History will say the Boston Celtics passed on the No. 1 overall pick in this year’s NBA draft, not only trading it away but doing so in a deal with one of the team’s fiercest rivals.
Danny Ainge isn’t worried.
Philadelphia and Boston completed their trade of draft picks on Monday, the 76ers acquiring the No. 1 pick from the Celtics and netting the chance to draft Washington guard Markelle Fultz. The Celtics moved down two spots to No. 3 and picked up another first-round selection in either 2018 or 2019 — with Ainge saying the deal came at no cost to Boston whatsoever.
“We’re getting the player we want. They’re getting the player they want,” said Ainge, the Celtics’ president of basketball operations. “And we’re getting an additional player that we want in next year’s draft or the year after. It’s a good deal for both teams.”
The player Philadelphia wants is clear: The 76ers wouldn’t say it Monday, but they’re going to take Fultz barring something cataclysmic happening before Thursday.
“We felt like the move from 3 to 1 was worth the cost of a first-round pick in the future,” 76ers president of basketball operations Bryan Colangelo said.
Next up will be the Los Angeles Lakers, expected to take UCLA guard Lonzo Ball.
And then come the Celtics, starting the real intrigue. If Ainge is to be believed, even they don’t know who they will take at No. 3 — but he insisted that whichever choice they make there would have been the choice they made at No. 1 if this deal hadn’t gone down. The Celtics had Duke’s Jayson Tatum in for a workout on Monday and hope to have Kansas’ Josh Jackson in on Tuesday.
“I think they’re both terrific players,” Ainge said. “I’ll say that. ... I like both of those kids. I think they’re both terrific talents.”
So the way he looks at it, the deal is a win-win.
For now, Boston has seven first-round picks in the next three years.
And that means the Celtics could be gearing up for more moves soon.
“I am incredibly excited that we’ve acquired the No. 1 overall pick in Thursday’s NBA draft,” 76ers managing general partner Josh Harris said.