UPPPER HAND
Celts control race for East’s No.1 seed
Kenny Atkinson laughed hard when asked if he planned to go out and get, uh, very drunk on the night of the NBA draft lottery.
“No, I’ll watch,” the Nets coach said. “I’ll watch.”
And he’ll probably get indigestion. It certainly won’t be pleasant when he sees the card bearing the Celtics logo placed no lower than fourth overall as the top three positions are drawn.
It’s the toughest part of being in the Brooklyn organization these days, knowing all the losses will benefit the Celts. The 2013 trade that netted the Nets Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett continues to pay dividends to the Bostonians. Last year, it was Jaylen Brown. This year, it will be a swap of first-round positions. Next year, the transaction will be completed as the C’s get Brooklyn’s first-rounder unencumbered.
They have won just 20 games this season with one left to play, but for the Nets, there will be no pot of gold at the end of this thunderstorm.
Two years ago, one of the people considering the vacant Brooklyn general manager’s job said it interested him, “but I didn’t want to be Boston’s b---- for the next three years.”
Sean Marks wasn’t sufficiently scared off. He took the position and went about trying to boost the Brooklyn draft stock, in February dealing Bojan Bogdanovic to Washington for a firstround pick that would slot in around No. 22 as things stood heading into last night’s league schedule.
Atkinson studied the draft situation when he was an Atlanta assistant being courted for this position last summer.
“Sure,” he said. “Sure I looked at it, and then talking to Sean and realizing what kind of culture we’re going to bring, I just put it in a little box and locked it out and really haven’t thought about it. Again, I think we’ve done some creative things already. Sean has been amazing, bringing in the (Spencer) Dinwiddies of the world and guys that have shown they can be NBA players. That’s a huge step. So, I’d be lying to you if I said I didn’t look at (the Celts owning the Nets’ next two first-round picks), but then I looked at it and said, ‘OK, Sean’s going to do some great things and we’re going to do some great things together in terms of culture and what we’re building here.”
To ease the pain of what’s owed the Celtics, Atkinson actually looks to the Celtics for inspiration. Two of the Shamrock starters are second-round picks, Jae Crowder a No. 34 overall and, of course, Isaiah Thomas, a No. 60.
“I was thinking about Crowder,” Atkinson said. “I was thinking about Isaiah Thomas. I do think about that. They have guys that weren’t top picks, and it’s great. That’s what makes it fun. You can find guys outside of the lottery. We’ve just got to be really good at identifying those guys. It’s a fun challenge.”
For Celtics fans, there was fun in watching their team climb the East standings and pass the 50-win mark. There was also joy in watching the Nets sink to the point where they clinched the worst record in the NBA and the best lottery chance at the No. 1 pick (25 percent).
Atkinson laughed at the suggestion the Nets were the second-favorite team of Celts fans.
“You know, all that stuff, we don’t really think about it,” he said.
Told that Greenhearts followed the Nets closely, Atkinson said, “We follow the Celtics pretty close.”
He laughed again and added, “I get it.”
Indeed, Atkinson does get it. Three years after Nets owner Mikhail Prokhorov jumped at the chance to have Pierce and Garnett on his team, the club is still paying the price for the shortsighted move.
The new coach is about now and what comes next. In addition to the Washington and Celtics first-rounders, the Nets also have the Celts’ second round pick. And money to spend in the free agent market. Though people around here are rooting against them in recruiting, Atkinson is hopeful, if a bit underwhelming in what he can say compared to the allure of other clubs.
“That’s an easy sell,” Atkinson said. “We’ve got great fans, great basketball city. We’ve got a great practice facility. I think we’re getting some just mojo around the league that it’s a pleasant place to play, and guys like that. I think guys will look at it and say, ‘Hey, maybe this is a place where I can get an opportunity and, you know, help this team improve.’ ”
In relative terms, it falls somewhere below Golden State offering Kevin Durant a chance to play beside Steph Curry.
You have to admire the task Marks and Atkinson have been willing to take on. It has to be hard when your pitch essentially comes down to, “Come play for the Nets and help us give the Celtics a worse draft pick in 2018.”