As it stands right now the Boston Celtics would have four first round picks in the 2019 NBA Draft. They will likely have the Memphis Grizzlies first round pick, the Sacramento Kings first rounder, the Los Angeles Clippers first rounder, and their own. While the Grizzlies, Kings and Clippers are all performing above expectations these picks will still be extremely valuable in the coming months.
There is the very real chance that the Kings and Grizzlies will both again wind up in the lottery. Both teams would miss the Western Conference playoffs if the postseason started today despite both teams owning a .500 record, which is usually good enough to get you into the dance. Having two lottery picks has increased importance this year as the NBA is changing its lottery format for the first time in years. The Kings and Grizzlies are likely to finish with somewhere around the sixth to 14th worst records in the NBA. Under the old rules, teams in those slots would have virtually no shot at obtaining at top three pick. That’s about to change dramatically as we will likely see several teams originally slotted 10th, 11th or 12th vault into the top five.
“This year’s changes to the lottery mean celebrating every loss for teams going nowhere no longer makes sense,” ESPN’s Kevin Pelton wrote earlier this year. “Entering the lottery a spot or two higher won’t make much of a difference when it comes to the chances of landing Zion Williamson, RJ Barrett or the rest of this year’s top prospects.”
Of course, Celtics fans should still be rooting like mad for the Kings and Grizzlies to lose any many games as possible. But it’s not a must anymore for those teams to be historically bad in order to relay a truly valuable lottery pick.
Here is our latest mock.
1. Cleveland Cavaliers: Zion Williamson, PF, Duke
2. Phoenix Suns: RJ Barrett, SG, Duke
3. New York Knicks: Rui Hachimura, SF, Gonzaga
4. Chicago Bulls: Bol Bol, C, Oregon
5. Atlanta Hawks: Ja Morant, PG, Murray State
6. Washington Wizards: Kevin Porter, SG, USC
7. New Orleans Pelicans: Keldon Johnson, SG, Kentucky
8. Orlando Magic: Jontay Porter, C, Missouri
9. Brooklyn Nets: Charles Bassey, C, Western Kentucky
10. Minnesota Timberwolves: Cameron Reddish, SG, Duke
11. Atlanta Hawks: KZ Okpala, SG, Stanford
12. Utah Jazz: Nassir Little, SF, North Carolina
13. Boston Celtics: Bruno Fernando, C, Maryland
14. San Antonio Spurs: Darius Garland, PG, Vanderbilt
15. Detroit Pistons: Jaylen Hoard, SF, Wake Forest
16. Charlotte Hornets: Nickeil Alexander-Walker, SG, Virginia Tech
17. Miami Heat: DeAndre Hunter, SF, Virginia
18. Boston Celtics: Daniel Gafford, PF, Arkansas
19. Portland Trail Blazers: Sekou Doumbouya, SF, France
20. Los Angeles Lakers: Jarrett Culver, SG, Texas Tech
21. Houston Rockets: Chuma Okeke, SF, Auburn
22. Boston Celtics: Romeo Langford, SG, Indiana
23. Boston Celtics: Tre Jones, PG, Duke
24. Philadelphia 76ers: Naz Reid, C, LSU
25. Oklahoma City Thunder: Sagaba Konate, PF, West Virginia
26. Golden State Warriors: Luguentz Dort, SG, Arizona State
27. Indiana Pacers: Austin Wiley, C, Auburn
28. Brooklyn Nets: Cameron Johnson, SF, North Carolina
29. San Antonio Spurs: Simi Shittu, PF, Vanderbilt
30. Milwaukee Bucks: Aric Holman, PF, Mississippi State
31. Orlando Magic: Goga Bitadze, C, Republic of Georgia
32. Phoenix Suns: PJ Washington, PF, Kentucky
33. Brooklyn Nets: Kris Wilkes, SF, UCLA
34. Philadelphia 76ers: Oshae Brissett, SF, Syracuse
35. Atlanta Hawks: Ignas Brazdeikis, SF, Michigan
36. Denver Nuggets: Ky Bowman, PG, Boston College
37. New Orleans Pelicans: Udoka Azubuike, C, Kansas
38. Sacramento Kings: Jalen McDaniels, PF, San Diego State
39. Orlando Magic: Bennie Boatwright, PF, USC
40. Sacramento Kings: Ty Jerome, PG, Virginia
41. Dallas Mavericks: Charles Matthews, SG, Michigan
42. Utah Jazz: Darius Bazley, PF, United State
43. Memphis Grizzlies: Carsen Edwards, PG, Purdue
44. San Antonio Spurs: Jaylen Hands, PG, UCLA
45. Detroit Pistons: Admiral Schofield, SF, Tennessee
46. Atlanta Hawks: Kerwin Roach, SG, Texas
47. Minnesota Timberwolves: Robert Franks, SF, Washington State
48. Philadelphia 76ers: Vanja Marinkovic, SG, Serbia
49. Los Angeles Clippers: Matt Morgan, SG, Cornell
50. Atlanta Hawks: Eric Paschall, SF, Villanova
51. New York Knicks: Yovel Zoosman, SG, Israel
52. Los Angeles Clippers: Brandon Clarke, PF, Gonzaga
53. Memphis Grizzlies: Adam Mokoka, SG, France
54. Philadelphia 76ers: Marques Bolden, C, Duke
55. Charlotte Hornets: Dedric Lawson, PF, Kansas
56. Golden State Warriors: Lagerald Vick, SG, Kansas
57. Indiana Pacers: Shamorie Ponds, PG, St. John’s
58. Charlotte Hornets: Abdoulaye N’Doye, PG, France
59. Toronto Raptors: Caleb Martin, SG, Nevada
60. Milwaukee Bucks: Brian Bowen, SF, United States