5 reasons the Boston Celtics should keep the No. 1 pick in the 2017 NBA Draft

The Boston Celtics have a decision to make with their No. 1 pick in the 2017 NBA Draft, but here’s why they should keep it and draft Markelle Fultz.

Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett are true Boston Celtics legends, not only because they brought the franchise its NBA-best 17th championship, but also because their trade to the Brooklyn Nets is still feeding them a treasure trove of draft assets.

General manager Danny Ainge has been unable to turn all those stockpiled picks into a star player on the trade market, but the truth is, he might not have to. With the No. 1 overall selection in the 2017 NBA Draft, nothing is standing in the Celtics’ way of snagging Washington’s Markelle Fultz, the consensus top prospect in the NBA’s most loaded draft class since 2003.

The only problem is, the Celtics just finished with the best record in the Eastern Conference, winning 53 games before suffering a gentleman’s sweep in the conference finals at the hands of the Cleveland Cavaliers.

With Isaiah Thomas having a fringe MVP-caliber season and the 31-year-old Al Horford being signed to a four-year, $113 million deal last summer, Boston’s time for contention is now. A 19- or 20-year-old rookie won’t help close the gap on LeBron James, but trading the pick for a legitimate star might.

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That being said, after years of staying patient, the Boston Celtics shouldn’t overthink this. Here are five reasons they should keep the No. 1 pick in the 2017 NBA Draft.

5. Markelle Fultz will be a star

Let’s start with the obvious: Markelle Fultz is going to be really f***ing good.

Even in the scenario where the Celtics trade the No. 1 pick for an established star, Fultz has the makings of a top-five guard in the NBA one day. You don’t turn your back on that kind of potential, even if the Brooklyn Nets’ pick in next year’s draft could be the No. 1 overall selection as well.

In his one season at Washington, the 19-year-old Fultz averaged 23.2 points, 5.9 assists, 5.7 rebounds, 1.6 steals and 1.2 blocks per game. Though he only shot 64.9 percent from the foul line and played for an unsuccessful Huskies team (9-22), he also shot 50.2 percent from the field and 41.3 percent from downtown on 5.0 attempts per game.

At 6’4″ and with a massive 6’10” wingspan, Fultz has the ideal size for a point guard and can even spend time off the ball as a 2-guard. According to Draft Express, he had the highest Player Efficiency Rating of any 18-year-old over the last 16 years.

From his ability to create shots to his work out of the pick-and-roll, Fultz is the cream of the crop in a draft loaded with talented point guard prospects. Though he’s not a defensive ace by any means, Fultz’s floor is high and his ceiling is even higher.

If the Celtics were to trade the No. 1 overall pick, there’s a very good chance Markelle Fultz would make regret that decision in the not-so-distant future.

4. Fultz and IT can play together

Fultz is clearly the top prospect here, and his NBA future is tantalizing, but one of the larger obstacles to this potential draft union seems to be the simple fact that Beantown is already overloaded with guards.

From Isaiah Thomas to Avery Bradley to Marcus Smart to even Terry Rozier, the Celtics have a nucleus of young talent to groom in the backcourt. IT is coming off a career year as the heart and soul of thie Celtics, leading the winningest team in the East with 28.9 points and 5.9 assists per game.

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Bradley was one of the best two-way players in the league at his position, shooting 39 percent from long range and playing some of the most underrated defense at the 2-spot in the NBA. Smart is a versatile bulldog who can guard nearly every position and makes up for his subpar shooting numbers as something of a mini-Draymond Green who can do it all.

Even if you completely discount Rozier’s flashes of progress, there are only so many minutes to go around. With IT hitting unrestricted free agency in 2018, drafting a point guard has some concerned that Fultz is really auditioning for the replacement role as soon as his rookie year begins.

If the Celtics aren’t going to trade the pick in order to place another superstar alongside Thomas and make a real run at the Eastern belt, it’s logical to wonder if IT’s days in Boston are numbered, especially if the C’s fall short in the playoffs again. Trading Thomas might be preferable to overpaying for a 29-year-old defensive sieve, especially if the Cavs run away with the East again.

Much of this depends on Fultz’s development on the defensive side of the ball, but even if the rookie’s arrival starts the clock counting down IT’s time on Beantown, having a mentor and fellow Washington Husky like Thomas for even a year would do the 19-year-old a great deal of good.

However, this Fultz-Thomas situation doesn’t have to be a Harry Potter-Voldemort situation; the two can co-exist together in the same world, even if the Celtics re-sign IT for the long haul next summer.

Although Fultz rarely looked engaged on the defensive end in college, that may have been a product of his environment. He has the size to play either spot in the backcourt and the athleticism to at least be competent on that end down the road.

Related Story: Celtics - How might Fultz impact Thomas' future in Boston?

If anything, Bradley looks like the more expendable piece, since he will also be an unrestricted free agent in 2018 (Smart will be a restricted free agent that summer as well).

After being disgruntled with his bargain of a contract extension, Bradley is due for a large payday. Even the importance of covering for IT’s shortcomings on the defensive end may not prevent Boston from letting him depart for greener pastures than Celtics green.

Either way though, there should be no rushing this decision. Ainge has at least a year to see how Thomas, Fultz, Bradley, Smart and even Rozier all function together in the same backcourt, but due to the positional versatility of this year’s likely No. 1 pick, there’s got to be some combination of guards that will work well together in Boston.

3. Trading the pick for a star is unlikely

To play devil’s advocate, there are probably some who believe Fultz is as risky a proposition as any rookie in NBA history, and doubts still linger about how this backcourt would function together, especially with IT, Bradley and Smart all being free agents next summer.

Even if those concerns seem ungrounded, the case can be made that now is the time for Boston to emerge as a true contender in the East. After a five-game dismantling in the conference finals, having home-court advantage and the No. 1 seed in the conference just proved how far the Celtics are from truly threatening LeBron.

A trade of the No. 1 pick for a player like Paul George or Jimmy Butler — names that came up at the trade deadline — would move the Celtics closer to that goal. There’d be no guarantees, even when King James turns 33 years old next December, but a two-way wing like that would definitely help close the gap.

That being said, a blockbuster draft-day trade feels unlikely that this point, even if the Celtics were perfectly okay with passing on Fultz with the knowledge they’ll enjoy another likely top-three pick from Brooklyn in 2018.

For PG-13, the whispers about his interest in signing with Los Angeles Lakers next summer have grown to a dull roar, likely dissuading most interested teams from trading for him.

The Celtics have the assets to pull off a deal, but the Indiana Pacers are committed to keeping him long-term. The threat of giving up assets, falling short in the conference finals and watching George leave for the team’s most hated rival is very real for Boston too.

As for Jimmy Butler, he’d be the smarter trade target since he’s locked in through at least 2018-19. However, the Chicago Bulls remain precariously perched on the fence, unable to decide between a full-scale rebuild and continuing to flounder in putting a team around their superstar.

In any case, the most recent word out of the Windy City is that the Bulls are not interested in dealing Butler. A four-man core of IT, Bradley, George/Butler, and Al Horford looks great on paper, but is it really enough to provide a realistic shot at knocking off the King?

Unless that answer was a resounding “yes” (and it’s not), that’s a heavy price to pay for another conference finals appearance.

That failure would make it easier for George, IT, Bradley and/or Smart to consider signing elsewhere, no matter how close they came to reaching the Finals. Horford’s age and contract means the time is now to make a serious push in the Eastern arms race, especially after watching Ainge sit on those assets for so long. The only problem is there’s no clear home run play to make.

2. Celtics can still land a current superstar in free agency

Just because Boston can’t trade for a Paul George or a Jimmy Butler right now doesn’t mean they have to give up on contending in the East. Even if they keep that No. 1 overall pick, there are a couple of free agents they could land this summer without having to sacrifice the next potential face of the franchise in Fultz.

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For starters, there’s Gordon Hayward, an unrestricted free agent who could make more money re-signing with the Utah Jazz, but could also earn something close to the max playing for his old head coach at Butler — all while making the Celtics a legitimate force in the East.

Boston would have to sacrifice plenty to make room for his new contract, but The Vertical‘s Adrian Wojnarowski reports the team is open to preserving cap space in order to pursue him in free agency.

That would require renouncing the rights to all their pending free agents (Amir Johnson, Jonas Jerebko, James Young, Gerald Green and, most notably, recent playoff hero Kelly Olynyk), plus trading away at least $4.5 million in salary (possibly more if they don’t stash Guerschon Yabusele and Ante Zizic for another year). This means trading one of Crowder, Bradly or Smart, with the most likely candidate being Crowder since he and Hayward play the same position.

If Hayward re-signs with the Jazz, the Celtics could conceivably turn their attention to an actual position of need: power forward. The same roster sacrifices would be required, but if they could get in the ear of a Blake Griffin, Paul Millsap or Serge Ibaka, that would be a very dangerous squad.

Hayward is the most likely free agency target, but the point remains: The Celtics have the flexibility to clear out max cap space for a star free agent this summer, so trying to force a blockbuster deal for the No. 1 pick is unnecessary.

1. Balancing short-term and long-term success

Aside from finishing with the No. 1 seed in the East and the No. 1 pick in the draft, the Boston Celtics’ roster is built for both short-term and long-term success.

Long-term assets:

• Markelle Fultz
• Jaylen Brown
• Marcus Smart
• Guerschon Yabusele
• Ante Zizic
• 2018 Brooklyn first round draft pick (possibly No. 1 overall again)

Short-term assets:

• A top-10 MVP candidate and Celtics fan favorite in Isaiah Thomas
• Solid two-way veterans in Jae Crowder and Avery Bradley
• A human Swiss Army knife/glue guy in the middle in Al Horford
• Capable role players on the rise in Smart, Brown, Fultz, etc.

The Celtics may not have a path to the Finals, and trading the No. 1 pick for someone like Paul George or Jimmy Butler doesn’t get them there either. However, staying patient may reveal the best path to sustainable success.

The fact of the matter is, the Celtics aren’t just two pieces away from challenging the Cavaliers; they’re 2-3 pieces away from even sniffing the Golden State Warriors, a behemoth whose title window could easily last another five years.

What’s the point of giving up a future franchise player when these two juggernauts are miles ahead in the race for NBA superiority?

While signing Horford to that deal and pairing him with Thomas opened a short window for contention, the Celtics would have to sacrifice their long-term future to actually land the pieces to even remotely challenge the Warriors/Cavs, and even then, it still probably wouldn’t be enough.

That’s not to say the Celtics will lie down and just take the punishment; after all, they’re targeting Hayward for a reason. But it’d also be prudent to stay patient, bide their time and strategically plan for five years down the road when the Warriors and Cavs are done waging their holy war.

Think about it: If the Celtics re-sign IT, keep Brown and Smart, draft Fultz and land another potential No. 1 pick in next year’s draft, isn’t that core automatically in contention for the crown when the Warriors finally come back into orbit and the LeBron-bot starts to show signs of his age? They could be the NBA’s next great powerhouse.

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It’s a delicate balance, but toeing the line between short-term competitiveness and sustainable success is where the Boston Celtics are at right now. Keeping the No. 1 overall pick is the most likely path to ensure that a franchise with the most titles in NBA history can add to its count, instead of mortgaging the future just for a few fruitless appearances in the Finals.