NBA Draft Rumors: Boston Celtics dark horse to trade for No. 1 pick?

The Boston Celtics say they’re comfortable holding onto their No. 6 pick in the 2014 NBA Draft, but for weeks the rumor mill has suggested the exact opposite. Simply put, the Celtics aren’t looking to spend another few years in the lottery if they can avoid it.

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That has lead to speculation that if the Celtics are unable to trade their No. 6 pick, they’ll entertain the idea of trading both Rajon Rondo and Jeff Green this Summer in hopes of a quick re-build. But there’s also the notion of the Celtics pulling out all the stops in attempts to trade for the No. 1 pick in Thursday’s draft, currently held by the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Asked whom he figured to be a dark horse candidate to trade for the top pick, ESPN’s Chad Ford hinted that the Boston Celtics could put forth an offer.

"The Celtics. I think the Boston Celtics would love to get up to the No. 1 pick. I think they’d grab Jabari Parker. I think the Cavs would love to clear space to get LeBron plus one friend (Carmelo?) … If the Celtics took back several bad contracts from the Cavs … I could see it happening. They aren’t the only ones who could do this (Philly will have the cap space to do the same thing), but they might be the most creative team to make it happen."

Assuming the Cavaliers could actually net LeBron James, that seems like a no brainer move for Cleveland however they no assurances of such and I can’t imagine they’d be willing to take such a risk so a deal between the two seems pretty unlikely.

However, this isn’t the first sentiment we’ve heard suggesting such a rumor today, so maybe there’s more to it than meets the eye.

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