Celtics Reportedly Draft Kelly Olynyk After Trading for Mavericks' No. 13 Pick

The Dallas Mavericks have finally found a partner to consummate their much discussed desire to trade out of the No. 13 overall selection.

According to Yahoo! Sports' Adrian Wojnarowski, Dallas and the Boston Celtics have agreed to a trade for the pick:

Wojnarowski also notes that the Celtics will send the No. 16 overall pick and two future second-round selections back to Dallas:

Because of the NBA's rule barring teams from trading actual draft picks after the 2 p.m. deadline on Thursday, the Mavericks made the selection for Boston. They chose Gonzaga forward-center Kelly Olynyk, who was projected by some as one of the Celtics’ most likely targets at No. 16. 

Boston in turn selected Brazilian center Lucas “Bebe” Nogueira at No. 16 for the Mavericks. That pick was again flipped by Dallas in a trade for the Atlanta Hawks' No. 18 selection, per ESPN's Chad Ford:

With that selection, the Mavericks wound up with Miami point guard Shane Larkin.

Olynyk, a seven-footer from Canada, averaged 17.8 points and 7.3 rebounds per game while shooting 62.9 percent last season with Gonzaga. A versatile offensive threat with the ability to stretch out to 18 feet, Olynyk was considered a borderline lottery pick. 

Apparently, the Celtics weren’t convinced he would be available three picks down the line and pulled the trigger on a deal to get their man.

For Dallas, this deal or one like it had been expected since the beginning of the draft process. The Mavericks are planning on being major players in the free-agent market this summer, with Dwight Howard as their top priority in July. But with the team hanging close to the line where a max contract would be feasible under the salary cap, every penny counts—including the cap hold attached to the No. 13 pick.

ESPN’s Chad Ford reported after the lottery that the Mavericks were looking to deal the pick, which comes with a hold of $1.65 million for next season. While the No. 18 pick comes with almost a similar hold of $1.28 million, the Mavericks obviously saw something they liked in Larkin. 

For the Celtics, it’s possible they see Olynyk as a Kevin Garnett replacement down the line. The offseason has already been filled with turmoil in Boston. Head coach Doc Rivers left for the Los Angeles Clippers, and Garnett and Paul Pierce have been subject to innumerable trade rumors.

The most notable one—that would send Garnett, Pierce and Jason Terry to the Brooklyn Nets—seems close to happening. Yahoo! Sports’ Adrian Wojnarowski reported earlier Thursday that the deal has reached the “ownership level,” meaning the terms have been agreed to by team executives. 

If the trade goes through as expected, Olynyk may have just become one of the Celtics’ franchise faces. 

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