Lakers delay Celtics taking Philadelphia 76ers protected NBA Draft pick

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NEW YORK, NEW YORK – MAY 16: Bryan Colangelo of the Philadelphia 76ers has a conversation during the 2017 NBA Draft Lottery at the New York Hilton in New York, New York. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2017 NBAE (Photo by David Dow/NBAE via Getty Images) /

Salary Cap / Roster make-up

I trust that you are familiar with the Philadelphia 76ers roster makeup, but just as a refresher, the team’s expiring contracts for the 2018 season appear like this:

J.J. Redick
Amir Johnson
Trevor Booker
Marco Belinelli (per reports)

Cushioning the blow for the 76ers is the possession of rights to international players such as center Anzejs Pasecniks, power forward Jonah Bolden, and small forward Mathias Lessort. With a 2018-2019 salary projected at $70 million, the Philadelphia 76ers have sufficient cap space to be free agent buyers in a buyer’s market next season.

Celtics picture fuzzier

That is not the case for the Boston Celtics. The Celtics’ 2018 expiring contracts look like this:

Greg Monroe
Marcus Smart
Aron Baynes
Shane Larkin

While the Celtics had made ample use of international basketball play, they had emptied the vaults in recent trades, now carrying no such prospects in the Euroleague. So for the 2018 off-season, the Celtics will be hard pressed as their roster currently stands. With a 2018-2019 salary cap projected at $101 million, and a luxury cap at $121 million, the Celtics projected payroll for that 2018-2019 season is already at $107 million. So Boston will be in need of inexpensive roster players next season. But what of the draft prospects?