For the third straight year, it’s possible the Celtics will be pulling double duty on a Tuesday night in May. In nine days, we will know whether the Celtics will have managed to climb out of a 2-1 hole against the Bucks and into the Eastern Conference Finals, which would set the stage for a dramatic doubleheader for Boston: Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals and the NBA Draft Lottery.
The Celtics will have up to four draft picks in the first round of the 2019 NBA Draft and two of those could come into the lottery, depending on how the ping-pong balls fall on May 14th.
The revamped lottery odds will be put to the test in 2019, creating some increased probabilities for teams in the bottom half of the lottery to jump towards the top. Additionally, four teams will have a chance to move up into the top-four slots compared to just three in recent years (all remaining teams not chosen are ordered by worst record). You can check out the full lottery odds here
57.4%: Won't convey in 2019 (Grizzlies keep protected selection at No. 8 or higher in 2019. This is the preferred scenario for Boston since it’s only top-6 protected for 2020 and unprotected in 2021)
No. 9: 34.9 percent (Celtics get it)
No. 10: 8 percent (Celtics get it)
No. 11: 0.5 percent (Celtics get it)
No. 12: 0.01 percent (Celtics get it)
- Very sad to hear of the passing of former Celtics PA announcer Andy Jick over the weekend. I got a chance to know him during my time working at Boston College and he was a class act and always one of the best in the business at what he did.
- Monty Williams will be the new head coach of the Phoenix Suns, wisely leveraging a tough gig with tons of turnover in recent years into a five-year deal. Williams has been a top assistant in the league for a few years now but given how underwhelming his first gig went (173-221 in New Orleans), he did well to secure that type of security for himself for a franchise far from contention.
- Allen Crabbe opted into his $18.5 million player option with the Nets for next season. Brooklyn trading for the bloated Crabbe deal from Portland two years ago after the 2016 free agent summer spending bonanza remains one of their few rebuilding misfires under Sean Marks watch. They should still have cap room for up to two max free agents this summer even with Crabbe’s deal on the books though.
- Sam Presti committed to Thunder coach Billy Donovan for now despite a second straight underwhelming first-round exit. Given the lack of options Presti has in improving the talent core on that team, I wouldn’t be surprised to see him try to get some fresh blood in there and better harness Russell Westbrook’s ability after such a tough year.
- Rockets executive Gersson Rosas lands the Wolves president of basketball operations gig. He’s got a tough task ahead of him finding the right talent to build with around Karl-Anthony Towns, especially with a horrific Andrew Wiggins contract eating up a huge chunk of the team’s salary cap for the next three years.