The good news is that the Boston Celtics are looking like they’ll get a draft pick owed them by the Memphis Grizzlies this season.
The bad news is it might not be such a great asset, unless the Griz take a dive in the standings before season’s end.
Memphis, which owes the Celtics a first-round pick that is top-six protected, was assumed by many analysts and fans alike to project as bad enough this season that that pick might not convey until the 2021 NBA Draft, when it becomes an unprotected asset.
The thinking was by that time, young prospects Jarren Jackson Jr. and Ja Morant might develop enough as players to diminish the value of the pick, meaning general manager Danny Ainge and company might want to consider moving it before such an outcome arrives.
Grizzlies win for third time in last four games. #GrizPick watch intensifies with eighth worst record in basketball at moment. Celtics get Memphis pick this year if it’s 7 or worse (unprotected next year) pic.twitter.com/BVoJrN9lpz
— Chris Forsberg (@ChrisForsberg_) December 15, 2019
In shades of last season’s Sacramento Kings pick, the growth has come much sooner and stronger than anticipated, with Memphis currently sitting at 10-17 on the fringes of the West playoff picture.
Given the team faces only two opponents with winning records over their next ten games (the Denver Nuggets and Los Angeles Clippers), that record might even push them into a top-eight slot by the first week of the new year.
While there’s still a very good chance for the Grizzlies’ fortunes to falter and the ping-pong balls to deliver Memphis a top-six pick the team can keep, that may end up being a worse bargain for Boston.
The Griz will likely only improve with experience, and another promising prospect may amplify that trend — could this put a fire underneath the Celtics’ front office to try and sell high on the asset?
If it could help secure a frontcourt player able to contribute significant minutes while Boston’s many injured players heal up, it would not be the most radical approach to solving multiple problems simultaneously the league has seen in recent years.