Markelle Fultz has spoken to Danny Ainge about playing in Boston

The Boston Celtics hold the first overall pick in the 2017 NBA Draft. It appears they have opened up a dialogue with Markelle Fultz, the expected pick.

Markelle Fultz is coming, Markelle Fultz is coming, Markelle Fultz is coming; this is what Celtics fans are saying anyway. While many experts believe the Celtics would be wise to shop their first overall pick, it appears general manager Danny Ainge has zeroed in on Markelle Fultz. Ainge has talked to Fultz on a number of occasions and it appears only a matter of time before Boston pulls the trigger on the Fultz pick.

Jeff Goodman via ESPN had the report on Fultz’s connection to Boston:

"“I’ve talked to Danny a few times, and they want to get me to come out there for a visit,” Fultz told ESPN on Tuesday. “They just want to get a chance to know me better as a person.”“I want to be the No. 1 pick really bad,” Fultz added. “It’s been a dream of mine since I was a little kid, and I feel like I would fit well in Boston.”"

The Goodman story also adds that Fultz anticipates visiting the Celtics facilities sometime soon. At this point, it appears extremely unlikely that we see Fultz in another uniform. Wyc Grousbeck said earlier this month that the Celtics were extremely unlikely to shop the first overall pick unless some kind of a godfather offer came back in return. Fultz seems destined to become the first top overall pick in Celtics team history.

Fultz, the freshman point guard from Washington, creates an interesting dynamic for Boston. With the undersized Isaiah Thomas entrenched as the point guard, some skeptics wonder if Thomas and Fultz can play together. Fultz doesn’t appear to be very worried about the two former Washington hoops stars succeeding next to each other in the Boston backcourt.

"“We can both play on or off the ball,” Fultz said. “We can both score and also pass. I think we’d be great together. When we’ve talked since the lottery, we haven’t really talked about basketball much. He’s been through a lot lately.”"

Next: NBA Free Agency 2017: 5 offseason needs for the Boston Celtics

The Celtics could always decide to deal Isaiah Thomas who has one year remaining on his contract. With a max extension looming, dealing Thomas and throwing Fultz into the fire as the starting point guard could be a possibility. There was recently a report that Thomas was almost dealt for a lottery pick last year. When it comes to the Boston Celtics, no one has a more interesting offseason in front of them.