Celtics, Lakers seek lotto win

NEW YORK — The Boston Celtics are trying to go from No. 1 seed to No. 1 pick.

The Los Angeles Lakers don’t need to be first, but they sure better not be worse than third.

A night that’s normally for the NBA’s biggest losers has huge consequences this time for its greatest champions as the league holds its annual draft lottery today.

There’s plenty at stake for teams such as Philadelphia, New Orleans and Sacramento, whose draft strategies can change enormously if the Ping-Pong balls bounce right in a New York hotel ballroom. But for the Celtics and Lakers, who were busy playing each other in the NBA final back when the lottery was instituted in 1985, the swings could help determine how quickly they can get back to their former heights.

A night after the East’s top seed won Game 7 of its secondround series, the Celtics will have a 25 per cent chance of landing the top pick, thanks to a trade that keeps paying off for them nearly four years after they made it.

When the Celtics decided to break up the remaining core of their 17th NBA championship team, they dealt Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett to Brooklyn as part of a draft-night deal in 2013. Boston got back first-round picks in 2014, 2016 and 2018, as well as the right to swap picks this year.

The Nets are in a rebuilding mode and had the NBA’s worst record this season, so the timing worked out perfectly for the Celtics. After falling back for a decade, the team in the pole position has won the lottery the last two seasons.