The NBA Draft lottery is officially going to be a remote one for the first time in its 35-year history, according to The Athletic’s Shams Charania.
Under normal circumstances, a contending team like the Boston Celtics wouldn’t much care, their own pick set to land somewhere near the back end of the first round, far from the lottery.
As the Memphis Grizzlies continue to struggle to separate themselves from the rest of the Western Conference peers, the odds increase that the Celtics might end up with a lottery pick, given Boston is owed the Griz’ 2020 first-round pick, top-six protected.
Due to the rules created to have the play-in tournaments in the Disney ‘bubble’ restart, Memphis’ pick can only fall at No. 14 in the lottery and convey to the Celtics; if the Grizzlies ‘win’ the lottery and have it fall in the 1-4 range, they’ll owe their 2021 draft pick to Boston no matter where it falls.
That ultimately may be the best result for the Celtics, who already have seven rookies on their roster this season to go with two other 2020 first-rounders and a second-round pick as well.
Currently, Memphis sits just a half-game ahead of a determined Portland Trail Blazers while being down one of their best players in Jaren Jackson Jr., with the San Antonio Spurs and Phoenix Suns both just one game behind them.
While a path to the postseason is still possible for the Grizzlies, sticking to it will be a tall order in the next few days, their contest against Boston a likely must-win to hang onto that eighth slot.
Should the Griz end up bounced from the postseason and controlling a top-4 selection, it’ll likely be the best-case scenario for the Celtics, even if it will make the draft a little less fun to watch this year.
The highly volatile West coupled with the unprotected nature of the pick could make it a valuable trade chip to upgrade and consolidate talent. It could also be used on an NBA-ready prospect to help fill out an increasingly expensive roster with a rookie scale deal.
Whatever way the ping-pong balls bounce on August 20th, they will be doing so remotely. But if Memphis — who play Boston Tuesday — do end up missing the postseason, it will instantly become must-watch television.
