Draft picks have always been a big part of the Celtics' roadmap to long-term contention and keeping tabs on them is a complicated endeavor given the number of protections in play for the 2019 NBA Draft.
With that in mind, I'm happy to bring back a regular feature here at BostonSportsJournal.com with Draft Watch, based on some positive feedback and interest from subscribers. We'll be taking a close look at the lottery race every few weeks (every week as the end of the season approaches) to break down where the Kings, Clippers and Grizzlies picks stands in the current lottery race and draft order. It's easy to look at the standings, so I'll be going deeper than that, looking at how other teams are trending and other variables (i.e. injuries, schedules, etc.) that may be impacting the race.
As a reminder, here are the picks the Celtics own heading into the 2018 NBA Draft:
- Best of Kings/Sixers pick (top-1 protected)
- Grizzlies pick (top-8 protected)
- Clippers pick (top-14 protected)
- Own pick