Celtic Pity

Speaking of Tim Duncan and the 2007 NBA Draft lottery:

You just can't help but feel sorry for the Boston Celtics, once the most prestigious franchise in NBA. They had the second-worst regular season record this year, but the ping-pong balls bounced them out of the top three and way down to fifth. Instead of drafting a franchise-changing superstar like Greg Oden or Kevin Durant, they now have to come to terms with drafting a player from China, Yi Jianlian, whom many ranked as the third-best player but is also the biggest unknown in this draft class.

Speaking of drafting a franchise-changing superstar, the last time the Celtics had such a good shot to draft one was in 1997, when they had a staggering one-third of a chance to land the top pick, which would turn out to be Duncan. Alas, the ping-pong balls teased them big time and they ended up with the third and sixth selections. Instead of having a cornerstone for the franchise, they had to draft two backcourt players (Chauncey Billups and Ron Mercer) who were once dubbed by then coach Rick Pitino as their "backcourt for a decade". While they are two solid players, they somehow only excelled after leaving the Celtics.

Back to the days when big envelopes and placards instead of ping-pong balls were used, there was one time when the Celtics thought that they had lady luck at their side. In 1986, the year they had won their 16th (and so far the last) NBA title, they had landed the second pick in the draft, thanks to their trade to shooting guard Gerald Henderson to the Seattle Supersonics (Imagine the frightening picture of San Antonio Spurs or Detroit Pistons drafting Oden or Durant) two years before. They selected Len Bias from the University of Maryland who, alongside a guy named Michael Jordan, were regarded by legendary coaches like Dean Smith and Mike Krzyzewski as the two best players ever to have played for the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC). Alas, just two days after his selection, Bias was found dead in his campus dormitory, due to suspected cocaine overdose. While many criticised the Celtics for hanging onto their ageing superstars (Larry Bird, Kevin McHale, Robert Parish and Dennis Johnson, etc.) for too long and not trading any of them while they still had values, the loss of Bias was universally regarded as the fatal blow to their demise.

When will the Celtics' luck change? Perhaps if they can find more Paul Pierce, who slid down the draft board in 1998 and was snapped up by the Celtics at number 10. And there are certainly plenty of good players available at number 5. Remember Dwyane Wade? The Marquette star was drafted at number 5 by the Miami Heat in 2003.

So there is hope, albeit a glimmering one.