Everyone knows how juicy that 2028 first-round pick swap from the Clippers is by now. That was the premium asset the Celtics added in the Jaylen Brown trade, and since making the deal, that pick has only become more appealing.
The Clippers were already in a world of hurt, as they missed the playoffs last season. Then, in the offseason, they agreed to trade away Kawhi Leonard and lean into what is expected to be a lengthy rebuild. Then, of course, they got hammered with the NBA’s punishment for the salary cap circumvention scandal, getting stripped of five first-round picks, all but assuring it will take years for the team to sniff contention.
And now, as training camp begins, things are looking even worse in the short term for the franchise, as it was announced that Brandon Ingram has a partially torn Achilles and won’t be ready for the start of the season, and Bradley Beal has inflammation in his knee after hip surgery and won’t be ready for training camp.
Beyond that, their promising young big man, Yanic Konan Neiderhauser, is still recovering from his foot injury and won’t be ready for the start of the season, and Jordan Miller suffered a torn rotator cuff this summer and will be reevaluated in five months.
2028 pick swap looking juicier and juicier
Obviously, the Celtics don’t control their pick until after next season, but all of these injuries are only setting back their rebuild even further. It was already going to take a long time, and this ensures it’ll likely take even longer. If anything, this may be even better, as it seems this could be the season when the team completely bottoms out. That could mean they finish in the relegation zone, which actually wouldn’t give them the best draft lottery odds.
Ideally, that will be the case, and they’ll be able to improve marginally, so that they are competent in 2027-28, but nowhere close to competitive. Narrowly missing the play-in tournament would be the perfect outcome, as teams finishing 4th-10th in terms of worst records in the NBA receive the best odds in the new lottery system.
This is a lot of wishcasting and looking ahead, but it’s certainly something very important to monitor. There’s also a very real chance that Boston ends up trading the pick before they ever even get a chance to use it, so the more appealing it looks, the better. And right now, it looks like one of the best assets that has been traded across the entire league.
Nobody is rooting for injuries or anything like that, but it’s impossible to ignore the reality of the situation as it’s playing out in Los Angeles. The Clippers are going to be a dumpster fire for the next few years, and as it stands, the Celtics stand to benefit as much as anyone.
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