As if the hype surrounding Thursday’s NBA Draft wasn’t high enough, the Boston Celtics decided to ramp it up a bit Friday.
Reports started to surface in the early afternoon that the Celtics, and President Danny Ainge, are in advanced trade talks with the Philadelphia 76ers for the No. 1 pick in this year’s event.
ESPN’s Zach Lowe said on SportsCenter later in the day that terms of the deal are essentially agreed upon between Philadelphia and Boston, and that the trade “is really likely to happen.” Lowe added that the Celtics would likely receive the No. 3 pick this year and another future first-round pick. Lowe tweeted earlier in the day that his sources aren’t expecting any current players to be exchanged.
According to NBA writer Jordan Schultz, projected top pick Markelle Fultz was scheduled to meet with the Celtics in Boston on Saturday but that meeting was scrapped at some point Friday. Sources told Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports that Fultz is now scheduled to meet with Philadelphia as early as Saturday.
Philadelphia reporter Keith Pompey reported weeks ago that Fultz originally planned to only meet with the Celtics ahead of the draft. In the time since that June 6 workout, the 6-foot-4 point guard has spent time with the Los Angeles Lakers, despite his previous comments. He said after that workout with the Lakers that it was a “family decision” to make the trip to the West Coast because he still wasn’t sure where he’ll end up.
ESPN’s Jeff Goodman also reported in the days after Fultz’s visit to Boston that he had an off shooting day at the Garden, which could have contributed to Ainge’s apprehension to keep the top pick.
The current mock on DraftExpress.com has Kansas product Josh Jackson going third overall Thursday. The 6-foot-8 small forward was reportedly scheduled to work out for the Celtics on Monday but cancelled his trip the day of.
This wouldn’t be the first time the Celtics dealt the top pick in the days leading up to the draft.
The day before the 1980 NBA Draft, Hall of Famer Red Auerbach shipped Boston’s No. 1 pick to the Golden State Warriors in exchange for Robert Parish and the third overall selection, which Auerbach then used on Minnesota forward Kevin McHale. The Celtics went on to win three NBA titles over the next six seasons.
Joe Barry Carroll, who was drafted first that year by the Warriors, never met the hype and played for five NBA teams before calling it a career in 1991. McHale spent his entire 13-year career in Boston, while Parish played there for 14 years.
Much like Boston over the last few seasons, Philadelphia has a plethora of draft picks coming up in the near future. Along with the No. 3 pick this year, the Sixers have four second-round picks. In 2018, 2019 and 2020, Philadelphia is scheduled to pick twice in the first round each year and has a combined 10 second-round picks in that same time frame.