An actual look at the enormous amount of Celtics future draft picks

Danny Ainge posing with all of the opposing GM's who trust him
Danny Ainge and the Celtics are the proud owners of an enormous amount of draft picks in the upcoming years. This picture tweeted out by Adam Himmelsbach puts the picks in a digestible, visible form.


We're all well aware that he C's are loaded with future picks, but look at that! Sometimes it takes a visual to really grasp these stats and numbers we see all the time.

As we just learned with this summer's draft, having a lot of picks does not mean you can always turn them into whatever it is your franchise prefers. I do think that the next few years picks will be better quality than this past years draft slots, and I also think that if they aren't lucky enough to get any primo lottery picks that the picks are more expendable than this year, especially if the Celtic rookies prove themselves capable.

Those two little differences make the idea of a "godfather offer" of a mix of players and picks, to either move up in the draft or trade for proven talent, a little more possible, and a little more attractive to potential dealers. A move like that is still much easier said than done, but at the minimum the Celtics have cap room (like everybody) and assets that will make them a team to watch in the offseason for the next few years.

It is way too early to have a clue what will happen. Ainge could be like a young Chris Thompson, desperately and unsuccessfully trying to convince his friends that a Will Clark, a Tony Gwynn, and a Jody Reed are worth a Ken Griffey Jr. rookie card. Perhaps next year Brooklyn and Dallas both finish where we need them to and the Celtics are running the lottery. Maybe nothing goes right and they have a slew of picks that they keep and Portland has the best team in the D-League.

At the minimum, Ainge has the Celtics in a good position. That is far from a guarantee of success, but with Danny showing some restraint this last summer, I would bet he is ready to roll the dice and go all in if there is an asset he truly covets.



Photo Credit: The Boston Globe



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