v

The player drafted No. 27 Thursday night was not among the dozens who worked out for the Celtics the past month.

BOSTON – They spent a month working out numerous players in Waltham and traveling the country to watch dozens of others in action.

One player the Celtics didn’t get an up-close look at during the process was Texas A&M big man Robert Williams.

But on Thursday night, Williams was the one the Celtics used the 27th pick to select in the NBA Draft.

Celtics coach Brad Stevens said that president of basketball operations Danny Ainge and others in the front office had watched Williams throughout the season and had plenty to go on.

“Nobody works harder than Danny,’’ said Stevens after Williams was drafted. “Nobody works harder than our front office in going to watch players play live all year long. The workouts to them are just a formality in a lot of ways.

“The idea of coming to Boston is great and all, but they’ve already watched him play live a bunch. They’ve spent time with a lot of their coaches and people around the program.

“A lot of times, that is to our benefit as coaches because we don’t get the chance to see those guys live during the season. But I don’t think you need to watch much to see how athletic he is. It’s pretty evident on film and obviously we think that translates.’’

The Celtics had only one draft pick after dealing their second-rounder away.

This marks just the second time in team history that the Celtics have drafted a player from Texas A&M with Wayne Lawrence being picked in the fifth round in 1960.

Looking ahead: While the Celtics had just one first-round pick this year, they could be in possession of four selections in the opening round in 2019.

In addition to their own pick, the Celtics may also have the first-round choices of the Sacramento Kings, the Memphis Grizzlies and the Los Angeles Clippers a year from now.

The Celtics will receive the Kings’ pick (unless it is No. 1 overall) as a result of the trade with the Philadelphia 76ers in which lottery picks were swapped. The Kings improved their team on Thursday night, selecting Duke’s Marvin Bagley III at No. 2.

The Grizzlies’ pick goes to the Celtics if it doesn’t fall in the top eight while the Clippers’ choice is lottery-protected.

Starting next year, the odds for the draft lottery will change with the teams owning the three worst records all having a 14 percent chance of getting the top pick.

Around the rim: The Cavaliers used the lottery pick they acquired from the Celtics in the Kyrie Irving-Isaiah Thomas trade last August to select Alabama guard Collin Sexton at No. 8. The Celtics sent the final pick they had acquired from the Brooklyn Nets to the Cavaliers along with Thomas, Jae Crowder and Ante Zizic for Irving. … Stevens, appearing at a community event earlier in the day, said of Irving, “He’s in great spirits. He’s been great for us. We’re excited about what he brings to the table. To us, he’s been nothing but awesome.’’ … The team will begin practicing for the Las Vegas Summer League a week from Sunday in Waltham and are scheduled to have one workout at the new Auerbach Center before heading west.