Brad Rempel-USA TODAY Sports
With the 2015 NBA Draft only a few short hours away, the Boston Celtics are looking for an opportunity to move into the early parts of the Lottery — specifically with the hope of landing Duke big man Jahlil Okafor. If he does slide past the Los Angeles Lakers at No. 2, there’s a good chance the Celtics send a massive package deal to the Philadelphia 76ers for the No. 3 pick.
One of the key pieces of a potential trade package would be point guard Marcus Smart, the Celtics’ first-round pick from a year ago.
Whispers getting louder that the Celtics are willing to surrender prized guard Marcus Smart if it gets them in upper reaches of lottery
— Marc Stein (@ESPNSteinLine) June 25, 2015
Smart is coming off an up-and-down rookie season that saw him struggle a bit to live up to his first-round hype. However, despite putting up average numbers of 7.8 points, 3.3 rebounds, 3.1 assists and 1.5 steals per game, the Oklahoma State product possesses tons of potential, which obviously would interest the rebuilding 76ers.
A potential trade would also include some draft picks, as well as other players depending on what the 76ers were looking for. The trade, however, would revolve around Smart, arguably the Celtics’ biggest trade chip at this point.
Obviously this will come down to what happens with the first two picks. The Minnesota Timberwolves are all but locked in to selecting Kentucky‘s Karl-Anthony Towns at No. 1, but the Lakers seem to split between picking Okafor or D’Angelo Russell (who the Lakers may be leaning towards), a point guard from Ohio State. If the Lakers take Okafor, all of this speculation may be for naught.
Then again, maybe the Celtics plan on moving up either way. With a draft class loaded with elite talent, Boston would certainly benefit from having a Top 5 pick. We’ll see what happens tonight.
