A year ago, the Boston Celtics were on top of the NBA world. They were the new champions, primed to go on a run of more titles behind a relatively young core of Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, Jrue Holiday, Kristpas Porzingis and Derrick White.
Today, we aren’t even sure if the Celtics will be a playoff team next season.
Tatum has a torn Achilles. Holiday and Porzingis are headed to new teams. Brown and White could be traded too. Instead of dynasty, the Celtics are now a cautionary tale of how fragile team-building can be in 2025. It can all fall apart in one year.
WIZARDS-PELICANS GRADES: Who won the Jordan Poole for CJ McCollum trade?
That’s probably what Denver Nuggets president Josh Kroenke was trying to intimate when he clumsily mentioned the farfetched scenario in which the team might be forced to trade Nikola Jokic. The NBA’s two-apron collective bargaining agreement can force teams into some uncomfortable decisions, especially when a major injury strikes.
It’s a nice reminder as we project a future for the Oklahoma City Thunder, who are even younger and more positioned for long-term success than Boston was. While there’s certainly a path for them to win multiple titles, there’s nothing inevitable about it. In fact, based on recent history, it probably won’t happen. We’ve had a different champion in seven straight years.
It’s NBA Draft day!
The first round of the NBA Draft is tonight, and we have a pretty good idea of how the first two picks will turn out. Cooper Flagg is a -10000 favorite at BetMGM to be the top pick and Dylan Harper has the same odds to go No. 2 overall. We have that much out the way.
After that is where things get extremely interesting, especially as Ace Bailey continues to be a walking red flag after once being considered the third best prospect. His potential slide combined with the prospect of teams potentially trading out of the lottery for more immediate help (Jaylen Brown or Derrick White anyone?) is why it’s a good idea to familiarize yourself with some of the other prospects.
To help with that, here’s the final mock draft from our guy Bryan Kalbrosky. And I would also recommend these interviews from his outstanding Prospect Park series: Cedric Coward | Thomas Sorber | Jeremiah Fears | Asa Newell | Kon Knueppel | Dylan Harper
Shootaround
This was Layup Lines, For the Win’s basketball newsletter. Subscribe here to get it delivered to your inbox every Monday, Wednesday and Friday.
