The Celtics able to benefit from harsh punishments distributed art Clippers for bypassing the salary limit, according to MassLive’s Brian Robb. The return portion of the sending transaction Jaylen Brown to Philadelphia this summer was a 2028 first-round pick/trade originally owned by Los Angeles.
As Robb outlines, Boston will receive a pick via trade if the Clippers go 1-16 in the expansion lottery and Sixers are between 1 and 8. The Celtics will be able to make the higher of these picks by sending their pick back. They would pick right away, keeping their own draft pick, if LA is between 17 and 30 and Philadelphia is between 9 and 30.
Rob points out that the sanctions were imposed by the commissioner Adam Silver make it more likely that the Clippers will be a lottery pick in 2027/28. That would result in a high draft pick for the Celtics to build their future around, or a valuable trade chip that could be moved in a more immediate deal.
There are more from the Atlantic Division:
- The Sixers will also benefit from the Clippers’ misfortune via the protected trade of the top 3 picks in 2029 they received from Los Angeles as part of James Harden trade in 2023, Chris Hine of The Philadelphia Inquirer is told in the story for subscribers only. A league source confirmed to Hine that the Clippers will lose the 2029 first-round pick they own from Indiana, but that won’t affect the pick they sent to Philadelphia. Hine also expects Los Angeles to fall in the standings over the next few years and, like Robb, suggests the pick’s biggest value could be a trade asset.
- Security veteran Bruce Brown can be a target for Nix before training camp begins, ClutchPoints’ Brett Siegel offers the Clutch Scoops Podcast (Link to Twitterhat tip to Ryan Anderson of The New York Post). Siegel notes that Brown is a CAA client with a similar style of play Josh Hart. Siegel refers to rumors that Lakers are also interested in Brown, but he sees New York as a more realistic option.
- Networks forward Julius Randleformer Knick, was happy to see his old team win the NBA title last season (Link to video on Twitter). “What the organization has achieved is remarkable” he said. “It’s been a long time coming. It’s taken a lot of hard years, a lot of different players to build it to what it has been. It’s amazing. Definitely looking forward to building it in Brooklyn.”
