Tag: 2020 nba draft lottery

Why the Celtics will get 2020’s No. 14 pick – or an 2021 unprotected 1st

If you want to understand why the Boston Celtics will be getting either the 14th overall pick of the 2020 NBA Draft or an unprotected pick in the next, we’ve got you covered.

The Boston Celtics will be the proud new owners of the No. 14 pick of the 2020 NBA Draft later this afternoon — or they will own whatever pick the Memphis Grizzlies earn with their record in the 2020-21 NBA season, which has some Celtics fans a little confused.

And rightfully so — the combination of obscure rules about the draft, and how those rules were changed by the Disney bubble restart have combined to create a pretty muddy picture regarding what exactly is going on with the draft assets the Grizzlies owe the Celtics, save for the draft aficionados among us.

To start with, let’s get an understanding of the asset itself. The Grizzlies dealt the Celtics the pick in 2015 as part of the deal that sent forward Jeff Green to that team, with the pick having protections on when it would convey.

In this case, the protections cover picks 1-6, meaning if the Grizzlies draw one of those draft positions, they get to keep it, and instead owe next season’s first-round pick no matter where it falls.

Now, because of the rules agreed to as part of the NBA restart from the pandemic hiatus, Memphis couldn’t have finished with lottery odds better than 13th-worst, and ended up with 14th-worst odds.

Here, we need to turn to draft lottery rules to understand what happens next.

Due to how the ping-pong balls operate, the team with the 14th-worst odds can still move up in the lottery based on how the balls bounce, but not to any position in the lottery — only the top four picks, or No. 14.

That last lottery position has a near-certain chance of coming up 14th, but it also has a 2.4 % chance of landing in the top four picks, meaning it would convey unprotected in 2021, as noted above.

Boston also controls their own pick (No. 26), the Milwaukee Bucks’ 2020 first-round pick (No. 30), and a second-round pick (No. 47) acquired in the sign-and-trade for Kemba Walker.

With only a few likely roster spots available, it seems likely a trade involving players, picks or both will end up going down, or perhaps a ‘stashed’ player or two will be drafted to play overseas until there’s roster space to bring them over.

But whatever the eventual plan is, at minimum we will have clarity about the assets the Celtics have when the NBA Draft Lottery goes down at 8:30 p.m. ET tonight.

Be sure to check out the article released today on the team’s website that features Celtics VP of Basketball Operations Mike Zarren and Director of Basketball Analytics David Sparks breaking down Boston’s draft situation and how the Draft Lottery itself works — it’s a must-read.

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2020 NBA Draft Lottery: How to watch, full lottery order, odds, preview, more

More than 15 months since the 2019 NBA Draft Lottery, the 2020 version of the event will be held on Thursday evening.

What: 2020 NBA Draft Lottery

When: Thursday, Aug. 20, 8:30 p.m ET

How to watch: ESPN, WatchESPN

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More than 15 months since the 2019 NBA Draft Lottery, the 2020 version of the event will be held on Thursday evening. The 30-minute show will be squeezed in the backend of ESPN’s playoff quadruple-header inside the league’s bubble in Orlando.

Golden State will enter at the top spot and one of three teams with the best odds at the No. 1 pick. Each of the Warriors, Cavaliers and Timberwolves will have a 14% chance at the number one pick.

Here’s a full look at the draft lottery odds for the No. 1 pick as well as a top-four pick.

  1. Warriors – 14.0% chance at No. 1, 52.1% at top four
  2. Cavaliers – 14.0% chance at No. 1, 52.1% at top four
  3. Timberwolves – 14.0% chance at No. 1, 52.1% at top four
  4. Hawks – 12.5% chance at No. 1, 48.1% at top four
  5. Pistons – 10.5% chance at No. 1, 42.1% at top four
  6. Knicks – 9.0% chance at No. 1, 37.2% at top four
  7. Bulls – 7.5% chance at No. 1, 32.0% at top four
  8. Hornets – 6.0% chance at No. 1, 26.3% at top four
  9. Wizards – 4.5% chance at No. 1, 20.3% at top four
  10. Suns – 3.0% chance at No. 1, 13.9% at top four
  11. Spurs – 2.0% chance at No. 1, 9.4% at top four
  12. Kings – 1.3% chance at No. 1, 6.2% at top four
  13. Pelicans – 1.2% chance at No. 1, 5.7% at top four
  14. Celtics (via Memphis) – 0.5% chance at No. 1, 2.4% at top four

The Pelicans will be represented at the draft by general manager Trajan Langdon. The 30-minute event will include an interview with commissioner Adam Silver. LaMelo Ball, one of the top prospects in the draft, will also be interviewed during the event along with fellow top prospect Anthony Edwards.

LaMelo Ball goes No. 1 overall to Warriors in CBS Sports mock draft

For perhaps the last time, the Golden State Warriors were projected to draft LaMelo Ball with the No. 1 pick in CBS Sports’ mock draft.

With the NBA Draft Lottery set for Thursday evening, the Golden State Warriors and the rest of the teams in the draft lottery will find out their fate as the final order for the 2020 NBA Draft will be set. It may be the last time the Warriors find themselves at the top spot or it may officially start the ticking of a clock that unofficially began counting down in March.

CBS Sports’ final pre-lottery mock draft from Kyle Boone uses the order of the team’s heading into the draft lottery, an order that is unlikely to be the final order after Thursday night.

For perhaps the last time, Boone slots Ball into the top spot to the Golden State Warriors.

“Sure, Golden State has Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson and Draymond Green. But that’s exactly why a pick like LaMelo Ball makes sense. Because the Warriors already have a championship contender in place, Ball, the most electric and decisive playmaker in this draft class, can perhaps give this franchise a solid building block for the future in a post-Curry Warriors era. Even if he doesn’t fit perfectly now, the long-term star potential he carries is worth the gamble that he can one day be Curry’s successor.”

As intriguing as Ball to the Warriors is on many levels, no report out of Golden State has indicated the team has an interest in draft Ball. In fact, most reports suggest they value Anthony Edwards or a trade over selecting Ball.

While there is value long-term in drafting Ball to be the guard of the future, the Warriors likely aren’t prioritizing the future over their championship window, if it still exists.

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NBA expected to hold regional draft combines, top prospects not expected to attend

ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported on Tuesday that the NBA is working on a plan to hold draft combines at regional sites in September.

In an effort to find a middle ground given the circumstances surrounding the league and the country, the NBA looks to be set to hold regional draft combines ahead of the 2020 NBA Draft.

ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported on Tuesday that the league is moving forward with plans to hold draft workouts at regional team facilities. The combines would take place throughout the month of September and would allow teams access to measurements and health records.

In what’s likely to become one of the most wide-open draft processes in years, prospective players would attend selected regional team facilities throughout the country, sources said. The plan would include team doctors administering physicals at local hospitals and league officials recording body measurables and putting players through physical testing at team facilities, sources said.

The plan would have a set number of prospects allowed at each team facility at a time. The sites, which have yet to be determined, would also have coronavirus testing available.

Interestingly, Wojnarowski also noted that top prospects would be unlikely to attend these regional sites.

It is unlikely that many, if any, top 2020 draft prospects would agree to the workout sessions that would be shared virtually with the league’s teams from the combine sites. But there will be an opportunity for players who want to be evaluated in a limited combine workout environment to do so for NBA teams, sources said.

The draft lottery will be held on Thursday with the draft coming in mid-October.

Trajan Langdon to represent Pelicans at 2020 NBA Draft Lottery

In search of good luck for a second year running in the draft lottery, the New Orleans Pelicans will have general manager Trajan Langdon represent the franchise at Thursday’s 2020 NBA Draft Lottery.

In search of good luck for a second year running in the draft lottery, the New Orleans Pelicans will have general manager Trajan Langdon represent the franchise at Thursday’s 2020 NBA Draft Lottery.

Last season, then-head coach Alvin Gentry represented the franchise as they jumped up to the top pick in the draft to eventually draft Zion Williamson. While the stakes aren’t nearly as high this year, there is never a bad time to secure a No. 1 or even top-four pick.

The Pelicans will enter the draft lottery with just a 1.2% chance of moving up to the No. 1 pick. Their odds of making the top four are slightly better at 5.7%.

Notably people joining Langdon virtually as representatives for their respective teams will be Steph Curry for Golden State, D’Angelo Russell for the Timberwolves, De’Aaron Fox for the Kings and Leon Rose for the Knicks.

The draft lottery is set to start at 8:30 p.m. on Thursday, will last for 30 minutes and will include an interview with LaMelo Ball.

LaMelo Ball to be interviewed during 2020 NBA Draft Lottery show

As part of ESPN’s 30-minute show for the 2020 NBA Draft Lottery, LaMelo Ball and fellow top prospect Anthony Edwards will be interviewed.

The NBA’s 30-minute 2020 NBA Draft Lottery show on Thursday will include an interview with a pair of the top prospects in the draft in guards Anthony Edwards and LaMelo Ball, Awful Announcing revealed on Tuesday.

Unlike previous years, the show will be only 30 minutes long, halving the typical draft lottery show. The show will be slotted into the middle of a playoff quadrupleheader on ESPN, leading to a compacted version this year.

Rachel Nichols will serve as the studio host and will interview multiple faces in and around the NBA during the show, ranging from commissioner Adam Silver to Warriors representative Steph Curry as well as Ball and Edwards.

While there is no consensus top pick this season, Ball, along with Edwards, is expected to be a top pick in the upcoming draft. James Wiseman, Onyeka Okongwu and Obi Toppin also will factor into the discussion.

The New Orleans Pelicans will enter the lottery with the 13th best odds at the No. 1 pick after losing a tiebreaker to the Sacramento Kings on Monday. The Pelicans have a 1.2% chance at the top pick and a 5.7% at moving into the top four.

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Disney bubble NBA restart preview: Boston Celtics at Memphis Grizzlies

The Boston Celtics fight the Memphis Grizzlies for a better draft pick while Memphis fights for postseason survival this Tuesday at 5 pm ET.

The Boston Celtics play their seventh of eight regular-season seeding games against the Memphis Grizzlies this Tuesday afternoon at 5 p.m. Eastern Time in a contest that could ultimately alter the value of the Memphis draft pick the Celtics control.

Having dropped five of their six games in the Disney ‘bubble,’ the Grizzlies could lose their grip on the eighth seed with a loss, pending the results of a game involving the Portland Trail Blazers.

With Portland ust a half-game behind Memphis — and the Phoenix Suns not far behind — falling out of the eighth slot would make their path to the Playoffs require winning two straight games in the now-unavoidable play-in game.

And if they lose the play-in tourney, Memphis would owe their pick to Boston at No. 14 — or unprotected entirely in 2021 should the Draft Lottery delivery a top-four pick.

So, the Grizzlies and Celtics both have something to play for in what would otherwise be just a glorified scrimmage game given Memphis is without several key players.

Center Jaren Jackson, Jr. is out with a torn meniscus, forward Justice Winslow with an ailing hip, and point guard Tyus Jones is out with a knee injury.

On Boston’s end, only center Daniel Theis appears on the team’s injury report as probably with foot soreness; he may get the night off or at least light duty, but otherwise, the Celtics are at full strength.

Most online sportsbooks favor Boston considerably, granting a -5 spread to the team.

Our prediction is a solid Celtics win at 107-98.

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As draft lotto goes virtual, a Griz loss Tuesday might make Cs players

With the 2020 NBA Draft lottery set to go virtual for the first time ever, Celtics fans may have a reason to watch if Boston beats Memphis Tuesday.

The NBA Draft lottery is officially going to be a remote one for the first time in its 35-year history, according to The Athletic’s Shams Charania.

Under normal circumstances, a contending team like the Boston Celtics wouldn’t much care, their own pick set to land somewhere near the back end of the first round, far from the lottery.

As the Memphis Grizzlies continue to struggle to separate themselves from the rest of the Western Conference peers, the odds increase that the Celtics might end up with a lottery pick, given Boston is owed the Griz’ 2020 first-round pick, top-six protected.

Due to the rules created to have the play-in tournaments in the Disney ‘bubble’ restart, Memphis’ pick can only fall at No. 14 in the lottery and convey to the Celtics; if the Grizzlies ‘win’ the lottery and have it fall in the 1-4 range, they’ll owe their 2021 draft pick to Boston no matter where it falls.

That ultimately may be the best result for the Celtics, who already have seven rookies on their roster this season to go with two other 2020 first-rounders and a second-round pick as well.

Currently, Memphis sits just a half-game ahead of a determined Portland Trail Blazers while being down one of their best players in Jaren Jackson Jr., with the San Antonio Spurs and Phoenix Suns both just one game behind them.

While a path to the postseason is still possible for the Grizzlies, sticking to it will be a tall order in the next few days, their contest against Boston a likely must-win to hang onto that eighth slot.

Should the Griz end up bounced from the postseason and controlling a top-4 selection, it’ll likely be the best-case scenario for the Celtics, even if it will make the draft a little less fun to watch this year.

The highly volatile West coupled with the unprotected nature of the pick could make it a valuable trade chip to upgrade and consolidate talent. It could also be used on an NBA-ready prospect to help fill out an increasingly expensive roster with a rookie scale deal.

Whatever way the ping-pong balls bounce on August 20th, they will be doing so remotely. But if Memphis — who play Boston Tuesday — do end up missing the postseason, it will instantly become must-watch television.

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Memphis lottery pick looking like a stronger possibility for Boston

Despite losing 2 of their first three games of the Disney restart, it isn’t all bad news for the Boston Celtics right now.

There’s at least a tiny sliver of potential good news in the box scores of yesterday’s NBA games to be had for Boston Celtics fans.

We are not of course referring to the loss against the Miami Heat Tuesday night, but to the continuing three-game slide of the Memphis Grizzlies, exacerbated by the loss of big man Jaren Jackson Jr. to a meniscus tear.

The Celtics, who control the Grizzlies’ 2020 NBA first round pick with protections over picks No. 1-6, will get Memphis’ pick if they fall out of the playoff picture and don’t happen to a draw picks 1-4, the only other positions the draft lottery could place the pick given the constraints put in place for the restarted season, according to Yahoo’s Keith Smith.

Should the pick end up in the low lottery range protected by the Grizzlies, it could conceivably break even worse than losing the No. 14 pick to Boston.

With Jackson likely out for at least a part of the season after this one, an even lower lottery pick could get sent to the Celtics the summer after this one, when they will be owed the pick sans protections altogether.

For a team that really needs to nail its draft picks in the next few seasons to maximize their chances of winning a title with little cap room to spare, this Grizzlies misfortune is an unambiguous boon for Boston.

In a draft that drops off hard after the lottery, a chance at being able to draft a Devin Vassell or James Nesmith-type player could end up being the difference between hanging a banner and going home empty-handed in some not-too-distant season.

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Should Memphis “win” the lottery and end up with a top pick, it could produce a pick in a lower range than No. 14, but in what is being held up by many experts as a much deeper draft, that might not be so bad — if not better.

There’s still plenty of time for the Griz to turn things around and dodge a play-in game to become first-round draft fodder for the Los Angeles Lakers, but down one of their best young bigs on a three-game losing streak, it’s safe to say the odds are increasingly against that outcome.

Whether that would produce a lottery pick this summer or an unknown commodity the next remains to be seen — as does whether Memphis can beat the odds and make the playoffs.

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How a 22-team return will affect the Celtics’ 2020 NBA draft odds

The new format and its draft odds will likely benefit the Boston Celtics’ potential draft odds, though not through their own draft picks.

ESPN senior writer Zach Lowe related how the new return-to-play format approved by the NBA’s Board of Governors will affect the NBA Draft Thursday.

The approved format will see 22 teams descend on Lake Buena Vista, Florida to resume the 2019-20 season at the ESPN Wide World of Sports complex in Walt Disney World at the end of July with many changes to the usual course of a season due to the pandemic which delayed the season to begin with.

For the purposes of sussing out how these changes will affect the 2020 NBA Draft (now to be held on October 15th) many have been wondering how this will impact draft odds compared to previous seasons.

Lowe relates that for all 16 teams that make the playoffs — whether by record alone or qualifying through a potential play-in game — draft order will be by reverse order of how the team performed up to the March 11th suspension of league activities and seeding games combined.

The lottery would be comprised of the eight teams not traveling to Florida for the season restart and the six teams who make the trip to the Disney-hosted ‘bubble’ but do not make the playoffs, and odds would only be derived from their records as of March 11th.

As has been noted by the Celtics Wire previously, this leaves in place the unlikely-but-possible chance that the first round draft pick owed the team by the Memphis Grizzlies could conceivably become a lottery pick.

Should Memphis manage to fall in the standings enough to trigger the play-in game scenario in the West, their 2020 first round pick would enter the lottery, and convey to Boston so long as it is drawn above the top-six protection the Grizzlies placed upon it.

With the Grizzlies just 3.5 games behind the Portland Trail Blazers, New Orleans Pelicans and Sacramento Kings, it’s definitely a candidate for the new format.

Any eighth seed within four games of the ninth will have to beat that opponent two times in a row to advance to the postseason, meaning it is actually realistic for Memphis to end up in the lottery, even if it is still more likely they will not.

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