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WALTHAM, Mass. – Just when you thought the Boston Celtics couldn’t experience any greater fortune this season, they hit the lottery Tuesday night by securing the No. 1 overall pick in the 2017 NBA Draft.
The Celtics entered the Draft Lottery with the greatest odds – a 25 percent chance –of earning the top selection in the Draft. The best-case scenario played out exactly as hoped, as the ping-pong balls fell Boston’s way for the first time in franchise history.
Now, the thinking process will begin for the Celtics’ front office as it prepares for the Draft. Moments after the results were revealed, C’s President of Basketball Operations Danny Ainge said that his staff has a tough decision come late June. By no means have they made up their mind on who they will select No. 1.
“I think it’s a little bit deeper,” Ainge said of the 2017 Draft Class. “I think the top of the draft isn’t as obvious as some, and it’s more obvious than others – the lines of separation through this draft. But I think that it’s going to be a tough choice for us where we sit at No. 1.”
Some of the top projected players in the draft class include Lonzo Ball (UCLA), Markelle Fultz (Washington), Josh Jackson (Kansas) and Jayson Tatum (Duke). Each of those players are coming off of their freshman NCAA season, and Ainge says he has seen each of them play five to seven times in person.
Ainge admitted that he was tempted to trade the pick away in February at the trade deadline. However, by waiting until after the Lottery, there is now more clarity with draft positioning, so now the pick is more valuable should the team decide to trade it.
“Sometimes you need to be patient,” Ainge reflected. “It’s hard to be patient. I like action. But we have a good group of guys around us; my whole staff and the ownership, we sit and we calmly try to figure out what the best path is to take.”
Regardless of if the Celtics want to use the pick or trade it, they are in incredible position to succeed over the next several seasons.
Just four years into their rebuild, the C’s have already risen to be among the top tier of teams in the NBA. They are currently one of four squads remaining in the Playoffs, and are just four wins away from a berth in the NBA Finals.
On top of that, Boston is the youngest No. 1 seed in the last 40 years and is also the first conference finalist to pick first overall since 1982, when the Lakers selected James Worthy.
“I think we’ve had a lot of good fortune and we have a terrific coach who’s been a part of that process,” said Ainge. “We have a lot of good players. It’s been fun watching the guys develop.
"And the organization is a great organization," he added. "Our owners are fantastic. They give us all the support, security, and really built a steady organization.”
Boston’s basketball operations staff will look to strengthen the organization even more in late June by using their top draft pick, which they acquired in a trade with Brooklyn during the summer of 2013. They also own the 37th pick (from Minnesota), the 53rd pick (from Cleveland) and the 56th pick (from the LA Clippers) in the Draft.
In the meantime, the Celtics have an Eastern Conference title on their minds, as they prepare to take on the Cleveland Cavaliers Wednesday night in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals.