NBA Lottery Blues in Green

The Boston Celtics suffered a terrible misfortune at Tuesday night's NBA Draft Lottery. They were supposed to get No. 1 (Greg Oden) or No. 2 (Kevin Durant). Celtics fans haven't just hoped for those scenarios — we've depended on them. With each loss last year, with each dumb-ass move by dim-witted coach Doc Rivers, Celtics fans had two things to keep them off the ledge:

1. At least Doc will get fired.

2. At least we'll get Oden or Durant.

And now this. Pick No. 5, which should translate to (in no particular order) Julian Wright, Joakim Noah, the Chinese kid, Al Horford, Brandan Wright, Jeff Green, Mike Conley, or Corey Brewer. Oh, and Doc got an extension.

(Excuse me while I slam my nuts in my desk drawer to drown out the pain.)

(aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!)

(deep breaths)

Okay.

So aside from straight anguish, there's a sense of karmic payback here. The Celtics tanked last year. It was grotesque. A team should not be rewarded for that kind of gutless strategy. (Though somehow Cleveland got LeBron after tanking, didn't they? DIDN'T THEY?!) Also, the argument can be made that Celtics ownership and front office have been so incompetent, they don't deserve to be rewarded with an NBA superstar. Really, if you're going to give Doc Rivers an extension after his piss-poor performance over the past two years, you don't deserve a potential Hall of Famer. You just don't.

And as far as Boston fans go, the Patriots have won three titles in six years and have been raking in the talent this offseason like George Steinbrenner was running the show (though within the limitations of a salary cap). The Red Sox won the series in 2004 and the fans have gloated as though there were no repercussions for being a sore winner. (No, I'm not a Red Sox fan. Eff them and eff the American League. And eff you if that's a problem. Go Cards.) And since New Englanders are supposed to be tortured (it's mostly Catholic and Jew, after all), it only makes sense that one franchise always be in the dirt at all times (the Bruins don't count). It just so happens it's the Celtics' turn (and has been for quite some time now).

With all that said, however, there is one chance left for this to not go down as one of the worst strokes of bad luck to ever befall a New England franchise. There is one other player in this draft who I think will do as much for the team as Oden or Durant would have, one player who can be an MVP-level performer at a critical position on the floor, who can make Paul Pierce and Al Jefferson and everybody else better, who would instantly make the Celtics a playoff team: Mike Conley.

We know what's going to happen at one and two. Atlanta has number three and Memphis number four. Atlanta should take Conley, who would be a No. 1 pick if he had stayed in college for another year or two. They need a PG and he's a difference maker. But Atlanta has shown no inclination to doing the smart thing. Last year, they took Shelden Williams over Brandon Roy and Randy Foye. In 2005, it was Marvin Williams over Deron Williams and Chris Paul. In 2004, Josh Childress over Luol Deng. If there's anybody I want picking ahead of me in the draft, it's the Hawks.

Memphis, though, is far more worrisome. They could really use Conley. They also don't have much need for either of the Wrights or the Chinese kid (fine — his name is Yi Jianlian), who is basically an Asian Pau Gasol. The only option of the top seven or eight players I could see them going with over Conley is Brewer, who would also vastly improve a position of weakness. But given a choice between a dominant point guard and a dominant two guard, the smart money is on the point. And though Jerry West isn't quite the logo he used to be, I have to think he still has that basic concept down.

But I'm going to hold out hope. With Conley in green along with Rajon Rondo and Delonte West (not to mention Pierce, who probably slammed his own nuts in a drawer last night), the Celts would have the beginnings of something special on the perimeter.

Now all we need is a coach who can set a rotation and develop the rest of the young guys and we're set!

Seth Doria is a freelance blogger and columnist in St. Louis. He is originally from Providence, Rhode Island and hates Doc Rivers. For more, visit The Left Calf.