Blakely: Dealing No. 3 pick quickest path to get Celtics to next level

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BOSTON – For a brief moment Tuesday night, Danny Ainge dared to dream the way Celtics Nation does all the time.
 
There were three teams left in the draft lottery, one of whom would wind up with the No. 1 overall pick and the Celtics made the cut.
 
Ainge acknowledged after the draft that, in that moment, for the first time, he gave serious thought to potentially landing the top overall pick.
 
But truth be told, making the final three cut was a victory of sorts in itself for Boston.
 
The history of Celtics disappointment on lottery night is a long, forgettable one for most Celtics fans.
 
Losing out on Tim Duncan in 1997.
 
Failing to secure one of the top two picks in 2007 despite having the second-best odds of any non-playoff team to do so, only to fall to the No. 5 spot.
 
More telling to me was this balance that Ainge and company have been for the most part, able to strike: building quality assets for the future while improving at the same time.
 
Look at the final three teams that were left standing last night.
 
You had the Philadelphia 76ers, who have been in Tank-a-palooza mode for years. They have lots of high draft picks, but no semblance of a team on the rise.
 
And then there’s the Los Angeles Lakers, who have no idea how the AK – After Kobe – era is going to play out. They have financial flexibility to upgrade their roster quickly. But as we saw last summer, the best free agents are looking for the best situations in which they can get paid, play big minutes and play a season that extends beyond April or early May.
 
Then you have the Celtics, who were the only team in the trio to have been in the playoffs this season, have a roster full of financially manageable contracts, a rock-solid front office, good ownership and a coach who is considered one of the better up-and-coming coaches in the league.
 
So, there’s a lot to like about the Celtics’ situation, which can only be enhanced by having the third overall pick.
 
But here’s the issue.
 
Those other lottery teams would deem a trip to the postseason next season as a success.
 
Not here in Boston.
 
We’ve seen this team’s growth under Brad Stevens in three seasons, going from a 25-win team his first season to a team that finished in a four-way tie for the third-best record in the East this past season.
 
But fans want more.
 
The front office, ownership and Stevens all want more as well.
 
Which is why having a high draft pick is so vital to this Celtics team, at this particular point in their development.
 
Free agency has not been good to the Celtics historically. And while they have more flexibility to spend this summer than they’ve ever had, there’s no guarantee they will go out and add the difference-making, high-impact player they want.
 
A more likely upgrade for Boston will come through trade and if it involves hauling in the kind of upper-echelon talent that they are seeking, you can bank on their No. 3 pick somehow being involved in the transaction.
 
While it’s not as enticing as the No. 1 or 2 overall pick, Ainge can expect to get a few inquiries from teams asking as to what it would take to get that pick off his hands.
 
Of course, Ainge is going to ask for a lot and there will be reports that he’s seeking a “king’s ransom.”
 
Well, that’s what he’s supposed to do, especially when it involves a top 3 draft pick.
 
The blueprint for getting the Celtics back in the title hunt is pretty clear.
 
Boston has to re-invent another Big Three.
 
Getting Isaiah Thomas was a nice start.
 
Now, comes the challenge of landing that second big piece which presumably will position Boston to go and get the final piece in the summer of 2017 or potentially sooner.
 
Not getting one of the top two picks makes the rebuilding process for Boston a little bit more time-consuming, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing.
 
The Celtics aren’t looking to build for a title run.
 
They’re trying to develop a foundation that will keep them in the chase for many years to come, and slowly but surely they are on pace to do just that.
 
Finding a home for the No. 3 pick and getting an All-Star talent in return like Jimmy Butler?
 
Yeah. That’ll help … a lot.
 
And that can lead to dreams of Celtics Nation – and Danny Ainge for that matter – coming to fruition.
 
 

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