Day 300

Fresh Start_300: Boston trades No. 1

Woken up by a chatty bird and an overwhelming case of cotton mouth, I look at my phone at 4:52 AM GMT (Greenwich Mean Time) I see a cluster of tweets that where like an instant shot of espresso. The one that really did it; “Sixers needed Fultz workout/meeting to complete deal w/ Celtics and, as expected sides have deal for No.1 pick. Trade call planned Monday.” This tweet from The Vertical’s Adrian “Woj” Wojnarowski just sent me into a tailspin trying to find out all I could.

After about a half hour of letting the mushroom cloud settle over NBA Twitter; the clarification from TNT’s David Aldridge and Wojnarowski unveiled the block buster trade. Boston sends the first overall pick in the 2017 draft (via Brooklyn) in exchange for: Philadelphia’s 2017 first round pick {#3}, and the 6’ers send their 2018 first round selection (via the Lakers) with protections. If that Lakers pick ends up between 2-5 in next years’ lottery the Celtics get the pick. If not Philly would send it’s 2019 first round selection (via Sacramento) instead of the Lakers pick with Los Angeles keeping their own 2018 selection.

So, after Danny Ainge has once again showed that no piece in his hand is untouchable. He also set the Celtics with the following first round picks for the next three years’; 2017:{#3 overall}, 2018:{Brooklyn, Lakers, and their own}, 2019: {Memphis, Clippers, and their own}. Even though Celtics fans are upset that the possibility of running: IT, Fultz, Gordon Hayward, and Al Horford—they get greater chances at setting the team up for more possible trades for better picks, or if Boston just settles for this the possibility of drafting the next Celtic dynasty.

For Philadelphia, Sam Hinkie’s fingerprints and slogan of “Trust the Process” is seeming like it is coming into fruition. With Ben Simmons returning next year, Joel Embiid hopefully being able to stay healthy, and a mixture of Dario Saric and Robert Covington with Fultz in the starting lineup could push the 6’ers into playoff contention. If the 6’ers hit on two or all three of the new “Big Three” you could be looking at a 6’ers dynasty as well. Fultz looks like the surest thing in this years’ draft, and with every sign pointing to Philly drafting him, 6’er fans go to rest tonight dreaming of what might possibly happen on the court next season.

If you are asking who the winner is here, well I think it’s clear that both sides hit a home run with this trade. Philly gets the point guard it needs to set up their own version of the Cleveland Cavaliers, and Boston continues to stack the chess pieces up—inching their way toward the next Celtic dynasty.

This trade almost certainly opens the gets to Boston signing Brad Stevens old college recruit Gordon Hayward, the question now arises of—what in the world do you do at number three? Do you pick Jackson or Monk, do you continue to trade down, or do you package it with something for next year? That’s the wonderful thing about Danny Ainge; he’s like a tootsie pop “the world just may never know.”

Sources:(twitter.com/wojverticalnba, twitter.com/daldridgetnt, bleacherreport.com, sbnation.com)

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