Details On 2028 Pick Involved In Celtics/Sixers Trade

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Three of the draft picks the Celtics are acquiring from the Sixers in their shocking Jaylen Brown blockbuster appear to be relatively straightforward. Those three selections are reportedly as follows:

The fourth pick involved in the deal has been a little trickier to pin down. When Shams Charania of ESPN reported the terms of the deal, he described it as a “2028 first-round pick that could convert from a first to a swap that is more favorable to Boston.”

What does that mean exactly? We tried to suss that out earlier in the evening, noting that the Sixers control the Clippers’ unprotected 2028 first-round pick and won’t have their own first-rounder if it lands outside of the top eight, in which case it would be sent to Brooklyn or Washington. Perhaps the Celtics would get the more favorable of those two picks if Philadelphia’s first-rounder lands in the top eight?

However, according to Keith Smith of Spotrac, it’s not nearly that simple. The terms on that traded pick are actually far more complex and involve the Celtics’ own 2028 first-rounder, which the Spurs have top-one protected swap rights on.

Here are the details, as laid out by Smith (via Twitter):

  1. If the Clippers’ pick is between 1-16 and the Sixers’ pick is between 1-8, the Celtics would get the most favorable – and the Sixers would get the two least favorable – of the following picks:
    • The Clippers’ first-rounder.
    • The Sixers’ first-rounder.
    • The least favorable of the Celtics’ (top-one protected) and Spurs’ first-rounders.
  2. If the Clippers’ pick is between 1-16 and the Sixers’ pick is between 9-30, the Celtics would get the most favorable – and the Sixers would get the least favorable – of the following picks:
    • The Clippers’ first-rounder.
    • The least favorable of the Celtics’ (top-one protected) and Spurs’ first-rounders.
  3. If the Clippers’ pick is between 17-30 and the Sixers’ pick is between 1-8, the Celtics would get the most favorable – and the Sixers would get the least favorable – of the following picks:
    • The Sixers’ first-rounder.
    • The least favorable of the Celtics’ (top-one protected) and Spurs’ first-rounders.
  4. If the Clippers’ pick is between 17-30 and the Sixers’ pick is between 9-30, the Celtics would get both of the following picks:
    • The Clippers’ first-rounder.
    • The least favorable of the Celtics’ (top-one protected) and Spurs’ first-rounders.

Essentially, that fourth scenario is the only one in which the Celtics acquire an extra first-round pick, as Smith points out. In the first three scenarios, they could be in line for a favorable swap, but they’d have to give up their own first-rounder (or San Antonio’s, if the Spurs exercise their swap rights on Boston’s pick) to take advantage of it.

My understanding is that if the Celtics’ pick lands first overall, they would simply keep that selection and not take advantage of any of the swaps outlined in the first three scenarios, though they could still add the Clippers’ pick on top of that if it ends up between 17-30.

Complicating matters further is a report from Tony Jones of The Athletic suggesting that if the 76ers acquire another 2028 first-round pick down the road, the Celtics would also be able to exercise their swap rights on that newly acquired first-rounder if it’s more favorable than the others. I haven’t seen that sort of language on a pick swap before and I’m not entirely sure it would be permitted by the NBA, but unless we get further clarity sooner rather than later, that sounds like a problem we can tackle if and when the time comes.

Interestingly, this is the first draft-pick trade to base its protection terms on the fact that the lottery will now feature 16 teams instead of 14.

Details On 2028 Pick Involved In Celtics/Sixers Trade | Readon News