At least half of the draft picks in the top 10 are said to be on the market
The running theory about the Boston Celtics is that the team will try and move up to snag a nice player in Thursday's draft. In order to do that, they need teams in the top 10 that are willing to trade those picks.
Well it just so happens that many of those picks are indeed reportedly in play.
We've already heard that the New York Knicks are willing to move the No. 4 pick. The Charlotte Hornets have also been mentioned as possible trade partners with Boston for the No. 9 pick.
Liam Boylan-Pett over at SBNation says the Sacramento Kings are open to moving the No. 6 pick.
(Team Vice president Vlade) Divac and the Kings are also open to making a trade. "Ours is a relatively good position because we'll get a good player," he said. "We are receiving a ton of calls about trades, but I am very protective about the pick. I don't want to give it up unless we can get several good pieces."
How about the No. 7 pick? Well the Denver Post's Christopher Dempsey says the Denver Nuggets are ready to make some trades.
"We want to be aggressive," (Nuggets general manager Tim) Connelly said. "We're looking at any and all scenarios, and we've already proactively made a lot of those calls. We'll see what we can do to make it interesting and hopefully give Coach the best team possible."
As for No. 8, Terry Foster of the Detroit News says the Detroit Pistons could move that pick as well.
The Pistons sent more signals Saturday that they might be willing to trade away the eighth pick in Thursday's NBA draft when they worked out big men Frank Kaminsky of Wisconsin and Myles Turner of Texas.
Just today, Marc Stein over at ESPN said the Los Angeles Lakers and Orlando Magic could trade away the No. 2 pick and the No. 5 pick respectively. Of course that would be in the form of a three-way trade with DeMarcus Cousins going to the Lakers, so it's not as if the teams are actively trying to move those picks.
All of these picks being in play can mean many things. Teams could simply be doing their due diligence to try and make their team's better. There are undoubtedly teams in the top 10 that feel they are a piece or two away from being legitimate contenders and want established talent instead of a rookie. Some general managers could also doubt the talent level of the guys after the top three or four and feel like they can get comparable talent later in the draft while snagging an extra asset or two.
Whatever the reason, this is good news for Boston. It in no way means the Celtics are absolutely going to trade up, but there is plenty of opportunity. Only a few more days and Boston's future will become that much clearer.
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