10 Greatest NBA What-Ifs in the 2000s

#3 What if the 76ers never traded for the first pick in 2017

Fultz and Tatum almost played in each other's colors

It's not a usual occurrence when teams decide to trade the first overall pick. Especially when the top talent of the draft class and the projected first pick is Markelle Fultz, who had an impressive year in college. Passing on him seemed illogical.

But as always, it seems like Danny Ainge, who is regarded as one of the best executives in the league, knew exactly what he was doing.

Fultz had a disappointing rookie season, to say the least, playing only 14 games because of a shoulder injury, caused by his attempt to change his shooting motion.

Jayson Tatum, on the other hand, who was selected with that third pick, had an amazing rookie season. He averaged 13.9 points during the regular season and 18.5 points in the playoffs.

Without this trade, the season of both teams could have looked so much different. Boston Celtics could have missed the second seed in the East, and the encounter between the two in the Eastern Conference semifinals might have never even happened, not to mention the rest of the playoffs.