Celtics draft trade masterclass may have just signaled Horford, Kornet future

Brad Stevens’ decision to move back in the second round of the 2025 NBA Draft came as somewhat of a surprise for Boston Celtics fans. One of the biggest talking points heading into the event was how useful the two picks could be for the team as they look to build a cheaper, sustainable roster.

Apparently, the Celtics were looking to draft St. Joe’s forward Rasheer Fleming, according to ESPN’s Shams Charania. Once it was announced that the Phoenix Suns had traded up to acquire the Minnesota Timberwolves' No. 31 overall selection, Stevens and the Celtics had no interest in staying at 32.

Shortly after Fleming was officially selected, reports began to trickle out that Boston was trading back for picks 46 and 57, also acquiring two future seconds from the Orlando Magic in the process.

This move came despite both Ryan Kalkbrenner and Maxime Raynaud, two intriguing center prospects, still being available.

Buckle in, it’s tinfoil hat time.

The Celtics' draft night trade is probably good for the future's of Al Horford and Luke Kornet, right?

There’s nothing official here, and this is just speculation. BUT, wouldn’t it make sense for the Celtics to take a swing on one of those guys if they were worried about the futures of Luke Kornet and Al Horford?

Albeit, Boston wound up taking Kentucky big man Amari Williams with the 46th pick, but I’m not entirely sure that he negates the questions surrounding the Celtics’ center situation. Yahoo Sports’ Kevin O’Connor compared Williams to Neemias Queta, who is currently primed to be the starter in Boston next season.

Drafting a guy who might become the player who is part of the uncertainty in the paint isn’t exactly the fix here.

Anyways, both Celtic big men are set to be unrestricted free agents next month, and if the team were to lose both of them, they’d be pretty bare in the frontcourt, especially considering the recent trade of Kristaps Porzingis to the Atlanta Hawks.

"As you look at the rest of the team and what we’re trying to do, there is no question our priorities would be to bring Al and Luke back,” Stevens told reporters during his Wednesday availability. "Those guys are huge parts of this organization."

Stevens taking neither Kalkbrenner nor Raynaud says a lot about how he feels about Boston’s chances of retaining one or both of the bigs, who will reportedly each garner some interest from teams around the league.

"They’re going to have, I’m sure, plenty of options all over the place, and that’s well-deserved, but I think that would be a priority," Stevens continued.

While we’re all going to have to wait a few weeks to know exactly what will happen with Horford and Kornet, but this can’t be a bad sign, right??