The Celtics offered four first-round picks for the chance to move up from no. 16 to no. 9: that 16th pick, no. 15 (acquired in a prearranged contingency deal with the Hawks), one unprotected future Brooklyn pick, and a future first-rounder from either the Grizzlies or Timberwolves, per sources familiar with the talks. Zach Lowe, On the 2015 NBA Draft

With that, The Nearly Year began for the Boston Celtics.

Wyc Grousbeck, the Celtics owner and drawing room rep, was reduced to this: hoping for “3,” the only ball that would hold Boston in the No. 3 slot, a one-in-eleven shot at that exact moment. Zach Lowe, On the 2016 NBA Lottery

With that, The Nearly Year ended for the Boston Celtics.

It’s been a year of promise and frustration, in nearly equal measure, for Celtics fans. Coming off a 40-win season and a brief playoff appearance, the team did all they could to jump up in the 2015 draft to grab Justise Winslow. Teams from the Knicks all the way back to Miami rebuffed their “all in” offer for the rugged wing. In retrospect it looks like a good thing that no one did take Ainge’s proposal, even with Winslow looking like one of the better prospects in his class, but in the moment it always hurts to make a play and have it not work out. It felt like we were nearly there; a move that would have moved the needle. But it wasn’t to be, so the team moves on.

The preseason projections portrayed a team on the cusp. The big-picture media saw the Celtics as a fringe playoff team; the analytics crowd saw a potential 50-win squad. The early season results did nothing to clarify the picture. A strong point differential but a lagging win-loss record gave reason to be excited and cause for concern. This was nearly a really good team.

By the trade deadline, things seemed to be coming to a head. Trade rumors swirled and almost always included the Celtics. Were we in play for Al Horford? Making a move for Winslow’s Duke teammate Jahlil Okafor? Was there a secret pact to be made? In the end, no. The deadline was a dud; even Trader Danny can’t get beyond “nearly a deal” when everyone is holding fast. Another checkpoint passed; another opportunity for a move, good or bad, in the rearview mirror.

We focused back on the court but the outlook was still hazy. The wins started to edge up as the point differential leveled off. Was this a good team climbing up or an average team leveling out? It seemed like the former as the team surged towards the 50-win mark and a home playoff series. Even that wasn’t to be as a late season rash of minor injuries, the kind that nearly keep a player off the court, stemmed the momentum. A final week lapse and a final 24 minute surge left the team at 48 wins. Nearly to 50.

Nearly home court advantage. Why do divisions matter after the league tells us they don’t? I guess that’s what happens when you change only nearly all the rules. The Celtics draw the Hawks and the road. It was so nearly a big step forward.

In Game 1 of the playoffs they mount a furious comeback and look poised to wrestle home court advantage back to Boston. They nearly made it, but Avery Bradley’s hamstring stopped that cold. A series loss in six games. A bit of progress that could have been so much more with a some luck and health.

A month earlier, Celtics fans were dreaming of playing in a Conference Finals game the night of the lottery. Instead of Danny Ainge sitting on the dais, it was Masai Ujiri splitting his attention between ping-pong and basket balls. And yet, things were rosy for Bostonians. The Nets didn’t nearly blow up, they went all the way. After cutting bait on Deron Williams and Joe Johnson, Brooklyn sent a jolt of energy up to Boston by losing enough to sink below even the hapless Phoenix Suns into the third best lottery odds. The Celtics, possessing both a sordid lottery history and a leprechaun toting a bag of marshmallows, made it all the way to the final commercial break in the lottery show without seeing their name. A top-3 pick was in the literal cards.

At that moment, when Isaiah Thomas made his way to the front of the lottery stage, the Celtics had a 56.6% chance of picking in the top two. They were so close to the top flight talent that could alter a franchise. This is only The Nearly Year, though.