The 2018 NBA Draft is setting up to be a bit of a free-for-all on Thursday night, especially across the Lottery. Beyond DeAndre Ayton expected to go at No. 1, there is no clear-cut consensus for the order of the next 8-9 prospects. Names like Marvin Bagley could go as high as No. 2 or as low as No. 10, based on who you talk to in league circles. The draft range is nearly as wide for one-and-done players like Michael Porter Jr. and Trae Young. The lack of certainty around the tier of prospects combined with a limiting salary cap climate this summer (not a lot of teams will have cap space to make serious moves in free agency) should lead to a lot of action on draft night.
For the first time in three years, the Celtics won’t be in the mix during the lottery, at least at the beginning of the night. With just one pick at No. 27, the easy (and most likely) play for them will be to stand pat and add a rotation caliber player at the end of the first round.
Still, with a number of expiring contracts on the roster heading into next season (Terry Rozier, Marcus Morris) and a treasure chest of draft picks for the 2019 Draft (up to four first-round picks), the case can be made for the Celtics front office to get involved with the wheeling and dealing on draft night for a prospect they fall in love with. Given the team’s current roster structure and All-Star core, integrating elite young talent into the mix now is probably the best way to fully maximize the team’s championship window as early as next season while also balancing the team's cap sheet.
Additionally, moving veteran pieces like Rozier or Morris around draft time is the best way to guarantee a return for a player that fits into the team’s long-term payroll (i.e. trading them for a cheap rookie contract with up to nine years of team control).
So what exactly would the Celtics be able to get for the likes of Morris or Rozier on draft night? And if the Celtics were going to make a splashier move into the lottery to chase an elite prospect (BostonSportsJournal.com has heard rumblings from league sources that the C's are big fans of one player who could go in the top 5), what exactly would be the cost of a package to do that? Let’s take a look at recent trades in draft history and the latest intel across the league to get a better sense of what’s in play.
Draft-day trades of relevance from recent years:
2017
- Jazz trade Trey Lyles and No. 24 overall pick to Nuggets for No. 13 overall pick (Donovan Mitchell)
- Bulls trade Jimmy Butler and No. 16 overall pick to Wolves for No. 7, Zach LaVine and Kris Dunn.
- Nets trade Thaddeus Young to the Pacers for the No. 20 overall pick (Caris LeVert)
- Kings trade Marco Belinelli to the Hornets for the No. 22 overall pick (Malachi Richardson)
- Thunder trade Serge Ibaka to the Magic for Victor Oladipo, Ersan Ilyasova and the No. 11 overall pick (Domantas Sabonis).
- Suns trade Bogdan Bogdanovic, No. 13, No. 28 and a future second-round pick for the No. 8 overall pick.
- Blazers trade No. 23 pick and Steve Blake to Nets for Mason Plumlee and No. 41 pick (Pat Connaughton)
- 2015: Three-team trade:
Wizards get No. 15 pick (from Hawks)
Knicks get No. 19 pick (from Wizards)
Hawks get Tim Hardaway Jr (from Knicks) and two second-round picks from Washington
- Orlando Magic trade the No. 12 overall pick (Dario Saric), a 2015 second round pick and a future protected first-round pick to the Philadelphia 76ers for the No. 10 pick (Elfrid Payton).
- Chicago Bulls trade No. 16 (Jusuf Nurkic) and No. 19 (Gary Harris) and a 2015 second round pick to the Denver Nuggets for the No. 11 pick (Doug McDermott) and Anthony Randolph (small salary dump).
- Minnesota Timberwolves trade No. 9 (Trey Burke) to the Utah Jazz for No. 14 (Shabazz Mohammad) and No. 21 (Gorgui Dieng).
- Celtics trade No. 16 (Lucas Nogueira) to Dallas Mavericks for No. 13 (Kelly Olynyk) and two 2014 second round picks (Boston and Brooklyn selections).
- Philadelphia 76ers trade Jrue Holiday and rights to Pierre Jackson (No. 42) to New Orleans Pelicans for No. 6 pick (Nerlens Noel) and a top-5 protected future first round pick (which ended up being No. 10 in 2014).
- Indiana Pacers trade No. 15 (Kawhi Leonard) and No. 42 (Davis Bertrans) to the San Antonio Spurs for George Hill.
- 2011: Three-team trade between Charlotte Bobcats, Milwaukee Bucks, Sacramento Kings