Celtics

Here’s the latest on the draft pick the Grizzlies are sending to the Celtics

Memphis will officially miss the playoffs this year and fall into the lottery.

Danny Ainge. John Tlumacki/Globe Staff

August 15, 2020

It appears there’s finally some clarity on the Memphis Grizzlies draft pick the Celtics have kept tabs on all season – unless the ping-pong balls provide a surprising and mathematically improbable twist.

With the Grizzlies losing to the Portland Trail Blazers in the Western Conference play-in matchup Saturday, Memphis will miss the playoffs this year and fall into the lottery. There’s a 97.6 percent chance the Grizzlies won’t vault into the top four in the 2020 NBA Draft and will consequently end up with the No. 14 pick – a pick they’ll send to the Celtics prior to the draft.

The Celtics own the Grizzlies’ pick, and the pick is top-six protected. If it lands in the top six, it won’t convey this year and will definitely convey next year.

There’s a 2.4 percent chance that the Grizzlies will end up in the top four, which would result in Memphis sending an unprotected 2021 first-round pick to Boston.

The Celtics initially acquired the pick in a 2015 trade involving former Celtic Jeff Green and Austin Rivers in a three-team trade that also included the New Orleans Pelicans. Boston already has the 26th pick and the 30th pick in this year’s draft, so it’s possible it will have three first-round selections.

The lottery will be held virtually on Thursday, Aug. 20, and the 2020 NBA Draft is slated for Friday, Oct. 16. This draft is widely considered weaker than some others in recent memory.