While many teams with high draft picks in this month’s NBA draft are reportedly looking to move down in the order, the Boston Celtics seem to be making a push to select early on in the night.
According to a recent report from Kevin O’Connor of The Ringer, the Celtics are making a strong play to move up.
“The Celtics have offered their three first-round picks (nos. 14, 26, and 30) in trades to try and move up, according to multiple league sources,” he wrote. “So far, no one is biting. If the Celtics stay here, [R.J.] Hampton would make sense because he could serve as a spark-plug scorer off the bench. If Gordon Hayward were to leave Boston, secondary shot creation would be needed sooner rather than later.”
It’s an interesting report, but it’s not that shocking given how active the Celtics tend to be in the offseason. What is interesting, is that the report does not indicate if the Celtics have a particular player that they covet enough to influence this attempted move.
Given the fact that the Celtics have a weakness in the frontcourt, it stands to reason that they are looking for a big man to help aid Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown and Kemba Walker.
Perhaps the physically gifted James Wiseman is at the top of their draft board.
With that in mind, the report did say that the team would need added shot creating if Hayward ends up signing elsewhere. There are a number of interesting, albeit unpolished shooters in this year’s deep class.
It’s unclear how likely it is that a deal gets done. What is clear is that the Celtics’ willingness to part ways with so many future assets indicates that the franchise is in win-now mode.
