The 2018 NBA Draft will take place on Thursday night and dozens of young men will learn where their professional basketball careers are going to begin. As time draws closer for the start of the draft, teams are frantically trying to make deals and see what can be done to get new players or move to a higher position. One of those teams is the Boston Celtics and they are trying desperately to not only move up in the draft but into the top five.
Rumors are swirling right now and it is hard to know what could end up happening or what is nothing but a lot of talk. For the people of Boston, the majority of that talk has their Celtics trying to climb that draft ladder and get one of the top five picks of the draft, but what are they willing to give up for that move?
The Sports Hub states that the Celtics are one of a handful of teams looking to grab the number three pick from the Atlanta Hawks or the number four selection from the Memphis Grizzlies. They have a lot of competition, though, as the Chicago Bulls, Orlando Magic, Los Angeles Clippers, Dallas Mavericks, and New York Knicks all want the third.
As NBA draft day begins, a general prediction: Fireworks to come. Boston (No. 27) is still trying to move up into top 5, but will have a hard time so long as they continue keeping Brown or Tatum off the table. Clippers (Nos. 12/13) are itchy. Milwaukee (17) wants more picks.
— Sam Amick (@sam_amick) June 21, 2018
Currently, the Boston Celtics have the No. 27 pick overall and moving up as high as into the top five would take a lot of work. It would also take trading away some serious pieces of the team, but it doesn’t seem as if everyone is on the trading block or available.
According to NESN , Danny Ainge and company are looking to make a big deal, but they aren’t willing to part with Jayson Tatum or Jaylen Brown. Considering those two players are arguably their best talents and the future of the franchise, that isn’t surprising.
There are countless other rumors flying around about the Celtics and tonight’s NBA Draft, and some state that they are content in their current spot. The Boston Globe believes the C’s will stay at number 27 and are looking to select Grayson Allen from Duke if he’s still on the board.
It’s also been rumored that the Celtics are in talks with other teams to include them in on a deal that will help Boston move into the top five.
Hearing from league sources that the Celtics are registering interest in moving up into the top 4 with the ’19 Kings pick and future Memphis pick in their arsenal, but would likely want to find a third team to take on the Parsons contract and a pick for their troubles.
— Jared Weiss (@JaredWeissNBA) June 21, 2018
If the Boston Celtics are going to move into the top five picks of the 2018 NBA Draft, a move will need to be made within the next few hours. Before too long, the time will have passed and they may run out of trading partners and options. There are a lot of rumors flying around right now about every single team in the NBA, but the Celtics truly seem to be the key focus of many trade talks. It just doesn’t appear as if Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum are included in any of them.
