With the picks being officially decided during the NBA Draft Lottery last night, it will be interesting to see just how this year's draft will play out. While it was a tense night for the likes of Magic Johnson, whose Lakers were at risk of losing their lottery pick to the Philadelphia 76ers if they had not landed a top three pick, there weren't many surprises or major franchise altering bounces of the ball. There are, however a few aspects that do need to be discussed when it comes to this year's draft lottery.
Celtics
To start off, the Boston Celtics (whom of which are currently in the Eastern Conference Finals preparing to face the Cavaliers) managed to pull of the unthinkable by landing the first overall pick for the 2017 NBA Draft.
This gives the Celtics a multitude of options from now until draft day. They essentially have the ability to draft any player they see fit within this year's draft pool, which is very guard heavy with the few exceptions such as Josh Jackson and Jayson Tatum. With this ability, the Celtics could potentially find a scoring-oriented player to compliment the Isaiah Thomas-driven offense and spread the burden of scoring. There is, however, other teams who see tis pick just as or even more vslue than the Celtics themselves.
Considering whether to trade the pick wouldn't be the worst idea seeing as how this Boston team could be a star player away from being a true championship contender, and more importantly being great enough to push past a Lebron-led team. Having players such as Carmelo Anthony and Danilo Gallinari potentially looking for new homes, it would be wrong to not at least ask the question of what's more important to the Celtics: The future or now. Both are easily accessible to the Celtics now with this first overall pick.
76ers
While Philly didn't manage to grab the Lakers' nest two lottery picks (2017 and 2018), they still secured a top three pick thanks to their option to swap with the Kings. This odd situation can be accredited to the Kings' failed attempt to open cap space back in 2015 by trading off the likes of Nik Stauskas, Jason Thompson, Carl Landry, the right to either swap picks in 2016 or 2017, as well as full rights towards the King's 2019 first round pick.
Seeing as how Cousins has been traded away, it is unlikely that the Kings will be anything more than mediocre within the next few years. The 76ers now have rights to one more of the Kings picks in the future, showing the unsurprising failures of Sacramento's management once again.
Even though it will be unlikely for the 76ers to draft the likes of Fultz or Ball, there are still many top prospects in the guard positions that they can mull over. Having Fox, Smith Jr., or even Ntilikina available can truly be risks worth taking in terms fo finding a point guard for the future.
It isn't all bad for the Kings, however, seeing as they have two top ten picks thanks to the trade with the Pelicans involving DeMarcus Cousins. They can still manage to pick some good players to help their rebuilding plans for the future.
Suns
With the Suns dropping out of the top three picks, it becomes harder to truly get a certified franchise changing player. They are in a better situation than most teams, so this isn't too heavy of a blow. Any concern involving the Suns would more than likely involve their current team rather than a potential draft pick.
The Suns have quite the history in the 2010's when it comes to chasing players out of Phoenix, which is specifically noted by Goran Dragic and the Morris twins all leaving the team on bad terms. Drafting a point guard could push some more players over the edge.
Due to Devin Booker's successful season, it is likely that his spot will be secured on the starting squad. This already leaves either Brandon Knight or Eric Bledsoe out of their two guard system. Bringing in a rookie guard could push Bledsoe to the point of demanding a trade similar to Dragic's once Isaiah was brought in a few years back. The lack of empathy for the job security of their top players is a reoccurring nightmare that could continue if they attempt to go forth with another Bledsoe-Dragic-Isaiah situation that led their playoff-bound team back to the dumps.
One would hope that the Suns management doesn't make the same horrid mistake and put themselves back another few years.
Knicks
If there's a team that truly got pushed back a spot in the draft beyond the Suns, it would be the Knicks. While the hopes of grabbing a higher pick in their were slim. the move made by the Kings truly put a stamp on the Knicks' year so far. With Phil constantly commenting about Carmelo, Kristaps' anger towards the team, and the overall lack of cohesion within this franchise, the 7th pick was something the look up to. Even though it is only a one pick drop, being placed as the eighth pick leaves even less opportunity of grabbing a point guard that they disparately need.
This position could make it unlikely for the Knicks to draft the likes of De'Aaron Fox if he were to fall into the bottom of the top-10 picks in this draft. In this situation, it makes the chances of drafting the young french point guard Frank Ntilikina even more likely to happen. While Frank has shown a lot of promise while playing for France's U18 team, his youth and unproven abilities make him a big risk for any team in this draft.
While the Knicks struck gold by picking Kristaps Porzingis back in 2015, one has to wonder whether they can get lucky twice and have a 6-5, (7-foot wingspan) 18 year old kid come into the league and have such an immediate affect or at the very least develop into a great point guard. Only time will tell whether Frank can become a great point guard in the NBA, regardless of what team he happens to end up with this summer.
Overall, this draft will have a ton of potential in terms of guards, which could expand the competition in that position to the likes of which we have never seen. This upcoming draft will be one for the ages and a must-watch to boot.
What do you think about the current draft positions and what teams do you think will come out on top? Lakers? Celtics? Nets? (lol)
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