76ers, Knicks make additions as they look to compete with champion Celtics

The Celtics were by far the pride of the Eastern Conference and captured the franchise’s 18th NBA championship with a talented roster that focused primarily on scoring from the perimeter and lockdown defense.

The race to prevent Boston from becoming the first team since the 2018 Golden State Warriors to repeat as champions began Wednesday night with the draft. While it was just the beginning of what looks to be an active offseason in the league, Day 1 made it clear that some of the Celtics’ top chasers next season could come from their own division.

Two of those teams – the New York Knicks and Philadelphia 76ers – both made a choice with competition in mind sooner or later.

Philadelphia entered the offseason with essentially a clean slate and plenty of salary cap space to build a roster around stars Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey. The 76ers started that process by picking up a shooter in former Duke guard Jared McCain.

Even before draft night started, the Knicks were one of the NBA’s most active teams. They acquired Mikal Bridges in a trade with the Brooklyn Nets on Tuesday. They followed that up on Wednesday by signing OG Anunoby to a new contract worth more than $210 million, giving them two of the league’s best fullbacks to play alongside star Jalen Brunson.

Joining that mix will be a French Pacome Dadiet, a 3-and-D wing from France.

The Nets were the only Boston’s Atlantic Division peers without any first-round picks.

Team Needs: Depth. Celtics president of basketball operations Brad Stevens made it clear earlier this week that any player selected during the draft would have a hard time cracking his current rotation. It’s a great position for a team that is only expected to spend the rest of the offseason adjusting the bottom of the roster

Who made the Celtics draft: Creighton G Baylor Scheierman. A lefty with great range from outside, he scored over 2,000 points in college. He won’t wow you with his athleticism, and his ability to improve defensively will determine how well he translates to the next level.

Player Comparison: Orlando Magic F Joe Ingles.

Team needs: Not much from the draft, after agreeing to a deal to acquire Bridges from the Nets and getting Anunoby to agree to his long-term pact to remain in New York on 24 hours’ notice.

Who made the Knicks draft: France F Pacome Dadiet. The final of four French players selected on a historic night for the country, Dadiet is just 18 years old and has plenty of room to develop. He is good with the ball in his hands and has a variety of ways to attack defenses.

Player Comparison: Maybe Anunoby or Bridges at some point, with the ability to guard multiple wing positions. But the Knicks have the real stuff now, so they might not even bring him over from France this season.

Team Needs: Just about everything. Nearly the entire team – players like Kelly Oubre Jr., Kyle Lowry and Nic Batum – finished the season with an expiring contract. Team president Daryl Morey has about $65 million in salary cap space, a max contract of more than $200 million to offer Maxey and plenty of questions to resolve about how to finally truly build an NBA championship contender around Embiid.

Who created the 76ers draft: McCain. A unique player who quickly became the Blue Devils’ toughest competitor. Made 41% of 3s and 89% of free throws. Had two 30-point showings in the NCAA Tournament. He had two 30-point games in the NCAA Tournament to lead Duke to the Elite Eight.

Player comparison: Knicks G Jalen Brunson. McCain is about the same size as the Knicks All-Star and comes into the league about two years younger than the former Villanova star was when he was drafted.

Team needs: Any promising player should line up alongside newly signed All-Star forward Scottie Barnes on a talent-starved squad that traded Anunoby and Pascal Siakam last season before falling to a 25-57 finish and missing the play-in tournament .

Who drafted the Raptors draft: With the first-round pick it acquired in the Siakam trade, Toronto drafted 6-foot-4 Baylor guard Ja’Kobe Walter. Baylor’s leading scorer in his lone season with the Bears, 19-year-old Walter, was also named Big 12 Freshman of the Year after averaging 14.5 points and 4.4 rebounds.

Player Comparison: A promising shooter, determined driver and aggressive rebounder, Walter is also considered a versatile defender. With that mix of qualities, he is comparable to Clippers guard Terance Mann.

AP Basketball Writer Brian Mahoney, AP Sports Writer Dan Gelston and freelancer Ian Harrison contributed to this report.

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