Fantastic rumors are abound this time of year, as NBA fans are accustomed to. We are trained to realize that maybe only 50% of the rumors we hear are even true (at most), but probably only 1% ever come to fruition.
Holding the fourth overall pick, Phoenix is most likely out of range of landing Markelle Fultz, Lonzo Ball, or Josh Jackson, the presumed three best players in the draft, so trying to move up to guarantee the opportunity to select one of them has always been a possibility.
As we inch closer to the draft, the Boston Celtics are certainly making it more than known that their top pick is available for the right package. They are in a position to compete for the Eastern Conference crown right now, and with the right team, could compete with the Golden State Warriors in the Finals.
On the surface it doesn’t generally make sense to trade the first pick in the draft as teams usually believe that they are going to be selecting a sure-fire good player, if not a regular All-Star.
For Boston, however, they are in a unique situation where they were just the number one seed in the Eastern Conference and were only eliminated from the playoffs in the Eastern Conference Finals. While (according to basketball-reference) the Celtics’ average age is only 25.9 (only .9 years older than the Suns as a whole) they would seem to surely prefer to add proven star talent to help the team compete with the Cleveland Cavaliers right away.
While the presumptive number one selection, Markelle Fultz, appears to be a solid selection and seems to be an All-Star in the waiting, the position of selecting a point guard seems entirely redundant for 2017-18 when the Celtics already have an All-NBA selection and MVP candidate in Isaiah Thomas.
Of course Danny Ainge could look to move Isaiah this offseason (especially since he is up for a massive contract extension next summer and if their intention is not to re-sign him then they don’t want to lose him for nothing), but moving a sure thing in Thomas to let Fultz start right away for an already solid team just does not make any sense if their hope is to continue to compete for a Finals appearance in 2018.
Therefore, if nothing else, the Celtics will be willing to listen to trade offers (or make a few phone calls of their own) to see about acquiring talent enough to try and take that next step towards a Championship.
Here are three ways the Suns can potentially trade to land the first overall pick: