Indiana Pacers officially acquire first-round draft pick from Boston as Celtics clinch playoff berth

The Pacers 2022 trade with the Celtics has turned out to be strong

The Boston Celtics clinched a playoff berth on Saturday night, which impacted the Indiana Pacers.

In the 2022 offseason, the two teams made a trade that sent guard Malcolm Brogdon to the Celtics and wing Aaron Nesmith, center Daniel Theis, and a 2023 first-round draft pick to the Pacers. It has turned out to be a win-win deal for both franchises.

The draft pick that Indiana acquired from Boston had some protections on it, though. It was protected for selections 1-12, meaning that had Boston ended up with one of the first dozen picks in the first round this summer, they would have kept their first-round pick and instead sent their only 2023 second-round pick to the Pacers.

The Celtics have been great this season and currently are in third place in the Eastern Conference. It has been exceedingly unlikely that they were going to end up with a top-12 pick for a while now, even with the existence of the NBA draft lottery. But when the Miami Heat lost on Saturday night, Boston clinched a playoff berth, and now their first round pick can be no worse than 21st. That means the Pacers are now guaranteed to get the pick.

The Pacers will have multiple picks in the upcoming draft. Depending on where the Cleveland Cavaliers and Houston Rockets finish in the standings, the blue and gold could have as many as four of the top-32 picks, including their own and Boston's, and they have a selection later in the second round as well. They have plenty of tools to improve their team in the 2023 offseason.

The Cavaliers could clinch a playoff berth as soon as next week, which would give the Pacers a third first-round pick in the upcoming draft. If the season ended today, Indiana would have the seventh or eighth pick, the 26th pick, and the 28th pick in the first round.

On top of draft compensation, the Pacers also received Theis and Nesmith from Boston. Theis is out of the rotation, but Nesmith has been excellent for the blue and gold. Fittingly, on the night that Indiana secured the first-round pick from the Celtics, Nesmith dropped a career high 25 points against the Philadelphia 76ers.

"He's a soldier, man," Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle said of Nesmith last night. "He's what we're going to be about. That kind of attitude, that kind of approach."

The Pacers are fighting for their own potential spot in the playoffs, via the play-in tournament, and have their own draft positioning in mind with 11 games to go. They next play on Monday in Charlotte against the Hornets.

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