Danny Ainge Says He's 'Not Afraid' of Judgment After Celtics' Trade with 76ers

Boston Celtics general manager Danny Ainge said he is "not afraid" of judgment after formally agreeing to trade the No. 1 overall pick in Thursday's draft to the Philadelphia 76ers.

"We're all judged on days like these. I am not afraid of that," Ainge said, per Scott Souza of the Providence Journal.

The Celtics agreed to send the No. 1 overall selection to the Sixers in exchange for No. 3 and a protected future first-round pick, a deal that was agreed to over the weekend and finalized Monday.

Philadelphia will send its 2018 Lakers pick to Boston, provided it falls between No. 2 and No. 5. If the Lakers pick falls outside those parameters, the Sixers will either send the better of their or the Sacramento Kings' 2019 draft pick to the Celtics, provided it is not the No. 1 pick.

Ainge said he believes the Celtics may get the player they would have chosen at No. 1 at No. 3.

"We're going to get a player that we like, in addition to some further assets," Ainge said.

The Sixers are fully expected to take Washington guard Markelle Fultz with the top pick. With the Lakers zeroing in on UCLA guard Lonzo Ball, all signs point to Ainge taking Kansas swingman Josh Jackson with the third pick. While there has been some variation on boards, Fultz, Ball and Jackson have become a near-consensus top three in this class.

It would be the second straight year Ainge has selected an athletic swingman with shaky handles and a developing jump shot at No. 3. The Celtics took Jaylen Brown out of Cal last year and watched him struggle to acclimate to the NBA game. While Brown has some long-term promise still, there's something of a roster redundancy going on in Boston that's going to get solved via another trade sooner than later.