Who do the Celtics take in ESPN's mock draft/lottery simulator?


Yesterday ESPN.com debuted their lottery machine combined with Chad Ford's latest mock draft.  What it does is randomly play out the lottery odds based on the current standings, then predict who each team will choose.  As of today the Celtics have the 7th worst record in the league, which would give them a 4.3% chance of getting the #1 pick, and roughly a 14% chance of moving up into the top 3 overall.  In case you don't feel like hitting the "Play Lottery" button over and over again (but I won't blame you if you do, it's fun), here's a brief summary of what happens:

- More often than not the Celtics have the 7th pick, and use it on Arizona freshman Aaron Gordon.  When he's not available they chose Kentucky sophomore Willie Cauley-Stein.

- In many scenarios a team below Boston moves up into the top 3, bumping the C's to 8th.  In those cases they take Cauley-Steins well.  On one occasion I got 2 teams moving ahead of Boston (highly unlikely) pushing them to 9th, but Cauley-Stein was still available.

- When the Celtics win the lottery Ford has them taking Duke freshman Jabari Parker.

- If they get the 2nd pick he projects them choosing Kansas Freshman Joel Embiid (not Andrew Wiggins).

- And when Boston chooses 3rd they take Embiid as well, with Parker and Wiggins going 1 and 2.

There are other potential scenarios (for example when Cleveland wins it they take Embiid #1, so if the Celtics finished 3rd under those circumstances and Parker was gone they'd probably select Wiggins.  It's also possible 3 teams behind the C's could all move up, pushing them back to 10), but they are all fairly remote.  The positions are constantly changing though; just yesterday afternoon Boston was 8th, and with tough back to back road games vs Golden State and Portland tonight and tomorrow, the Celtics could well be 4th by Sunday.


Follow Mark Vandeusen on twitter @LucidSportsFan