After the Philadelphia 76ers took Markelle Fultz first overall and the Los Angeles Lakers went with Lonzo Ball with the second pick, Josh Jackson from the University of Kansas was expected by many to hear his name called by the Boston Celtics at No. 3 in the 2017 NBA Draft.But, Boston decided to take forward Jayson Tatum from Duke University instead, keeping Jackson on the board, where he was selected by the Phoenix Suns with the next pick.While the Celtics seem to be happy with their selection and his potential, details have emerged regarding their interaction with Jackson that will undoubtedly raise some eyebrows.According to Celtics president of basketball operations and general manager Danny Ainge, he, along with head coach Brad Stevens and assistant coach Mike Zarren, were mid-flight to watch Jackson work out in Sacramento just days before the draft when they got a call from the player’s representatives, canceling the meeting.Apparently no one in the Celtics organization spoke with Jackson as to why he cancelled, and a very bland explanation was given.

According to Ainge, it reminded him of a similar interaction that he had with a player in last year’s draft.

"Agents and players have all sorts of motivations to get to certain places, as we've seen in the past," Ainge told ESPN. "Remember last year, Kris Dunn didn't want to come here; we didn't hold it against him. We felt like we were just taking the player that we wanted [in Jaylen Brown last year]. And I think the same thing this time. I don't think we were trying to penalize Josh too much, but we didn't get to see him or talk to him face-to-face."

While Ainge didn’t overtly say that the cancellation forced him to take Tatum instead of Jackson, he admitted that it made him pretty upset.

"No. No. no. Well, there were thoughts, yeah, I was mad," he said. "We flew cross-country. Are you kidding me? I had to get up at 4 o'clock and fly back home.”

“So there was something that he didn’t want to play for the Celtics,” Ainge noted. “In spite of that, we watched Josh for two years and we’re fans. He’s a terrific kid and a good player. So we tried not to overreact to those kinds of things and make a big deal of it.”

When Jackson was taken with the next pick, he was asked whether or not his canceled workout may have played a role in the Celtics looking elsewhere.

“Maybe a little bit,” he said, “but you know, I’m here today, I’m happy, and you know I’m glad to be a Phoenix Suns now”.

In Phoenix, Jackson will likely start immediately and will receive an opportunity to log heavy minutes, which will give him a higher chance to not only receive accolades quicker if he excels, but also to become a max-type player when he can make a boatload of money after his rookie contract ends.

If he was taken by the Celtics, he would have likely had to fight for minutes behind incumbent starter Jae Crowder as well as last year’s high first-round pick Jaylen Brown. Who knows if he would ever have been able to crack the starting lineup for the Eastern Conference power?

Ainge previously publicly stated that the player they would have taken first overall is the same player they were going to take at No. 3. While Tatum was the pick, flying out to see Jackson just days before the draft might have been an indication that the team was looking at him very seriously.

But, as Ainge explained, it seemed like he simply didn’t want to lace them up in Boston.