For the second straight year, the Celtics will be pulling double duty on a Tuesday in May. Not only will they be playing in the Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Finals in Boston, but team executives will be watching the NBA Draft Lottery closely in New York to see if the Celtics can luck out and sneak into the top-3 of the draft for the third straight year.
The Celtics maneuvered for an extra shot at the lottery last year when they traded the No. 1 overall pick to the Sixers for the No. 3 pick (Jayson Tatum) and the rights to the Lakers 2018 first round pick, if it fell into the top-5 (top-1 protected).
Boston’s odds remain long for such a scenario after the Los Angeles Lakers finished with the 10th worst record in the league this season. Since only three teams are actually selected during the lottery process for the top three spots (the rest are ordered by worst remaining record), the Celtics can only end up with the Lakers pick if it lands at No. 2 or No. 3. The Sixers put protections on the No. 1 slot at the time of the trade with Boston last summer.
The Celtics will have a 1.3 percent chance of landing the No. 2 pick and a 1.6 percent chance of landing the No. 3 pick on Tuesday. Otherwise, that pick will be headed to the Sixers, where it will fall at No. 1 (1 percent chance) or somewhere in the No. 10-13 slots (96 percent chance).
Here’s a full breakdown of the lottery odds for each team heading into Tuesday night,
- It does not look like Celtics top assistant Jay Larranaga will be landing a head gig this summer after he was passed over in Charlotte (James Borrego) and Atlanta (Lloyd Pierce) this week, despite being a finalist for both positions.
- As I anticipated in last week’s notes, Dwane Casey was let go by the Raptors this week after dropping his 10th straight postseason game to the Cavs. For a team without many options in terms of restructuring the roster, a fresh voice was the solution that made the most sense. I wonder if a proven name like Stan Van Gundy or Mike Budenholtzer will be pursued, or if the Raptors will try searching outside the NBA ranks for some new blood.
- Van Gundy was let go by the Pistons this week after two straight playoff-less seasons in the East. The move is the second straight year that a coach that also wore the general manager hat was shown the door by an NBA team (Doc Rivers was stripped of his president duties last year). After Van Gundy left the Pistons with ugly payroll issues for the next few years, that Pistons gig looks to be destined for mediocrity for the foreseeable future.
- Paul George underwent a left knee scope this week, which should help explain some of his postseason struggles with the Thunder. He’ll recover in 6-8 weeks, just in time for him to hit the free agent market with a clean bill of health.
- More signs of the tight cap climate this summer as a pair of role players in Kosta Koufos and Wesley Johnson exercised their player options for next season with the Kings and Clippers respectively.