Who Could the Celtics Land if They Traded Down?

The Boston Celtics could surprise everyone and trade down while gaining more draft picks and possibly an established veteran

Just outside of the Ben Simmons and Brandon Ingram range, the Boston Celtics still own a very valuable pick. It’s a pick that could lead to Dragan Bender, Buddy Hield or Jamal Murray – just to name a few. It could also be the main piece in a trade for an established veteran like Jimmy Butler or Jahlil Okafor.

The problem is the Celtics don’t want to give up the house for one player. They still have holes to fill and can build through the draft over the next couple of seasons. A potential trade for Butler or Okafor is what everyone is hoping for, however, what if the Celtics were able to maintain their position in the top-ten and still get an established veteran back?

The Celtics might have to give up another pick or asset as well to make the deal even, but it still wouldn’t be as expensive as trading for a player like Butler or Okafor.

More importantly, it could solve the Celtics dilemma about who to pick. If they traded far enough down then they wouldn’t have to give up anything else and would also be in the range where drafting a big man like Jakob Poeltl or Henry Ellenson wouldn’t be considered a reach. Ellenson could provide front court scoring for the Celtics and Poeltl has a chance to develop into the rim protector they’re looking for.

The Phoenix Suns currently hold the fourth pick and should be eyeing Dragan Bender. Their roster is guard-heavy with veterans Eric Bledsoe and Brandon Knight expected to return from injury. Also, rookie Devin Booker broke onto the scene late last season and will need consistent minutes next season.

Trading down one spot could bring in someone like T.J. Warren and still allow Boston to draft the guard of their choosing. Warren is a natural small forward, however, he played the power forward position 24 percent of the time last season. He would add depth to the small forward position while also giving the Celtics one of the most athletic starting lineups in the league.

Warren has been a very good player during his two NBA seasons and still has a lot of room for improvement. The emergence of Devin Booker could make Warren expendable since Booker could move to small forward and Bender/Tyson Chandler/Alex Len would fill their front court.

Despite dealing with injuries during his first two years – that has limited him to 87 games – he’s still a very good two-way player.

Last season Warren averaged 11 points and 3.1 rebounds per game, however, it was his scoring efficiency that stood out the most. He shot 50.1 percent from the field and 40 percent from three, after shooting under 30 percent as a rookie. He’d thrive in the fast paced offense as he runs the floor well, can drive the lane on fastbreaks and can knock down open threes in transition.

One pick later, the Minnesota Timberwolves are likely eyeing Jamal Murray or Kris Dunn. Trading up would solidify them getting either player and add the possibility of Dragan Bender.

Feb 24, 2016; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Toronto Raptors center Bismack Biyombo (8) guards Minnesota Timberwolves center Gorgui Dieng (5) at Air Canada Centre. The Raptors beat the Timberwolves 114-105. Mandatory Credit: Tom Szczerbowski-USA TODAY Sports /

Ricky Rubio still has four years left on his contract but the Timberwolves don’t picture him leading their team in a couple of seasons. Right now, Minnesota is hoping Zach Lavine can develop into a better point guard, although, he’s more suited for the shooting guard position.

That leaves rookie Tyus Jones, sticking with Ricky Rubio or the Timberwolves trying to find someone to take over the starting point guard role through the draft. Adding Jamal Murray would give them another combo guard – like Zach Lavine – but Kris Dunn would supply them with a true point guard.

Dunn is easily the best point guard in the draft and would have a good shot at starting during his rookie season. With that being said there’s a good chance at least one of them fall to the fifth pick. Therefore the Timberwolves would probably be eyeing Dragan Bender if they decided to trade up.

Adding Dragan Bender would give Minnesota the most promising frontcourt in the NBA. Him and Karl-Anthony Towns are both true seven-footers and would compliment each other very nicely on both ends of the floor. Right now Gorgui Dieng is seen as their center of the future, however, they would happily move him, and possibly another pick in a later draft, in order to swap picks.

Dieng has been in the shadow of Towns, Andrew Wiggins and the amazing amount of young talent the Timberwolves hold. Still, he has put together a very good NBA career so far. Dieng played in all 82 games last season and contributed 10.1 points and 7.1 rebounds per game in 27.1 minutes. He has great height (6’11”) and has a very good mid-range game for a center.

Not to mention he’s an excellent defender – 1.2 blocks and 1.1 steals per game. Dieng would have a good chance at averaging a double-double if given a bigger role. That won’t happen on the Timberwolves but he could be a building block down low for Boston.

Farther down in the draft, the Denver Nuggets have been looking to trade Kenneth Faried. After a very strong rookie campaign, Faried has failed to show much improvement over his five-year career. Last season his stat line was very similar to his rookie line as he posted 12.5 points and 8.7 rebounds per game.

With Nikola Jokic and Jusuf Nurkic playing better than expected, Faried is even more available for the right offer. The Nuggets could use the third pick in the draft to add another international big man in the draft or try to help their back court.

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Will Barton had a very good season and was in the running for Sixth Man of the Year. Gary Harris improved a lot during his second season and Emmanuel Mudiay had an up and down rookie season, but, the Nuggets still need an outside shooter. They were the fifth-worst three-point shooting team last season at 33.8 percent.

Adding a player like Buddy Hield or Jamal Murray would help patch up that big hole. The Nuggets could also target Kris Dunn if they weren’t satisfied with Mudiay’s performance.

It’s probably going to be harder to trade with Denver though since they seem content with drafting Jaylen Brown. The Nuggets have Danilo Gallinari at small forward but he only has one guaranteed year remaining and a player option in 2017-18. By that time Brown should be more than ready to take over the reigns, and he could even start at shooting guard and push Gary Harris to the bench.

For the Celtics, Kenneth Faried would give Boston one of the hardest working players in the league. He plays with as much energy as anyone and has become a better scorer during his NBA career. He shot 55.8 percent from the field last season, although he does most of his work around the basket.

He’s not a player the Celtics could feed the ball to down low but he’s a great defender, can get a lot of put backs – 3.5 offensive rebounds per game – and can play either power forward or center. Faried runs the court as well as any big man in the game and could help lead fast breaks or finish alley-oops.

If the Celtics decided to trade down then they wouldn’t be able to snag Dragan Bender. Depending on how far they trade down, they would still have their choice of Buddy Hield or Jamal Murray. They could also target more depth at small forward by picking Jaylen Brown or still add a big man with a lot of potential.

Next: Celtics Faith in Hunter Will Determine the Third Pick

If the Celtics are able to pull off a trade to move down and land an established veteran then they should jump on the opportunity. The only reason it wouldn’t be a good idea is if they’re set on drafting Dragan Bender.

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