After both sides failed to reach an agreement, the owners called for a lockout, which began on July 1, 1998, putting a hold on all team trades, free agent signings and training camp workouts, and cancelling many NBA regular season and preseason games.
[7][8][9][10][11] However, on January 6, 1999, NBA commissioner David Stern, and NBPA director Billy Hunter finally reached an agreement to end the lockout.
[12][13][14][15][16] This season also marked when the Celtics selected future All-Star, and one-time champion Paul Pierce from the University of Kansas with the tenth overall pick in the 1998 NBA draft.
However, after a 7–7 start to the season, the Celtics struggled losing ten of their next eleven games, as they traded Andrew DeClercq to the Cleveland Cavaliers in exchange for Vitaly Potapenko.
[25][26][27] The Celtics finished fifth in the Atlantic Division with a 19–31 record,[28] as fans began to get restless with head coach Rick Pitino's slow growth.