The Boston Celtics were one of the two trade deadline heavy hitters who pursued Indiana Pacers swingman Paul George and they did so with an ace in their pocket in the form of a potential No. 1 overall pick, which they had acquired through the Brooklyn Nets.
The Nets had the worst record in the league by far, but with less than two months left in the season, the value of said pick wasn't a sure-shot 25 percent chance, but maybe even less than that to get the No. 1 overall selection.
Having won the NBA Draft Lottery with said chance, Celtics team president Danny Ainge is ready to explore every bit of value of that pick, whether it is drafting the best player or trading the pick away in return for a missing piece of the puzzle.
“At the trade deadline we were trading away the possibility of the No. 1 pick, a 25 percent chance of the No. 1 pick,” Ainge said on a conference call Tuesday night, according to PBT's Kurt Helin. “But that's a 75 percent chance of not having that pick, and that's how teams look at it, which is probably why we didn't get a deal done. Now we have the No. 1 pick and we will explore the value of it.”
This is the first time that Boston has acquired the No. 1 pick in the modern era, and only the second time in team history. The last time was in 1950, when the team drafted Chuck Share out of Bowling Green.
This draft class could boast as many as 15 freshmen drafted in the first round, led by Washington standout Markelle Fultz as the predicted No. 1 overall pick. In one of the most talent-filled draft classes in recent memory, the Celtics would be wise to shop their options in order to maximize their chances at building something special.
The team could dangle this pick to the Pacers for PG13, the Utah Jazz for Gordon Hayward, and the Chicago Bulls for Jimmy Butler. Either of the three would give the team a primary or secondary scorer to pair alongside All-Star point guard Isaiah Thomas, as all of them are proven 20-point-plus scorers in the league.
Follow Us
Subscribe