Potential Outcomes of Boston Celtics First Pick
With the conclusion of the NBA Draft’s lottery, it is official: the Boston Celtics have the number one pick in the NBA draft. They have a lot of potential options with what to do with the pick. Here are some potential outcomes of what they might decide to do with the pick.
How they got the pick:
In 2013, following the Nets first season after relocating to Brooklyn, the team wanted to make themselves noticed as a threat in the Eastern Conference. How did they plan on making that ‘splash’? A trade with the Boston Celtics. The trade was:
Brooklyn Receives: Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce, Jason Terry, and D.J. White
Boston Receives: Gerald Wallace, Kris Humphries, MarShon Brooks, Kris Joseph, Keith Bogans, three first round picks (2014, 2016, 2018), and the right to swap first round picks in 2017.
At first glance, it seems like it may be an even deal with two Hall-of-Famers going to Brooklyn, but if you look closer, you’ll notice Garnett was 37, and Pierce was 36. Boston clearly won the trade, and continue to benefit from the lopsided deal. It’s up for debate to be the worst trade in the history of the NBA.
Option 1: Draft a Rookie
With a loaded draft class, this would not be a bad idea. The projected number one pick, Markelle Fultz, a freshman guard from the University of Washington, would be a great addition to the Celtics roster. He averaged 23.2 points, 5.7 rebounds, and 5.9 assists per game in his one year stint in Washington. The six foot four guard is expected to be the next best thing.
Another option from the draft would be Lonzo Ball, a freshman guard out of UCLA. The six foot six guard shows a lot of potential, averaging 14.6 points, 6 rebounds, and 7.6 assists per game in college. The negative side of drafting Ball would be his loudmouth father, who has recently received more media attention then Lonzo himself. If his father continues, he will ruin his son’s career.
With drafting a rookie comes a lot of risk. Some picks have been amazing, and turned out to be NBA All-Stars, while others have been complete busts who don’t even last a whole season. A prime example of this would be Anthony Bennett. In 2013, the Cleveland Cavaliers drafted Bennett with the number one pick. In 151 games in the NBA, he averages 4.4 points per game, and has been dubbed one of the worst picks in NBA history.
Another downside of drafting a rookie from this year’s draft is that the Celtics already have a lot of depth at the guard position. With Isaiah Thomas, Avery Bradley, Marcus Smart, and Terry Rozier, there is just simply no reason to add another guard.
Option 2: Trade
As it was mentioned earlier, Markelle Fultz is projected to be the next best guard in the league. With that said, a lot of teams want him, which means teams will give up a lot for him. The Celtics attempted a lot of trades before the trade deadline, but now that it is guaranteed to be the first pick, teams may change their minds.
The ideal trade scenario for Boston would be to make a deal with the Chicago Bulls. At the trade deadline, they tried to make moves to bring super star shooting guard Jimmy Butler to Boston. With the Bulls having no hope of going deep in the playoffs anytime soon, it is time to start thinking about rebuilding, and the Celtics can help them with that. The Celtics could send the first overall pick, and potentially another pick or player, for Jimmy Butler, leaving both cities happy.
With an acquisition of the super star shooting guard, the Celtics could be unstoppable, and finally end LeBron and Cleveland’s reign in the Eastern Conference. With a stacked free agency list this summer, the Celtics have even more options to add to the roster. Players like Gordon Hayward, Paul George, and so many more are listed. The Celtics could really make a splash this summer, bigger than the splash the Nets wanted to make, and become unstoppable.
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