Could the Celtics have held off on using the Clips pick last year?

[No Nickname]

Just curious if they could have refrained from using it and instead used it either this year (obviously it would be a lower pick with the Clips doing so well in 2013) or in 2014 or 2015?

Impatience by GMs just kills me.  I could be mistaken, but didn't they use the Nuggets pick back in 2001 on Kedrick Brown when they could have just waited and taken the Nuggets pick in 2002 (#5 that year and it may have been top-5 protected), or wait until 2003 and have the Nuggets #3 pick (Carmelo Anthony)?

I just wonder, if Chris Paul leaves the Clips this summer, would they even be a playoff team next year?  Probably, but maybe not.

And remind me, why didn't the Celts have a first round pick in 1999?

[Roy H.]

No.  There wasn't a rollover provision.

As for our 1999 first rounder, Pitino traded it to Cleveland for Vitali Potapenko. 

[Fafnir]

No.  There wasn't a rollover provision.

I don't know why Bill Simmons keeps insisting that there was.

Never heard it reported anywhere independent of him.

[CelticG1]

Pretty unlucky that the clips landed Chris Paul especially after deal with lakers "fell through"

Could have been looking at a lot nicer pick and would probably make that jeff green trade look even better

[No Nickname]

No.  There wasn't a rollover provision.

I don't know why Bill Simmons keeps insisting that there was.

Never heard it reported anywhere independent of him.

Maybe Simmons is mixing up the fact that there was some Top-10 protection on that Clippers pick that could have made it roll over to 2013, but since it was in the 20s the Cs had to take it.  Also, it was "the lower of the Clips and Minnesota's pick" or something like that so both teams would have had to have a top-10 pick for it to roll over.  But I guess that option was not available to the C's.  The got it as soon as the protection was off.