It's draft day, but the insanity of the offseason has already started


Happy draft day! Today is a day where you can sit at work constantly refreshing Twitter in hopes of, or in fear of, seeing a trade materializing. What will Boston do with the #3 pick? Do they hold onto it? Does Jimmy Butler get sent to Boston for the #3 and a handful of Celtics? I have no way of knowing, but what we do know is that the chaos of the offseason starts today... or it may have started on Wednesday:


Yes. Two blockbuster trades. Two All-Stars. Five teams.

The trades aren't new anymore, but what it could mean for Boston is what's exciting. Atlanta seems like they're blowing it up. Shipping off your All-Star point guard, Jeff Teague, for a #12 pick isn't the most "win-now" solution for a team that was swept in the second round by the now-defending champions. So how can Danny Ainge and the Celtics capitalize?

Decent deal. Basically become the 15-16 Hawks, especially if we still chase unrestricted free agent Al Horford. Adding a perimiter threat like Kyle Korver would solve shooting woes, and Millsap can be nasty. Plus the #3 pick can be a great investment for a team that's hitting the big red button with "rebuild" written on it.

Then you look at the Utah Jazz, who picked up George Hill in the three team trade that saw their #12 pick go to Atlanta. Reports show the Celtics have made a serious push for Gordon Hayward with the #3 pick, but only to be shot down. Then reports had Hayward requesting a trade, which turns out may have been slightly/completely untrue. It's really unclear what is going on in Salt Lake City right now, but odds are they are no longer thinking of trading their star, Gordon Hayward.

So now we turn to Chicago, who just shipped off their hometown hero/usually hobbled point guard, Derrick Rose. Does this mean rebuild? Are they in sell mode? Is Jimmy on the block?

Probably not. To all those three questions. The Bulls just made a pretty great swing for a salary dump. Picking up Robin Lopez to fill the void at center, Jerian Grant as a solid young point guard, and Jose Calderon to temporarily lead the offense, plus their current lottery pick which sits at #14, why ditch their emerging star wing?

There will be a ton of options for Ainge to weigh today, and he will be lighting up the phone lines of GM's across the League... so keep your eyes on Twitter throughout the day, and watch for news on CelticsLife.

Topher Lane is on Twitter, @Topher_L. Photo credit: the Associated Press.
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