"It's really tough in the National Basketball Association to convince a really great player to come to your team if you're not already really good".
Despite Ainge's reputation as one of the NBA's most shrewd negotiators, the Celtics built much of the top of its rotation through trades and free agency (Al Horford, Isaiah Thomas, and Jae Crowder) rather than the draft.
Red Sox retire No. 34 for David Ortiz
Ortiz took the field to a raucous ovation. "And you're not our teammate, you're not our friend, you're our family". My comment based on those numbers was, like, I started just getting behind the history of this organization.
The Celtics swapped their 1st overall pick for the Philadelphia 76ers 3rd overall pick, the Los Angeles Lakers protected pick (has to land 2-5) and if pick does not convey they receive the Sacramento Kings pick, which is also number one protected.
With the acquisition of these two first round picks, the Celtics now potentially own the rights to seven first round selections over the next three years, including picks from Brooklyn (2018), Memphis (2019, protected 1-8), and the LA Clippers (2019, protected 1-14). "So it creates this conundrum in which the only way to get good is to be really bad to attract the good players", Eskin said. "And we're getting an additional player that we want in next year's draft or the year after". Perhaps they think another player, like Kansas' Josh Jackson, will be as good as Fultz, so they took the opportunity to gain more assets by moving down in the draft. They don't know if they will lose one or both of their stars in Chris Paul and Blake Griffin. If Ainge is to be believed, even they don't know who they will take at No. 3 - but he insisted that whichever choice they make there would have been the choice they made at No. 1 if this deal hadn't gone down. Sound familiar? Three seasons is actually more than the Nets got out of Kevin Garnett after the disastrous trade that sent a string of high lottery picks to Ainge and the Celtics. We know how good Cleveland and we know how good Golden State is. This could end up as one of the most scrutinized trades in National Basketball Association history. The player Boston selects will depend on if they make a deal or not. Fultz would join a Philadelphia roster that includes Simmons, Jahlil Okafor and 2017 Rookie of the Year finalists Joel Embiid and Dario Saric.
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