The Boston Celtics won the 2017 NBA Draft Lottery on Tuesday night and will receive the first overall pick in the NBA Draft on June 22. The Los Angeles Lakers will pick second, and the Philadelphia 76ers will pick third.
At long last, we finally have an official order for the 2017 NBA Draft. The NBA Draft Lottery was held in New York on Tuesday night, and the Boston Celtics have emerged with the ultimate prize: the first overall pick. The Celtics had a 25 percent chance of coming away with the first pick, and their victory proves that sometimes, odds do matter.
The Celtics weren’t the only victors tonight. The Los Angeles Lakers were awarded the second overall pick (which also saves them their 2019 first-rounder), and the Philadelphia 76ers will pick directly after them.
It’s too early to say definitively how these results could impact a potential Paul George trade, but off the bat, things definitely feel more/less intriguing. Now that the Lakers have kept their pick, Kevin Pritchard has a prize to go after. Time will tell if he can get his hands on it.
Similarly, the fact that Boston has a real pick to work with could potentially rekindle talks between Pritchard and Danny Ainge. The Celtics coming away with such a high pick could cause them to continue to shy away from trades or anything that depletes them of their assets, but who knows? Maybe they’ll shock the world and take Cleveland to seven games, convincing themselves that they could contend right now.
There were losers on lottery night as well. The New York Knicks fell all the way to eighth place, and the Sacramento Kings were originally in the top three, but had to swap picks with the Sixers because the Nik Stauskas trade.
Now that we have an official draft order, the lottery speculation can finally stop. Draft speculation can then begin in full force, and we’ll have all the Pacers draft news you need right here! Stay tuned.