Celtics: Belles of the ball

Photo by: The Associated Press CHICAGO — Danny Ainge might be one of the most popular people at the NBA’s draft combine.

And he’s not even here.

Though the Celtics president of basketball operations was checking into flight possibilities as late as yesterday morning, he chose to remain home to deal with his flu. So he worked his phone and watched the proceedings on television, entrusting the in-person discussions to assistant general manager Mike Zarren and director of player personnel (and son) Austin Ainge.

And what all are finding is that this could be an extremely eventful offseason for the Celtics as they head into the marketplace with a pocketful of picks and players.

It was hard for a…