The prospect of the Celtics receiving the Lakers pick in the 2018 NBA Draft is not dead officially, but it’s certainly on life support. A motivated group of seven tanking teams (plus a bad Brooklyn team) have separated themselves from the lottery pack over the last few weeks. The Lakers weakened their roster at the trade deadline by trading away Jordan Clarkson and Larry Nance Jr. but they still have some talent and no incentive to lose. Thus, it was no surprise to see them reel off three straight wins after the All-Star break, all against tanking squads (Sacramento, Atlanta, Dallas).
There are still 22 games left in their regular season but those wins ended any doubts about the Lakers’ chances of finishing in the bottom five of the NBA standings this year. It’s not happening with the Lakers up 7.5 games on the fifth-worst team (Memphis) in the league.
- The Celtics can’t receive No.1 pick (it’s protected by Philly)
- The Celtics can’t receive the No. 4 or No. 5 pick without Lakers finishing in bottom five of NBA (NBA lottery only selects three teams so you can't jump up into No. 4 or No. 5 draft position without finishing there in standings)