We have a bit of a problem here.....

[Celtic_Pride777]

The Nets lottery odds currently stands at a 12% shot for the Number One pick and a 38% shot for the  Top 3. And that's the optimistic viewpoint. Look at it from the other direction and its an 88% chance the Nets pick isn't Number One and an 62% chance it isn't in the Top 3.

The more wins the Nets accumulate, the more I feel we should've traded the picks at the Deadline. 

Is there any Silver Lining to all this? Who are we gonna target in the draft now?

[Csfan1984]

They tried to make a deal happen like in this past draft. Just not a lot of teams willing to gamble on the pick either. I think you just have to say if it's meant to be then so be it no worries.

[Rondo9]

You know I'm happy the Celtics have a top 5 pick while being 3rd in the east. What rebuilding team can say the same thing?

[LarBrd33]

The Nets lottery odds currently stands at a 12% shot for the Number One pick and a 38% shot for the  Top 3. And that's the optimistic viewpoint. Look at it from the other direction and its an 88% chance the Nets pick isn't Number One and an 62% chance it isn't in the Top 3.

The more wins the Nets accumulate, the more I feel we should've traded the picks at the Deadline. 

Is there any Silver Lining to all this? Who are we gonna target in the draft now?

You want a silver lining?...  The Nets have played .500 ball over the past 12 games.  If they keep up the .500 pace over the remaining 20 games, they'll only finish with 28 wins... which still projects that pick 6th.  Sure, it's not a top 5 pick and this draft might only be 2 players deep, but it's fair to acknowledge that had the Nets stayed healthy, there's a real chance they would have found a grove earlier, won a bit more games and maybe even positioned themselves to make the playoffs for the 4th year straight.    I've never counted on that pick amounting to anything substantial.  According to Bill Simmons, the 2016 Brooklyn pick was one of the 6 picks we offered the Nets when we tried to move up from #16 to #9.   The fact that we're now looking at a pick that is essentially a lock for the top 6 is pretty awesome regardless of how weak this draft may be.   It's free money as far as I'm concerned.   WE traded KG and PIerce about 2 seasons late... they were both completely fried by the time we landed all these assets for them.  The fact that we somehow got a young all-star named Isiah Thomas from that trade is impressive alone... The fact that we're looking at a likely top 6 pick in addition to Thomas?... Good god, that's incredible.  And the assets aren't even done coming in after that... we got a swap in 2017 and their 2018 pick as well.   Ainge is my hero. 

That's your silver lining.   Anyone who was counting on Ben Simmons will be disappointed, but it was foolish to ever expect that.   We still have a decent shot of landing him in the lotto.  And you never know with the draft... March Madness hasn't happened. Maybe there's a gem in there.  Regardless of who we draft, you can fully expect him to be the most untouchable player on the team according to many people on this forum.   This season has been nothing short of incredible.    Between having a shot at the top of the lotto, being a top 3 team in the East, and having max cap space for two potential free agents in an offseason in which Kevin Durant will be available and Boston has as reasonable a shot as any team at snagging him, this is one of the most exciting times to be a Celtic fan in years.   

Be thankful for what you have.  This is amazing.

[SCeltic34]

The Nets lottery odds currently stands at a 12% shot for the Number One pick and a 38% shot for the  Top 3. And that's the optimistic viewpoint. Look at it from the other direction and its an 88% chance the Nets pick isn't Number One and an 62% chance it isn't in the Top 3.

The more wins the Nets accumulate, the more I feel we should've traded the picks at the Deadline. 

Is there any Silver Lining to all this? Who are we gonna target in the draft now?

You want a silver lining?...  The Nets have played .500 ball over the past 12 games.  If they keep up the .500 pace over the remaining 20 games, they'll only finish with 28 wins... which still projects that pick 6th.  Sure, it's not a top 5 pick and this draft might only be 2 players deep, but it's fair to acknowledge that had the Nets stayed healthy, there's a real chance they would have found a grove earlier, won a bit more games and maybe even positioned themselves to make the playoffs for the 4th year straight.    I've never counted on that pick amounting to anything substantial.  According to Bill Simmons, the 2016 Brooklyn pick was one of the 6 picks we offered the Nets when we tried to move up from #16 to #9.   The fact that we're now looking at a pick that is essentially a lock for the top 6 is pretty awesome regardless of how weak this draft may be.   It's free money as far as I'm concerned.   WE traded KG and PIerce about 2 seasons late... they were both completely fried by the time we landed all these assets for them.  The fact that we somehow got a young all-star named Isiah Thomas from that trade is impressive alone... The fact that we're looking at a likely top 6 pick in addition to Thomas?... Good god, that's incredible.  And the assets aren't even done coming in after that... we got a swap in 2017 and their 2018 pick as well.   Ainge is my hero. 

That's your silver lining.   Anyone who was counting on Ben Simmons will be disappointed, but it was foolish to ever expect that.   We still have a decent shot of landing him in the lotto.   This season has been nothing short of incredible.    Between having a shot at the top of the lotto, being a top 3 team in the East, and having max cap space for two potential free agents in an offseason in which Kevin Durant will be available and Boston has a reason shot as any team at snagging him... this is one of the most exciting times to be a Celtic fans in years.   

Be thankful for what you have.  This is amazing.

Wait a minute.  Just 30 minutes ago in the Brooklyn thread you said this:

Brook Lopez probably kept us from Ben Simmons this year.  Dude is legit.

But now it was unrealistic to ever expect Simmons with the Brooklyn pick?  I'm convinced you just post for the sake of getting a rise out of people.  Which is fine I guess.  It's just an internet forum.

And actually, I agree with you.  It was never reasonable to expect a top 2 selection with another teams pick, and I'm incredibly grateful for what looks like an almost-guaranteed top-6 pick.

[Ogaju]

The Nets lottery odds currently stands at a 12% shot for the Number One pick and a 38% shot for the  Top 3. And that's the optimistic viewpoint. Look at it from the other direction and its an 88% chance the Nets pick isn't Number One and an 62% chance it isn't in the Top 3.

The more wins the Nets accumulate, the more I feel we should've traded the picks at the Deadline. 

Is there any Silver Lining to all this? Who are we gonna target in the draft now?

You want a silver lining?...  The Nets have played .500 ball over the past 12 games.  If they keep up the .500 pace over the remaining 20 games, they'll only finish with 28 wins... which still projects that pick 6th.  Sure, it's not a top 5 pick and this draft might only be 2 players deep, but it's fair to acknowledge that had the Nets stayed healthy, there's a real chance they would have found a grove earlier, won a bit more games and maybe even positioned themselves to make the playoffs for the 4th year straight.    I've never counted on that pick amounting to anything substantial.  According to Bill Simmons, the 2016 Brooklyn pick was one of the 6 picks we offered the Nets when we tried to move up from #16 to #9.   The fact that we're now looking at a pick that is essentially a lock for the top 6 is pretty awesome regardless of how weak this draft may be.   It's free money as far as I'm concerned.   WE traded KG and PIerce about 2 seasons late... they were both completely fried by the time we landed all these assets for them.  The fact that we somehow got a young all-star named Isiah Thomas from that trade is impressive alone... The fact that we're looking at a likely top 6 pick in addition to Thomas?... Good god, that's incredible.  And the assets aren't even done coming in after that... we got a swap in 2017 and their 2018 pick as well.   Ainge is my hero. 

That's your silver lining.   Anyone who was counting on Ben Simmons will be disappointed, but it was foolish to ever expect that.   We still have a decent shot of landing him in the lotto.  And you never know with the draft... March Madness hasn't happened. Maybe there's a gem in there.  Regardless of who we draft, you can fully expect him to be the most untouchable player on the team according to many people on this forum.   This season has been nothing short of incredible.    Between having a shot at the top of the lotto, being a top 3 team in the East, and having max cap space for two potential free agents in an offseason in which Kevin Durant will be available and Boston has as reasonable a shot as any team at snagging him, this is one of the most exciting times to be a Celtic fan in years.   

Be thankful for what you have.  This is amazing.

This.

[ScoobyDoo]

Minnesota is the real problem to me. What a joke that team is. Two consecutive #1 picks, one "apparently" a transcendent talent a la Tim Duncan, another good youngster in Lavine and sprinkled with some half decent, if half baked veterans, and they can't win a game if their life depended on it.

They suck.

I would "really" like our pick not to float down past the number 4 spot. Brook Lopez > #ironman > naturally this year...

When it'all said and done I'm just hoping we have some good luck in this draft, for once.

[ScoobyDoo]

Imagine Minnesota getting yet another top three pick. Can we get just one, once?

Please.

Thank you.

[colincb]

What do you mean we? You're the one who has the problem. I trust Danny did the best he could.

[LarBrd33]

The Nets lottery odds currently stands at a 12% shot for the Number One pick and a 38% shot for the  Top 3. And that's the optimistic viewpoint. Look at it from the other direction and its an 88% chance the Nets pick isn't Number One and an 62% chance it isn't in the Top 3.

The more wins the Nets accumulate, the more I feel we should've traded the picks at the Deadline. 

Is there any Silver Lining to all this? Who are we gonna target in the draft now?

You want a silver lining?...  The Nets have played .500 ball over the past 12 games.  If they keep up the .500 pace over the remaining 20 games, they'll only finish with 28 wins... which still projects that pick 6th.  Sure, it's not a top 5 pick and this draft might only be 2 players deep, but it's fair to acknowledge that had the Nets stayed healthy, there's a real chance they would have found a grove earlier, won a bit more games and maybe even positioned themselves to make the playoffs for the 4th year straight.    I've never counted on that pick amounting to anything substantial.  According to Bill Simmons, the 2016 Brooklyn pick was one of the 6 picks we offered the Nets when we tried to move up from #16 to #9.   The fact that we're now looking at a pick that is essentially a lock for the top 6 is pretty awesome regardless of how weak this draft may be.   It's free money as far as I'm concerned.   WE traded KG and PIerce about 2 seasons late... they were both completely fried by the time we landed all these assets for them.  The fact that we somehow got a young all-star named Isiah Thomas from that trade is impressive alone... The fact that we're looking at a likely top 6 pick in addition to Thomas?... Good god, that's incredible.  And the assets aren't even done coming in after that... we got a swap in 2017 and their 2018 pick as well.   Ainge is my hero. 

That's your silver lining.   Anyone who was counting on Ben Simmons will be disappointed, but it was foolish to ever expect that.   We still have a decent shot of landing him in the lotto.   This season has been nothing short of incredible.    Between having a shot at the top of the lotto, being a top 3 team in the East, and having max cap space for two potential free agents in an offseason in which Kevin Durant will be available and Boston has a reason shot as any team at snagging him... this is one of the most exciting times to be a Celtic fans in years.   

Be thankful for what you have.  This is amazing.

Wait a minute.  Just 30 minutes ago in the Brooklyn thread you said this:

Brook Lopez probably kept us from Ben Simmons this year.  Dude is legit.

But now it was unrealistic to ever expect Simmons with the Brooklyn pick?  I'm convinced you just post for the sake of getting a rise out of people.  Which is fine I guess.  It's just an internet forum.

And actually, I agree with you.  It was never reasonable to expect a top 2 selection with another teams pick, and I'm incredibly grateful for what looks like an almost-guaranteed top-6 pick.

Yeah dude it was always ridiculous to assume the pick was landing 1st.   Brooklyn was never that bad on paper.  They made the playoffs 3 years straight.  Most projections had them at the bottom primarily because they anticipated them getting injured.   It was like everyone thought it was a foregone conclusion that they'd lose RHJ, Thad, Brook, Johnson or Jack and plummet to the bottom of the standings.  And yes, at the end of the day they did indeed lose 3 of those guys, but it's strange to factor in "inevitable injuries" into projections.  Even if the team had finished with the worst record, which was always ridiculous considering the 76ers and Lakers actively attempting to lose games, the odds still would have been stacked against them landing the #1 pick.   Expecting Ben Simmons was always foolish. 

That said, Brook Lopez surprisingly was one of the key players to actually stay healthy... and he alone probably won them half of their games this season.   I was being a little tongue-in-cheek when I said he cost us Ben SImmons, but man... dude has managed to keep this team playing .500 recently in spite of having a pretty decimated roster.  He's got game.

No use in pouting over it, though.  This season could have gone way worse.   I came into this season expecting that pick to end up 12-17 as long as they stayed healthy.   I'm pretty pleased with top 6.

[Kane3387]

This pick isn't guaranteed top 6. They can easily win three of their next five (minny and Philly twice). Than they're right on the heels of Denver and New Orleans. They play NO twice who could be tanking. It's not out of the realm of possibility this pick is 8-10. Especially if the teams in front of them decide to tank, especially in head to head matchups, while Brooklyn stubbornly continues to compete for wins.

[pearljammer10]

You know I'm happy the Celtics have a top 5 pick while being 3rd in the east. What rebuilding team can say the same thing?

This exactly.

[Kane3387]

You know I'm happy the Celtics have a top 5 pick while being 3rd in the east. What rebuilding team can say the same thing?

This exactly.

I hope it's stays top five

[KeepRondo]

You know I'm happy the Celtics have a top 5 pick while being 3rd in the east. What rebuilding team can say the same thing?

This exactly.

Ok but this draft is not close to the last two drafts where you could get a great player with the 6th pick or after.

The 6th pick with this year's draft will be the equivalent of the 13th or so of last years.

[TheFlex]

There is no problem. We are the 3rd seed with the 4th pick.