The draft is three days away, and no team is usually more active on the trade market around this time of year than the Boston Celtics. Danny Ainge has been shopping the No. 3 pick aggressively, hoping to get an established player in return. The Philadelphia 76ers, meanwhile, have the No. 1 overall pick and their choice of Ben Simmons or Brandon Ingram, the top two prospects in this year’s class. According to CSNNE, the two teams are in talks about Boston’s pick:
Celts and Sixers trade talk heats up. Philly really really wants Dunn per Tim Welsch. @CSNNE
— Gary Tanguay (@Gary_Tanguay) June 20, 2016
There’s no word on the nature of the package the Sixers would offer, but you would have to imagine that one of their three young bigs would be involved — most likely Jahlil Okafor. The Sixers would prefer to trade Okafor than Nerlens Noel, because of Noel’s defensive potential, and the Celtics could sell themselves on Okafor as an offensive option in the block, even if he doesn’t project to be a franchise player at this point. If Ainge isn’t in love with any of the prospects available at No. 3, there are worse things he could do with the pick.