All around him, the people were asking for more.
“We love you Doc,” one called out from the Celtics’ draft night party. “We want you to stay,” another said. Then the room burst into applause for the coach of the Celtics.
Yes, Doc Rivers is still the coach of the Boston Celtics, at least for now. That may change next week and idle press-room speculation is that it probably will, but on Thursday night, Rivers was on hand for draft night as the Celtics selected Texas guard Avery Bradley and Notre Dame forward Luke Harangody. 
Rivers has been in town for the last few days looking at players with Danny Ainge and Ainge told him he would like coaching Bradley. Wishful thinking, perhaps, because Rivers wouldn’t commit one way or another.
“It’s a tough one and it’s a serious one for me,” Rivers said. “Either way. Let’s just wait and we’ll figure it out soon.”
The timeframe for Rivers to make a decision remains next week and he reiterated that, if he coaches next season, it will be in Boston. That’s not really the issue, however. He understands that he may never be in a better situation, given his relationship with his boss.
“I don’t think there’s a better organization,” Rivers said. “You can’t get this anywhere. Danny and I have a relationship – he’s my boss, but he’s one of my best friends. When you look around the league, you don’t see that. You don’t see the two being able to fight and argue and then go play golf.”
Rivers was asked if he was being asked to decide between two families. 
“Maybe we can figure out a way of making them merge,” Rivers said. “You just never know.”
Wouldn’t that be an interesting arrangement? The Celtics desperately want Rivers to return and maybe they can make some kind of a compromise that allows him the freedom to watch his kids play while continuing to coach the team. The players would have to be on board with such an arrangement, but it might be the only way to make it work.
Rivers’ decision is the first, and perhaps the most important, domino that awaits the Celtics this summer. Paul Pierce, who has a player option, and Ray Allen, who will be a free agent on July 1, have both talked to their coach.
Not surprisingly they want him back, and it may be driving their reluctance to commit themselves.
“It’s not tough for me to talk to Paul or Ray,” Rivers said. “They want to bring up my future but I just talk about their future. To me, both of them should always be Celtics for the rest of their careers and I’m very honest with them about that. I think Paul wants to do that, but I made it very clear to both of them. You guys are Celtics. You should be Celtics for life.”
The Celtics began filling in pieces of their 2010-11 puzzle with the selection of Bradley and Harangody, but the importance of those pieces remains to be seen.
Ainge targeted Bradley from the start and was happy he fell to the Celtic in the first round. Bradley’s defense was described by Rivers as “NBA-ready,” and he is said to have a strong mid-range game, but he’s also just 19 years old and he has a lot to learn about playing point guard.
“It doesn’t really affect [what the Celtics might do in] free agency,” Ainge said. “He’s a kid that’s 19 and we’re not counting on him to play a major role on this team.”
Ainge likened Harangody to Ryan Gomes and Leon Powe, successful college players who were marked down in the draft process for one reason or another. He’ll get a chance to make the team and then they’ll go from there.
The rest of the picture is incomplete at best and hazy at worst.
Pierce has until June 30 to decide whether to opt-out of his contract and Ainge has said that re-signing Allen will be a top priority. There are no guarantees, of course, and if either leaves it would drastically hamper the team’s ability to remain competitive next season.
Beyond that, Rasheed Wallace is almost certain to retire. While there have been no public pronouncements from the man himself it seems like it’s a done deal.
“I don’t think he’s going to change his mind,” Rivers said. “Rasheed had told me three days before the last game that he was pretty sure this was it. The night before he called and said, ‘Hey, I’m going to give it everything I’ve got because this is my last time playing.’ He was pretty definite. But again, it was very emotional so you never know. I think it is over.”
Even with that, there are contractual issues that need to be resolved before the Celtics know what effect Wallace’s retirement will have on the bottom line and their cap issues. Ainge said he hasn’t discussed any of that with Wallace yet.
Kendrick Perkins will also have to wait to have right knee surgery because of swelling and the Celtics don’t have a timeframe yet for either his surgery or his rehabilitation.
“We clearly need to get another big,” Rivers said. “With Perk’s injury, not knowing when he is going to be healthy, at what point next year, we have to get another big.”
Barring a trade, that will have to come in free agency and the list of free-agent big men is filled with the likes of Jermaine O’Neal, Brad Miller and Ben Wallace. Assuming they will be over the cap, which seems like a decent assumption, the Celtics will have the mid-level exception and the veteran’s minimum to use on free agents.
But that’s for July 1. By then the Celtics should know if they have a coach and they will definitely know what lies ahead for Pierce.
Ainge has set a course for bringing the team back for another run, but as the Celtics added pieces for their future on draft night, their present remains cloudy. Resolution will come shortly and Ainge can only hope that it resembles the not-so-distant past.