The Draft Pick Watch is back on, folks.
After having just one pick in the 2018 NBA Draft (which they used on Robert Williams) the Boston Celtics once again could have a wealth of selections in the 2019 NBA Draft.
How many are we talking? Try four picks in the first round -- two of which could be lottery selections. That's a lot of assets if Danny Ainge were to pursue a trade for a certain New Orleans Pelicans big man.
First, here's a look at the five picks Boston has the rights to in 2019:
-- Sacramento Kings' first-round pick (top-1 protected) or Philadelphia 76ers' first-round pick; whichever is higher
-- Memphis Grizzlies' first-round pick (top-8 protected)
-- Los Angeles Clippers' first-round pick (top-14 protected)
Boston Celtics
-- Celtics' own first-round pick
-- Celtics' own second-round pick
Boston is exactly halfway through its season (41 games) after Thursday night's loss to the Miami Heat. So, if the season ended today, where would each of those picks fall in the 2019 NBA Draft based on the current NBA standings?
FIRST ROUND
No. 9 overall (via Memphis)
No. 13 overall (via Sacramento)
No. 21 overall (via L.A. Clippers)
No. 23 overall (own)
SECOND ROUND
No. 53 overall (own)
Not too shabby, huh?
One quick note: The Grizzlies, Kings and Celtics all are tied with another team in the overall standings; in each case, we're assuming they win that tiebreaker and earn the higher slot.
Memphis and Sacramento both have played poorly of late, with the Grizzlies losing 11 of their last 14 games and the Kings dropping five of their last seven. The worse they play, the better Boston's picks get.
The Celtics don't want Memphis to play any worse, though; if the Grizzlies move up to No. 8 or higher, Boston's pick would move to Memphis' first-rounder in 2020 that's top-6 protected.
C's fans should be rooting for the Kings to tank. The only way Boston loses Sacramento's pick is if it wins the lottery, in which case the Celtics would get Philly's first-rounder.
So, while Thursday was a pretty ugly night on the court for Boston, the future on Causeway Street still is quite bright.
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