Mark Wahlberg Says Celtics Should Trade No. 1 Pick for Jimmy Butler, Paul George

If Danny Ainge is taking roster advice from Mark Wahlberg (doubtful), the Boston Celtics won't be picking Markelle Fultz with the No. 1 pick in next Thursday's NBA draft. In fact, they won't be taking anyone at all.

The actor and longtime Boston sports fan told TMZ Sports he hopes the Celtics use the pick to trade for a star, specifically highlighting Jimmy Butler and Paul George as potential options.

Celtics owner Wyc Grousbeck has all but publicly confirmed the team has no interest in trading the selection. Fultz, who starred for one year at Washington, has become the clear consensus pick and will likely be a Celtic barring any major changes over the next week.

“You don’t really want to necessarily trade a number one pick in a really good draft for somebody that’s halfway thru their career, already making max money,” Grousbeck told Adam Kaufman of CBS Boston. “That’s just a difficult trade to make.

“That guy better be pretty good because if you’re drafting No. 1 and you make the pick well—you do really draft a transcendent player – you’ve got that player for five or six years as they build up before the max money even kicks in. It just feels like this is a pick we will listen to offers, I’m sure, we will have conversations all the way thru June but, for me, making a first pick is an exciting prospect right now.”

George and Butler are seen as the two biggest potential trade chips on the market this summer, but neither player is without potential roadblocks. George has had longstanding rumors about his desire to potentially play for the Lakers and has only one year left on his contract. He could easily spend one season in Boston and bolt to its longtime rival next summer.

Butler is under contract for at least two more seasons, but the Chicago Bulls will understandably want a haul of picks and young players in return. A three-time All-Star and third-team All-NBA selection in 2017, Butler is a bonafide star. But he's also probably not good enough to shift a seven-game series against the Cleveland Cavaliers, especially when factoring in all the other potential moving parts.

The Celtics' best-case scenario remains drafting Fultz at No. 1 and then luring someone like Utah's Gordon Hayward in free agency.