Nets clinch top lottery odds for Celtics with NBA's worst record

As ever, the Brooklyn Nets' pain is the Boston Celtics' gain.

Thanks to the Phoenix Suns' victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder on Friday night, the Nets are assured of finishing with the worst record in the NBA this season. But because the Celtics own swap rights on the teams' first-round picks this summer, thanks to the 2013 trade that keeps on giving, it won't be the Nets reaping the fruits of their own ineptitude in the coming draft.

Instead, Boston - which used the Nets' pick to draft Jaylen Brown third overall last summer - will have the inside track on the No. 1 pick, with a 25-percent chance at winning the draft lottery, and a guarantee of picking in the top four.

The Celtics also own the Nets' 2018 first-rounder outright. Not bad for a team that's about to finish as a top-two seed in the Eastern Conference.