Celtics Rumors: Latest Reports Before 2017 NBA Draft Lottery
It must be nearing the NBA draft because the Boston Celtics are one of the hottest commodities on the rumors market yet again.
Thank team president Danny Ainge, who over the years has gone above and beyond the call of duty (if duty calls) for the acquisition of draft assets, which also happen to classify as tradeable assets.
Ainge has the Celtics possibly headed toward the top pick in the 2017 draft, a fate decided at the lottery Tuesday night. But it's also a case of the rich getting richer, given the strong playoff surge put on by Isaiah Thomas and the assets already on the court.
Below, let's look at the opening salvos from a market sure to offer plenty about the Celtics in the coming weeks.
Boston Too Loaded?
At some point, something might have to give in Boston.
Ainge has done a great job so far, but the people representing the top prospects in the upcoming class might not feel that way.
Case in point the following from what an agent told ESPN.com's Chad Ford:
"I have deep respect for the Celtics. They may have the best GM and head coach in the league. But I'd have to understand what the plan would be for my client before I let them come. They are loaded at every position. There's a real danger that they take a player and either he plays a limited role of the bench, or he becomes an asset to be traded to a situation that we're uncomfortable with. It's tough."
It seems like an odd stance. Players join the NBA and want to win titles. A prospect getting the chance to jump on a contender right away would seem like a good thing as opposed to wasting away on a team mired in a rebuild for years.
But this isn't necessarily the case in Boston, especially after prospects and agents saw what happened to No. 3 pick Jaylen Brown this past season. The California product only received 17.2 minutes per game. This might not be the case for every rookie in Boston, but the chance of not seeing enough playing time to develop or the opportunity to post big numbers in the hopes of a major second contract are obvious issues.
All the above feeds into the usual speculation surrounding Ainge when it comes to trades, especially when one of the notes below features one of the biggest names in the game.
Celtics Meet Top PG?
First, what happens if Ainge once again holds onto notable selections instead of pursuing a blockbuster trade?
Probably Washington's Markelle Fultz.
Fultz isn't a household name just yet, but he's the best prospect in this year's class by a rather significant amount. He's only 18 years old, yet measures at 6'4" and 195 pounds coming off a freshman campaign in which he averaged 23.2 points, 5.7 rebounds, 5.9 assists, 1.2 blocks and 1.6 steals per game. Oh, and he also shot 47.6 percent from the floor and 41.3 percent from range.
It shouldn't come as a surprise, then, to hear the Celtics met with Fultz, according to DraftExpress' Jonathan Givony:
Opposing teams have a hard enough time keeping track of and shutting down Thomas. Adding another 6'4" guard who can score or run the offense himself would only create more problems for opponents.
There's already a perceived logjam in the Boston backcourt. But Fultz is young and boasts more upside than most names on the roster right now and he can run with the starters even as a rookie in small-ball lineups.
Landing a borderline consensus top player in a draft is never a bad thing for any team in the league. Maybe the Celtics would have some hiccups with Fultz's representatives, maybe not. But it's clear the front office at least has due diligence on the mind.
A Carmelo Anthony Divide?
The Celtics might have a Carmelo Anthony problem.
Normally such a classification falls on the New York Knicks. Team president Phil Jackson doesn't sound like he wants Anthony anymore. But Anthony is 32 years old and has a base salary north of $26 million in each of the next two seasons, per Spotrac. Oh, and don't forget Jackson isn't exactly helping Anthony's trade value.
Even so, Marc Berman of the New York Post noted recently that some within the Celtics organization were fine with the idea of trading for Anthony:
"According to an NBA source, the Celtics coaching staff was in favor of trading for Anthony at the trade deadline, but general manager Danny Ainge had too many reservations. One of Ainge’s concerns, according to a source, was an Anthony trade would have given Boston no real cap space to work with for the 2017 free-agent class."
Talk about a win-now move.
Anthony might've helped the Celtics win the Eastern Conference. But it's asking a lot for a player on the downside of his career to come to town, combat gigantic expectations and adapt to a new roster around him, not to mention while playing second fiddle to Thomas.
From the sounds of this nugget, the long-term outlook won out—at least for now. Coughing up so much cash for Anthony over the next two years doesn't make a ton of sense, nor does sacrificing guys like Jae Crowder or draft picks. Anthony's arrival would also do more to keep the aforementioned Brown off the court.
If the Celtics decide to flip the switch and hit win-now mode, Boston becomes an obvious potential destination for Anthony. But Ainge has continually avoided this move and has reaped the benefits on the court already, not to mention has a strong long-term outlook. Unless something dramatic changes, Anthony will merely be the latest name linked to the Celtics that never leaves the "what if?" stage.
All stats and info via ESPN.com unless otherwise specified.
.jpg?w=600 "Colts Release Kenny Moore")
