Technically speaking, tonight will be Danny Ainge's first official draft as the Man in Charge.

But that hardly means this is the first time he's handicapped the field, and determined who should go where. Did you think he is any different from the rest of us? He's been sharing his opinions on the draft since the day he slipped on the green and white Celtics jersey.

''I tried to get the Celtics to draft A.C. Green,'' Ainge revealed Tuesday afternoon. ''I knew A.C. He was from my hometown. I'm from Oregon, and I had seen him play a lot.''

Green, a hard-working, albeit unspectacular forward from Oregon State, was taken by the Lakers with the 23d pick of the 1985 draft. The Celtics, picking 20th, took the flashy guard, Sam Vincent, from Michigan State.

Green went on to play 16 seasons as the league's iron man, appearing in a record 1,192 consecutive games. He won three championships and established himself as one of the NBA's most respected players. Vincent flamed out in two seasons with Boston, and spent seven modest years in the league bouncing around among four teams.