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It’s the 2016 Draft that matters most for Boston

By C.J Maffris

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Danny Ainge has a lot to look into with the 2016 season coming soon. Russ Isabella-USA TODAY Sports

When the calendar reaches 2016, that’s when the Celtics can start to make their move to become title contenders. After all the trades, contract extensions, and free agent signings, fans will finally get a feel as to what Danny Ainge meant when he said “rebuild”. The team had cap flexibility this offseason, but was never really in the picture for some of the big name free agents out there. So if you can’t sign established talent, you have to draft them. So out of all the drafts that are coming up, the 2016 Draft is the most important. The Celtics cannot afford to get any of their potential first-round picks wrong in 2016 (and they could have a lot of first-round picks).

First everyone looks at how the Boston Celtics were able to get not one, but two unprotected first-round picks from the Brooklyn Nets. That could come to haunt Brooklyn, as many experts predict this team to be one of the worst franchises next season. That could end up giving Boston a top-five or better pick. It’s not guaranteed to happen, but it gives the Celtics a chance to finally gain a top-tier talent in the draft. Especially with the three top-prospects who are expected to enter the draft (Ben Simmons LSU, Skal Labissiere Kentucky, Jaylen Brown Cal). Brooklyn’s pick should be coveted as a real possibility to turn into one of the prospects mentioned. Let’s say the pick ends up being fourth or worse, there still some intriguing talent at positions the Celtics need. It all depends on how Brooklyn plays next season.

As captivating that Brooklyn pick looks, the Celtics cannot just assume it will become their “golden ticket” to the title picture. Thankfully for Boston, general manager Danny Ainge proceeded to gather more draft picks for the Celtics. More importantly, it was a draft pick the team acquired after sending away Rajon Rondo to Dallas for 2016. After the emoji-filled breakup between the Mavericks and DeAndre Jordan, no one seems to know how to gauged the team this upcoming season. Mark Cuban has been linked to comments stating that the team would tank if they missed out on Jordan. The pick that Boston received is a top-seven protected pick, which would mean that Dallas would end up keeping the pick if the team tanked.

No one really knows how good or bad the Dallas Mavericks will be in the 2015-16 season. Matthew Emmons-USA TODAY Sports

However, Mark Cuban later came out to say that Dallas is not interested in tanking. That keeps things interesting for Boston, to the effect that this draft pick might be coming to them. ESPN’s Forecast believes that Dallas has done enough to make the playoffs in 2016, which doesn’t help Boston in gaining a lottery pick. However, that would mean that the team would do better than the favorite underdog to talk about in the Utah Jazz, and the possibly sneaky-good Phoenix Suns. Those three teams will battle for the final playoff spot, which could turn Dallas’ pick into a lottery pick. But many are unsure how the team will look with Deron Williams (and his injured knees) and JaVale McGee added into the fold. Those moves do not scream title contender, so the team could end up being a lot worse than many are predicting. This makes Dallas another team for Celtics fans to keep an eye on.

So the best case scenario for the Celtics is Brooklyn becoming one of the worst teams in the league with Dallas’ record being the 8th worst in the NBA. Add that to the Celtics’ own pick and that could a promising position to be in, but there’s even more to look at for the upcoming season. If the Minnesota Timberwolves draft pick falls between thirteenth or worse, the Boston Celtics would receive that pick as well. That’s right Celtics fans, to get a grand total of four first-round picks, Minnesota has to become a fringe playoff team (just like Boston last year). This pick almost seems like a pipe-dream, but the roster that the Timberwolves have created does seem promising. Now I say promising, as if I expect the T-Wolves to be the 8th seed in the Western Conference. I don’t, nor do I believe this team will be a fringe playoff team this season. That probably won’t happen till next year at the earliest, but Celtic fans can dream.

Can Carl Anthony-Towns lead the Timberwolves to a potential playoff birth? Stephen R. Sylvanie-USA TODAY Sports

After looking at all the other factors with possibly acquiring draft picks, it can get lost that the Celtics do own their own draft pick. While some might find this ridiculous to say, it would benefit the Celtics if they did not make the postseason next season. Adding another lottery pick could go a long way for the team to speed up the rebuilding process. Plus if everything goes the Celtics way they could have four lottery picks! Four lottery picks gives the team more chances to land a superstar player. It’s about playing the odds and I like having four in the lottery.

That means they will have to scout like crazy to make sure they pick the right player. It’s nice to have high draft picks, but it means nothing if the team doesn’t scout well. Ainge needs to be careful and make sure that it’s this draft that he finds that superstar diamond in the rough. The team will never have more first-round picks than they will this upcoming season (barring trades). How fast could the Celtics turn things around if they could draft four times in the lottery to end up finding: a LeBron James type, a Jimmy Butler type, a Klay Thompson type, and a Steph Curry type in one draft? Anything is possible, but that means that the team has to go all in for 2016. Otherwise this whole rebuild saga might turn more into a nightmare than a fairy tale.

C.J Maffris is a writer for Hardwoodhoudini.com. He really likes looking into potential draft picks as if they all belong to the Celtics. You can follow him @SeaJayMaffris

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