Celtics #2 In ESPN FUTURE Power Rankings

http://www.masslive.com/celtics/index.ssf/2017/09/espns_nba_future_power_ranking.html





ESPN's NBA Future Power Rankings: Boston Celtics No. 2 behind Golden State Warriors





Updated Sep 21; Posted Sep 21





By Jay King



The Boston Celtics landed second Thursday in ESPN's Future Power Rankings, a prediction of how well teams will perform over the next three seasons. 


ESPN's Bobby Marks and Kevin Pelton ranked all 30 NBA teams in five categories: players, management, money, market and draft. The Celtics ranked third, third, 23rd, eighth and third, respectively, putting them second overall behind only the Golden State Warriors. 


For a more detailed explanation of the ranking system, click here. The Houston Rockets, San Antonio Spurs and Minnesota Timberwolves rounded out ESPN's top 5. 


Here's what Pelton wrote about the Celtics' situation:

Having added star power in the form of Gordon Hayward and Kyrie Irving this summer, the Celtics climb one spot to their highest rank ever in the Future Power Rankings, which debuted in the fall of 2009.

We've seen Boston's success coming; the Celtics ranked third in each of the past two editions. But now, in the wake of a run to the Eastern Conference finals, Boston is closer to making that future reality. Though the Celtics have loaded up, they still rank third in the draft category with an extra pick coming either next year or 2019 from trading the No. 1 selection to the Philadelphia 76ers, plus potentially two more in 2019 from the LA Clippers and Memphis Grizzlies.

And there are few organizations we trust to manage success better than the Celtics, who rank third in the management category.

My take: If we were predicting longer-term success, the Philadelphia 76ers (all that young talent), Milwaukee Bucks (they have Giannis, who should be an MVP candidate for a long time) and Timberwolves (Karl Towns, Jimmy Butler and Andrew Wiggins!) might all have cases against Boston. Throw in the Denver Nuggets if you're bullish about Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray, which I am. I don't know if I would take any of those long-term futures over Boston's, but debating it would be fun. 


Over the next three seasons, though -- and considering LeBron James' uncertain future -- ranking the Celtics No. 2 makes sense. They already have three stars in Kyrie Irving, Gordon Hayward and Al Horford, plus a wave of talented youngsters developing behind them. If their incoming pick from LA/Sacramento/Philadelphia lands high (low?) in the lottery, whoa boy. If not, the Celtics will still have several first-round picks over the coming years to keep the talent rushing in.

Even after trading the 2018 Brooklyn Nets pick, Boston boasts a rare combination of youth, talent and draft equity. The current team should improve naturally with internal development -- Kyrie Irving's only 25! Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown still can't drink legally! Marcus Smart boxes out like a fullly-formed grown-up but may not reach his prime for years! -- and Danny Ainge will have opportunities to add to his core via the draft or more trades. 

It's not usual for a team to have so much top-shelf talent alongside so many bright prospects. 



bob
MY NOTE:  MY NOTE:  This assumes we keep the same team, something nobody should ever assume with Trader Danny.  Every Celtic fan who talks about getting Anthony Davis should remember that and put the last sentence of this piece into perspective.  We'd have to gut this team to get him and then we wouldn't have as much top-shelf talent (because we'd have to give up someone big, we're not getting one of the top bigs in the league while he's still young for flotsam and jetsam, unless that's a euphemism for Jaylen and Jayson) nor as many bright prospects.  Furthermore, we have Marcus Smart coming up for a new contract this off-season.  We have been able to off-set the loss of Bradley with the growth of Jaylen and TRo, but who could replace Smart's contributions?  Offensively, almost anybody, but everything else?  Nevertheless, being #2 behind a team that will have Curry, Thompson, Durant and Green for another 3 years is pretty damn impressive especially when you consider we were roadkill 4 years ago. 


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GSW at the top seems to be the primary foregone conclusion. I'm not so sure how long their run will last. On the surface, and because they are the champs, it's hard to bet against them. But it's hard for me to make any definitive assumptions about their future.

I think New Orleans has a lot of potential, honestly.


KJ

I suppose if you're taking a shot at predicting the future that's not a terrible top 5.

San Antonio might actually be the biggest question mark of the bunch.

Having Stevens for a coach is the biggest equalizer. Even if other teams have better drafting position or more young, high-pick pedigree.


KJ