Boston Celtics: Ranking Team’s Most Valuable Trade Assets

1.) Brooklyn Nets’ 2016 First-Round Pick

The big asset that everyone is talking about, of course, is the Brooklyn Nets 2016 first-rounder.

The Nets are a franchise on a major decline right now, and they don’t project to improve any time soon. Since coming off of a playoff berth, the Nets have slumped hard in 2015-16 en route to becoming the third-worst team in the NBA. Thus far, Brooklyn has won 14 games and has lost 40.

But Brooklyn’s misfortune is a blessing for the Celtics, who will be receiving the Nets’ first-rounder this year. Seeing Paul Pierce sporting the Nets’ black and white (and then both a Wizards and Clippers uniform) is much easier to stomach when your squad has a shot at landing Ben Simmons — albeit, and outside shot at this point.

Still, the upcoming draft has loads of talent, and teams are always eager to add a young star that can grow and develop under the same franchise. Landing anywhere in the top three would guarantee a shot at either Simmons, Dragan Bender, or Brandon Ingram.

Unfortunately for Boston, the Phoenix Suns have plummeted in the standings, and are now tied with Brooklyn for the third-worst record in the league. If trends continue, the Nets’ pick will fall out of the top three. The lottery, of course, gives Brooklyn at shot at the first overall pick no matter what, but a better record yields lower chances.

Danny Ainge isn’t eager to deal the Brooklyn pick, but it could be obtained for the right price. From the Boston Globe:

"The Celtics could have eight picks in next June’s draft, none more valuable than the unprotected first-round choice they will receive from the Nets. Brooklyn is currently tied with the Suns for the third-worst record in the NBA. Ainge said teams have inquired about that Brooklyn pick, and he understands its worth. “We know it’s important, but it’s not untouchable, either,” Ainge said. “It’s important and it has value for us. It’s not the most important value. We have some [Celtics] players we value more than we value the Brooklyn pick."

Ainge’s supposed lack of attachment to the pick and its given value around the league is a perfect combination for a deal to go down. The Brooklyn pick remains Boston’s most tradable asset because it’s universally valued around the league, but not off-limits.

Flexibility is the Boston Celtics’ game as the 2016 trade deadline approaches, and flexibility yields unpredictability. Thus, there’s no telling what Ainge could have in the works.

But hey, that’s the fun of the deadline, right?