Recruiting players to come to Boston has never been an easy task for Danny Ainge and the Boston Celtics.
But having a head coach like Doc Rivers certainly helps.
It did this summer, with a number of the C's top signings coming aboard in large part because of Rivers.
And like any good recruiter, Rivers landed just the right type of players his team needed: shooting guards.
With starter Avery Bradley likely to miss the start of training camp (and possibly some early regular season games) after surgery on both shoulders along with Ray Allen's departure to Miami, the C's were in desperate need of a potential fill-in starter at shooting guard as well as someone who could provide depth at the position coming off the bench.
In comes Jason Terry, a former Sixth Man of the Year award winner, and Courtney Lee who is a career double-digit scorer despite not being featured on any of the three teams for which he has played in his four NBA seasons.
Both players had their own assortment of reasons for choosing the Celtics, but Rivers' presence was key for both in choosing Boston over other suitors.
Rivers was the first to reach out to Terry during free agency, making it clear to the former Mavericks guard that Boston viewed him as a top priority.
"Just excited about being a part of the Celtics organization," Terry said. "The franchise, the heritage, the tradition, just by putting that jersey on, what KG, Paul Pierce and (Rajon) Rondo have done in the present; just being part of that, and continue to carry that on. My competitive nature, my championship fire and desire to win again, is what is driving me."
When Dallas didn't show nearly as much enthusiasm or interest in Terry, that made his decision a no-brainer.
He was Boston-bound, ready to play for Rivers.
It was no secret that the C's really had a longing for former Memphis guard O.J. Mayo, a player for whom the Celtics nearly traded Ray Allen last season.
But with the prospects of landing Mayo shrinking (he ultimately signed with Dallas), the C's search began to expand and included Lee.
While much was made of a Saturday night dinner earlier this month in which Rivers and Lee dined at an Orlando-area restaurant, the extent of their relationship goes well beyond that evening.
"Me and Doc, we've had a relationship ever since I've been in the NBA," said Lee, a four-year veteran. "I'm friends with both of his kids, Austin and Jeremiah. We work out together, we always see each other. Me and Doc always speak."
Those casual conversations laid the groundwork for the Celtics having a shot at landing Lee, even when he could have signed elsewhere (including Minnesota) for similar or more money.
When it became clear that Lee wanted to join the Celtics, it was up to Ainge, Boston's president of basketball operations, to make it happen.
With limited resources, Ainge engineered a three-team deal that included Lee coming to Boston with a four-year, 21.3 million contract via sign-and-trade from Houston.
And while Ainge and the Celtics have been given much of the credit for what has been an impressive offseason haul, two of the team's key additions -- Terry and Lee -- are on board in large part because of Rivers' ability as a recruiter.
"I know some like to call Doc a player's coach, but that's not what he really is," said a front office official in the Western Conference. "He has that gift of connecting with people, without really necessarily trying to. That's why he can make the transition from coaching to TV look so easy; because the way he is doesn't change from one to the next. It's that way with players. They respect who he is, recognize what he's done and like who he is as a person."