Four first-round picks next June is starting to look like a realistic possibility for Celtics

The Celtics will own at least two picks heading into the 2019 NBA Draft. The Kings/Sixers (top-1 protected) pick is looking like it could end up a little lower in the draft order than anticipated, but there’s plenty of time for the likes of De’Aaron Fox and Willie Cauley-Stein to fall back to earth in the wake of Sacramento’s surprising 8-6 start.

But that might not be the extent of the first-round bounty next year.

The Celtics’ own a top-14 protected pick from the Clippers and a top-8 protected selection from the Grizzlies for 2019. And while the odds were stacked against both of these choices conveying at the start of the season thanks to a loaded Western Conference, the chances continue to improve that Danny Ainge will be weighing his options with both selections from LA and Memphis come next spring.

Let’s take a closer look at where those teams stand and just exactly what those picks coming through in 2019 could mean for Boston in both the short and long term.

LA Clippers

Celtics fans should be rooting hard for Doc Rivers’ squad all year long because of how this pick protection is set up. The choice is lottery protected for the next two seasons before turning into a 2022 second-round pick if it doesn’t eventually convey in 2020. Essentially, the Celtics need the Clippers to do well if they want to ever see a meaningful pick emerge from this transaction.

The C’s were probably pretty confident they would get one at the initial time of the trade in the summer of 2016. Blake Griffin and Chris Paul were still Clippers back then and didn’t appear to be on the outs with the franchise. Less than two years later, those franchise building blocks were out of the picture (along with DeAndre Jordan), a situation that would have seemingly left the C’s uncertain of whether the Clippers could remain a playoff team in a loaded West over the foreseeable future.

However, Doc Rivers has guided this group to a 9-5 start to the season with the seventh-best point differential in the league with a fun mix of scorers (Tobias Harris, Danilo Gallinari, Lou Williams) and defenders (Avery Bradley, Patrick Beverley). With one of the deepest roster in the league 1-13, the chemistry is there with this group as they have produced a top-five offense despite facing the toughest schedule in the NBA to date.

With signature wins over Golden State, Milwaukee and Houston (twice) already checked off (ok, maybe Houston isn’t a signature win anymore), this looks like a team that’s well positioned to emerge from the crowded Western Conference and solidify itself as a playoff team on the bottom half of the bracket if they can stay healthy. That type of finish would deliver the C’s a pick in the low 20s, a handsome payoff for dealing away the No. 31 and No. 35 overall picks in 2016, two selections that turned into very little for the Grizzlies after they dealt Boston the pick originally owned by LA.

Memphis Grizzlies

While the Clippers early success is all good news for Boston’s draft outlook, the same can not be said for an 8-5 open to the year for the Memphis Grizzlies. The healthy returns of Mike Conley and Marc Gasol to the lineup have the Grizz overachieving early, largely on the strength of one of the top five defenses in the NBA.

A couple of offseason acquisitions in Garrett Temple and rookie Jaren Jackson Jr. have been instrumental in the Grizzlies re-establish their defensive identity early, while overcoming the injuries of JaMychal Green (broken jaw), Dillon Brooks (knee) and Chandler Parsons (seemingly a sore knee for past three years).

The Grizzlies don’t have the depth of the Clippers roster, which makes it a bit more unlikely for them to sustain this start and outlast a deep pool of capable playoff teams in the Western Conference. However, Memphis does not need to get into the postseason for their pick to convey to Boston in 2019. Instead, a 35-win performance (very much within reach) could be enough to lift them out of the bottom-nine spots in the league.

While the Western Conference is light on ‘tanking’ squads for now outside of Phoenix, the same can’t be said for the East where Chicago, New York, Atlanta, and Cleveland have secured early positioning in the race to the bottom for Zion Williamson.

Will Memphis be one of the next three-worst teams in the league outside of those five? It’s hard to envision the Kings and Mavericks ultimately finishing in front of them, but you could make the case for them in the next spot, given the recent improved play of the Wolves and Rockets. 12 teams appeared poised to compete for a playoff spot in the West and the odds remain that the Grizzlies will be one of them, which would open the door for a fourth first-round pick for Boston in 2019.

Given the reduced protections for the selection in 2020 (top-6) and 2021 (unprotected), Memphis will be fighting hard to have it convey it this year so they have the ability to tank in future seasons without consequences as their aging core declines.

If all four picks do materialize in 2019, consolidation would be the name of the game for Ainge, since a contending squad has no room for four rookies on what will already be a crowded roster. The best hope for Boston right now is that Memphis falls back to earth (along with Sacramento), leaving the possibility open of Boston having additional draft assets left in place for the future instead of a looming logjam in June.