Celtics Were One Ping Pong Ball Away From No. 4 Pick At NBA Draft Lottery
BOSTON (CBS) -- Tuesday night's NBA Draft Lottery wasn't a total disaster for the Celtics, but they didn't get much luck from those wacky Ping Pong balls. As it turns out, they were pretty close to having those balls bounce their way.
According to Mike Zarren, Boston's assistant general manager, the Celtics missed out on the No. 4 overall pick by just one Ping Pong ball. Ouch.
That would have been one heck of a trade chip this offeason. Instead, the Celtics received the No. 14 overall pick from the Sacramento Kings, completing their famous 2017 pre-draft swap with the Philadelphia 76ers. It could have been worse though; had the Kings pick jumped to No. 1 overall, it would have gone to the 76ers and the Celtics would have received the No. 24 overall pick.
Now the Celtics head into the June 20 NBA Draft with picks No. 14, No. 20 and No. 22. It's not the greatest outcome for Boston in a relatively weak draft, so chances are Danny Ainge will try to either trade up or include some of those picks in a trade package this summer.
