Boston Celtics: Should they trade No. 1 pick for Julius Randle and No. 2 pick?
The Los Angeles Lakers are reportedly looking to trade Julius Randle and the No. 2 pick to the Boston Celtics for the No. 1 pick.
On Friday, reports surfaced that the Philadelphia 76ers were trying to trade their No. 3 pick in the 2017 NBA Draft along with future draft picks to the Boston Celtics for their No. 1 pick.
Now Magic Johnson and the Los Angeles Lakers want in on the action.
Markelle Fultz impressed the Lakers during his workout — enough that Magic Johnson and company want to make a deal for the top pick.
According to Jonathan Givony of Draft Express, the Lakers are trying to trade Julius Randle and their No. 2 pick for Boston’s No. 1 pick:
Word out of LA is Markelle Fultz "murdered" his Lakers workout yesterday. May be "the best one" they've seen. Sadly, likely all for naught.
— Jonathan Givony (@DraftExpress) June 16, 2017
Multiple sources have told me that Magic "is in love" with Fultz. May try to move up to #1, possibly with a Julius Randle + #2 pick offer.
— Jonathan Givony (@DraftExpress) June 16, 2017
Celtics general manager Danny Ainge has a lot of options heading into the NBA Draft. He can make a deal with the Lakers, the 76ers, attempt a trade for Jimmy Butler, keep the No. 1 pick and clear out cap space for Gordon Hayward or Blake Griffin, or opt for some sort of mixture of the above.
Should the Celtics make a deal for Julius Randle with the Lakers?
It sure is nice to have options, because making a deal for Julius Randle and the No. 2 pick with the Lakers isn’t Boston’s best one. Julius Randle is a promising young talent. Last season he averaged 13.2 points, 8.6 rebounds and 3.6 assists per game — very solid numbers for a 22-year-old. He just isn’t enough to put the Celtics over the hump.
Boston’s main focus should be clearing out enough cap space to sign Griffin or Hayward to a max deal. Adding Julius Randle’s $3.3 million salary to the team’s books does not advance the Celtics toward that goal.
Los Angeles can’t offer the Celtics any first round picks until 2020, whereas the Sixers have an unprotected pick — from the Lakers — for 2018. Additionally, a deal with the Sixers for the No. 3 pick would shave $1.4 million off of Boston’s books that the No. 1 pick would otherwise demand.
Next: 5 reasons the Celtics should keep the No. 1 overall pick
The Boston Celtics have a lot of options leading into the draft. Would you make a deal with the Lakers or 76ers?