Boston Celtics boss man Danny Ainge shared a quick anecdote in light of the NBA's hiatus. After taking a guess that the NBA Draft won't be held on the scheduled June 25 date, he mentioned how the interviewing process played such a vital part in drafting players, including Rajon Rondo.

Specifically, Ainge needed to meet with Rondo in order to be convinced to draft him:

“Let's use Rajon Rondo as an example. Had I not been able to meet with him and look into his eyes, I don't think I would have drafted him,” said Ainge in a conference call with reporters, according to Keith Smith of Yahoo Sports. “At the same time, we drafted Avery Bradley without any draft workouts. You don't always gets guys in.”

Drafting players can be a crapshoot, but sometimes it's things like interviews or scheduled visits that make all the difference in terms of getting to know the character and work ethic of a player.

Not every draft hopeful has his best day in every workout, hence why teams make it a priority to also meet with the players and see what makes them tick.

Rondo was an undersized point guard at 6-foot-1 and 171 pounds who lacked a jump shot. He averaged an unimpressive 9.6 points, 4.5 rebounds, and 4.2 assists between his two years at Kentucky.

Yet the Celtics took a gamble on him with the 21st pick of the 2006 NBA Draft, arriving just in time for a formative rookie season before welcoming Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen to the equation.

Rondo would go on to post three straight seasons with 11 or more assists per game (2010-13), and he has averaged double-digit assists five times in his NBA career.

Sometimes a few words between a draft hopeful and an executive can make all the difference in the world.