NBA Draft Rumors: Celtics, Sixers talking trade involving No. 1 pick
The Boston Celtics and Philadelphia 76ers are reportedly in trade discussions involving the No. 1 overall pick in the 2017 NBA Draft
From the exact moment that they won the 2017 NBA Draft Lottery, the Boston Celtics had all of the leverage. If they wanted to take Washington guard Markelle Fultz with the No. 1 overall pick, they could do so. However, if they wanted to deal the pick to anyone else willing to move up, they had the ability to do so. Ultimately, it would come down to how much they liked certain prospects, and what other teams would be willing to offer.
Now it seems like the Celtics might be opting for the latter option.
According to a report from ESPN’s Zach Lowe and Marc Stein, the Celtics and the Philadelphia 76ers are involved in “serious” trade talks. Said trade would involve sending the first-overall pick in the 2017 NBA Draft to the Sixers:
League sources tell @ZachLowe_NBA and me that the Sixers and Celtics are in serious talks on a trade involving the No. 1 overall pick.
— Marc Stein (@TheSteinLine) June 16, 2017
While you might be thinking that the Celtics would be getting some big-name player in return, though, you’d be wrong. Instead, Lowe is reporting that the Sixers would send a plethora of draft picks in return. Stein furthered Lowe’s speculation by saying that the No. 3 pick would indeed be involved in the return package:
In current parameters, BOS would receive several picks and no players, sources say. Have to think No. 3 would be involved. https://t.co/xHYANlYzeT
— Zach Lowe (@ZachLowe_NBA) June 16, 2017
Current iteration, per league sources to @espn, is a package of a draft picks from Philly, including No. 3 overall, to the Celtics for No. 1
— Marc Stein (@TheSteinLine) June 16, 2017
Though the trade has yet to come to fruition, this deal as proposed would make a great deal of sense. For the Celtics, they’d be much better served given their current roster construction taking a player such as Josh Jackson at No. 3 and having further valuable draft capital to work with moving forward.
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As for the Sixers, this would be The Process coming to fruition. They have a strong frontcourt for the future, and adding a player the caliber of Fultz to the backcourt would further complete their roster. We’ll have to see the full parameters of the deal if it plays out, but this feels like a win for both sides as it’s currently rumored.