Bobby Knight was trying to sound as ornery as he's supposed to be, as ornery as he sometimes is. ''The first I knew about the Celtics drafting Landon,'' he said, ''was when my wife, Nancy, came over to tell me at my basketball camp. I thought it was a beautiful thing the Celtics did. And at the risk of ruining Red Auerbach's reputation for being crusty, he's really one of the class people in sports.''

At the risk of ruining Bobby Knight's reputation, Red Auerbach had another version. ''It wasn't my idea,'' Red Auerbach said from the Celtic offices. ''It came up in a conversation.'' About a month ago, according to Red Auerbach, he and Bill Fitch, the Celtic coach, were sitting with Bobby Knight at an N.B.A. instructional camp in Chicago for about 50 draft-eligible players.

''It's a shame Landon Turner couldn't be here,'' Bobby Knight said. ''He had a chance to be the best player in the country last season.'' ''He would've been the best senior last season for sure,'' Red Auerbach said. ''And he would've been one of the first five players taken in this draft, depending on what the teams needed.''

''Wouldn't it be nice,'' Bobby Knight said, ''if some team were to draft him anyway.'' Red Auerbach glanced at Bill Fitch; they each knew that, unlike the National Football League, a late-round N.B.A. choice seldom makes the team. In last Tuesday's draft, five teams didn't even bother to select a player in the last round.

''We'll draft him,'' Red Auerbach said. ''Consider it done,'' Bill Fitch said. And so Landon Turner was selected by the Celtics as the last choice in the 10th and last round. But not everybody accepted it for what it was - a thoughtful gesture. Some traditionalists wondered if Red Auerbach wasn't making fun of the draft's late rounds. And some cynics wondered if maybe Red Auerbach secretly knew that Landon Turner somehow was about to step out of that wheelchair and suddenly emerge as the latest Celtic folk hero.