Report: Celtics Putting Together a Huge Offer for No. 3 Pick
Apr 6, 2015 Duke Blue Devils center Jahlil Okafor (15) drives to the basket against Wisconsin on April 6, 2015 during the NCAA Men’s Division I Championship game.
Basketball writer Derek Bodner is covering the NBA draft for Philadelphia magazine at Sixers Draftland.
The possibility of the Lakers selecting D’Angelo Russell with the second overall pick (assuming they don’t trade the pick for DeMarcus Cousins) continues to pick up steam, with Joe Kotoch of Sheridan Hoops and Kevin Ding of Bleacher Report claiming that the Lakers now prefer Russell.
Should that happen a number of teams are reportedly very interested in trading with the Sixers to get their hands on Okafor, as the Sixers reportedly have a number of huge offers on the table, according to Brian Windhorst of ESPN. One such team is the Boston Celtics, who Windhorst reports are reportedly “willing to put together a motherload” to move up to that spot. Click on the link to watch Windhorst discuss the possibility on ESPN.
The player currently on the Celtics roster that is most likely to be included in such a package is Marcus Smart, who was drafted sixth overall in last year’s draft. The Celtics also have the 16th and 28th picks in the 2015 draft, but their most enticing assets are the upcoming Brooklyn Nets picks that they’ve acquired. The Nets owe the Celtics their 2016 first-round pick, and the Celtics have the right to swap their own 2017 first-round pick for Brooklyn’s 2017 first-round pick, assuming Brooklyn’s pick is the more valuable of the two.
With Brooklyn’s aging roster and poor salary cap situation, those draft picks are likely to be very valuable. It also fits with the report from earlier this morning from Ken Berger of CBS Sports about the Sixers exploring the possibility of trading down in the draft for future unprotected first-round picks.
The 16th pick in the draft is a long way to fall in the draft, however, so it makes me wonder whether the Sixers would need a third team, which could get them back into the top-10, to come into play.
Follow @DerekBodnerNBA on Twitter.
Previously in Sixers Draftland:
• Reports: Sixers Targeting Rashad Vaughn; Is Trading Down a Possibility?
• 2015 NBA Draft Big Board: The 10 Best Prospects for the Sixers
• Report: Sixers Locked In on D’Angelo Russell?
• Rumor Mill: Sixers Reportedly in Discussions to Acquire Another First-Round Pick
• Justise Winslow: A Defensive Maverick With Big “O” Questions
• Dario Saric Not Coming Over This Season
• Mario Hezonja: Is Elite Shooter Confident… or Cocky?
• Emmanuel Mudiay: The Point Guard With a Shooting Problem
• Kristaps Porzingis: International Man of Mystery
• NBA Mock Draft Roundup: Who the Experts Think the Sixers Will Take
• D’Angelo Russell: The Guy Everyone Thinks the Sixers Are Drafting
• Jahlil Okafor: One of the Best Low-Post Scorers We’ve Seen
• D’Angelo Russell to Work Out for the Sixers After All
• Karl-Anthony Towns: The Big Man the Sixers Probably Want — and Likely Can’t Get
• Does Joel Embiid’s Setback Change Sixers’ Draft Plans?
• Welcome to Sixers Draftland
