they acquired was shipped out as part of a later deal for Kelly Olynyk. Now Moore, on the other hand, is at least a 20-minute per game player for a terrible team in Orlando, averaging 6.3 per game.

Best case: Norris Cole was 28th, Jimmy Butler was 30th, Kyle Singler was 33rd, Chandler Parsons was 38th and even Moore wasn’t the last rotation guy taken: Kings starting point guard Isaiah Thomas was Mr. Irrelevant at 60th. Ainge could have done better here.

Grade: F. While the Celtics got 108 solid games Boston got out of Lee, it was really a sign-and-trade, so the significance of including Johnson and Moore is close to irrelevant (and it also took Sean Williams, Sasha Pavlovic and a 2nd rounder).

2012

Jared Sullinger (21st), Fab Melo (22nd), Kris Joseph (51st).

Analysis: Here’s a microcosm of the folly of drafting. The 21st pick is a guy the team is considering building around. The next guy drafted, another big man picked by the same GM, going to the same team at the same time, has little going for him so far other than his pretty awesome name. Melo played six games before disappearing from the league. He’s heading the list with Johnson and Gibbens as Ainge’s worst pick, to date. Sullinger, meanwhile, put up a 13 and 8 this year and already has 6.6 win shares (note that’s more than Bradley). He should easily surpass the 19.7 expected of his draft slot. Joseph at least topped Melo, playing in 10 games (career totals: nine points, seven rebounds on 2-of-14 shooting) before finding himself out of the NBA.

Best case: Miles Plumlee (26th), Perry Jones (28th), Draymond Green (35th), Mike Scott (43rd) and Robert Sacre (60th) would all have been better than either Melo or Joseph, but none are better than Sullinger, although Plumlee and Green make it interesting.

Grade: B. Nailed the 21st pick, threw the 22nd pick directly in the filing cabinet for things from corporate.

2013

Kelly Olynyk (16th), Colton Iverson (53rd). Similar to 2003, Ainge actually drafted Lucas Nogueira 16th, then dealt him for Olynyk, the 13th pick, and tossed in a pair of 2014 second rounders. The Celtics bought the Iverson pick from the Pacers.

Analysis: In the early going, this one is looking good. Olynyk averaged about 9 and 5 in 20 minutes a game as a rookie, meaning in 36 minutes he’d go for about 15 and 9. In eight April games he averaged 16.6 and 7.3 a game, and his true shooting percentage rose consistently as the season went on. His 2.9 win shares is just above the 2.35 average per season historically from 13th picks. Iverson never played an NBA game.

Best case: Just do an Internet search for “How bad was 2013 draft” and you’ll quickly realize the Celtics couldn’t have done much better than Olynyk. That said, Gorgui Deng went 21st and has looked good, and Tony Snell at 20th and Tim Hardaway at 24th both have shots at better careers than Olynyk. Then again, Olynyk has already looked better than most of the guys picked ahead of him.

Grade: B. It’s hard to tell on this one, just one year in. It’s hard to imagine this grade being much lower considering the dearth of talent last year, and it could move higher if Olynyk proves a valuable commodity, even possibly a future starter.

Overall: Three A’s, five B’s, a C, a D and an F.

Because his teams have made the playoffs in every year except two, Ainge hasn’t had many high picks (just two in the top 14 in 11 years), so he hasn’t had a chance at many franchise players. Drafting in the mid-to-late first round he’s been solid: Olynyk 13th, Jefferson 15th, Green 18th, Bradley 19th, Rondo 21st, Perkins 20th, Sullinger 21st, West 24th, Allen 25th is a good run. After that, it’s dicey. Ainge has made 14 picks at No. 30 or later, and he’s found three guys still in the NBA (Gomes, Glen Davis and Moore) and no stars. While the second round is always thin, compare that to the Spurs, who in a span of 14 second rounders from 1999-2009 found Manu Ginobili, Luis Scola, Ian Mahinmi, Goran Dragic and DeJuan Blair (they also took Tony Parker, John Salmons, Leandro Barbosa, Beno Udrih, Tiago Splitter and George Hill between the 26th and 28th picks in that span, which only further proves what we all know). The lesson, as it always seems to be, is try and do what the Spurs do.