Kelly Oubre Was Almost a Celtic

It was no secret that the Boston Celtics wanted to trade up in this year’s draft and the rumours are that they offered absurd amounts to trade up with the Charlotte Hornets in order to draft Justise Winslow. To nobody’s surprise, its now surfacing that the Hornets were not the only team the Celtics tried to trade with.

In a feature about Kelly Oubre’s life, Sean Deveney of Sporting News talked about a potential trade between the Atlanta Hawks and the Boston Celtics for the number 15 pick. Kelly Oubre similarly dropped on the majority of draft boards as he was expected to go in the early teens. The Celtics would have given up much less as they would have been moving up just one spot but given what has been said about their offer to the Hornets, there is a good chance the Celtics would have overpaid.

Mar 22, 2015; Omaha, NE, USA; Kansas Jayhawks guard Kelly Oubre Jr. (12) holds the ball away from Wichita State Shockers guard Ron Baker (31) during the first half in the third round of the 2015 NCAA Tournament at CenturyLink Center. Mandatory Credit: Steven Branscombe-USA TODAY Sports

It is becoming clearer and clearer that the Celtics were desperately trying to work out a trade in this year’s draft but before people start to rant about how Danny Ainge failed to make anything happen, the Celtics still managed to put together a great draft class without losing any assets.

Let’s not forget that even though the Celtics are much improved and have playoff expectations this year they are still in the midst of a rebuild. It is not as if the Celtics are one player away from being a contending team, especially if that player is a rookie.

The Celtics still managed to get talented players that could have an impact on day one and they are still in one of the best rebuilding positions in the league. The Celtics have all kinds of first round draft picks coming their way and they will be better off attempting to trade those picks in the future or using them the old fashioned way.

The Celtics will have a very different look this season and what they believed to be their most pressing need this offseason may be very different from what they need next offseason. Now the Celtics get to be that much more advanced in their rebuild before they start trading away their assets.

There is no doubting that Oubre would have been a significant help to the Celtics. He could’ve been the wing player that finally had some three point shooting and his size could give him the potential to bring SF depth behind Crowder.

However, we also can’t ignore how that may have effected the later rounds in the draft as R.J Hunter fills a similar role of a wing that can shoot. Hunter may not have been as good of a prospect as Oubre but they had to sacrifice nothing to get him and he may even be a better shooter than Oubre, just not quite as physically ready for the NBA.

Mar 19, 2015; Jacksonville, FL, USA; Georgia State Panthers guard R.J. Hunter (22) looks to pass as Baylor Bears guard Al Freeman (25) defends in the second half of a game in the second round of the 2015 NCAA Tournament at Jacksonville Veteran Memorial Arena. Georgia State defeated Baylor 57-56. Mandatory Credit: John David Mercer-USA TODAY Sports

Celtics fans expected fireworks this offseaosn because that is what was promised to them but there is no reason to be upset over the quieter offseason. The Celtics get to rebuild from within this way, establish a strong identity and then when they are closer to being contenders, they can trade away their many assets for a significant missing piece.

The Celtics are still figuring out what their identity and core will look like and until then the Celtics are going to be just fine with all the assets in their back pocket.

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