On this day: Cs whiff ’97 lottery, miss Duncan; send LBJ home in ’08

On this day in 1997, the Boston Celtics missed the top pick of that year’s draft and with it Tim Duncan; 11 years later, they sent LBJ home in the ’08 East Semis.

It is also the birthday of former Celtic small forward Michael Smith, who was born today in 1965 in Rochester, New York.

He would be drafted by Boston out of Brigham Young University with the 13th overall pick of the 1989 NBA Draft, and play two seasons with the celtics before being waived in 1991.

He averaged 4.9 points, 1.4 boards and 1.1 assists per game over that stretch.