If I recall, the Celtics lost the tiebreaker to Utah.
Not sure how high Ainge was on Exum but may have dodged a bullet by losing that tiebreaker.
Yeah, I was heartbroken when we lost that tie-breaker (we seem to lose a lot of them). There was still an outside hope that Embiid would slip and that extra spot was super-important. I also had assumed that Exum would be gone to Orlando and Gordon would be on the board at #5. It was all about Embiid or Gordon.
During the draft, I remember being shocked by Orlando taking Gordon and all of a sudden the possibility of Exum (a certain top 4 pick) was within our grasp. I didn't know anything about Exum, and had already been getting excited about the idea of Smart in green for weeks, but I agree with others there was a certain mystique about him.
Guys like Fultz, Exum, Darko, and Bender should prove that you need more intel before using a high selection on one of them. Unfortunately, you then have someone like Giannis who throws that idea out the window.