The 76ers completed a trade for the No. 1 pick with the Celtics, eyeing guard Markelle Fultz.
Philadelphia eyes point guard Fultz at No. 1
History will say the Boston Celtics passed on the No. 1 overall pick in this year’s NBA draft, not only trading it away but doing so in a deal with one of the team’s fiercest rivals. Danny Ainge isn’t worried. Philadelphia and Boston completed their trade of draft picks on Monday, the 76ers acquiring the No. 1 pick from the Celtics and netting the chance to draft Washington guard Markelle Fultz. The Celtics moved down two spots to No. 3 and picked up another first-round selection in either 2018 or 2019 — with Ainge saying the deal came at no cost to Boston whatsoever.
“We’re getting the player we want. They’re getting the player they want,” said Ainge, the Celtics’ president of basketball operations. “And we’re getting an additional player that we want in next year’s draft or the year after. It’s a good deal for both teams.”
The player Philadelphia wants is clear: The 76ers wouldn’t say it Monday, but they’re going to take Fultz barring something cataclysmic happening before Thursday.
“We felt like the move from 3 to 1 was worth the cost of a firstround pick in the future,” 76ers president of basketball operations Bryan Colangelo said.
Next up will be the Los Angeles Lakers, expected to take UCLA guard Lonzo Ball.
And then come the Celtics, starting the real intrigue. If Ainge is to be believed, even they don’t know who they will take at No. 3 — but he insisted that whichever choice they make there would have been the choice they made at No. 1 if this deal hadn’t gone down. The Celtics had Duke’s Jayson Tatum in for a workout on Monday and hope to have Kansas’ Josh Jackson in on Tuesday.
For now, Boston has seven first-round picks in the next three years.
And that means the Celtics could be gearing up for more moves soon.
After finishing with the No. 1 seed in the East this season before getting ousted in the conference finals by Cleveland in a one-sided series, the Celtics have considered packaging some of their future picks for an established star that could help them close the gap on the Cavaliers and Golden State.
With Isaiah Thomas and Al Horford, Ainge is looking to make a deal like the seven-forone trade in 2007 that brought Kevin Garnett — and an NBArecord 17th championship — to Boston.
The Sixers worked Fultz out on Saturday night as talks with the Celtics got to the final stages. It was agreed to in principle at that point, with the last holdup being the customary league approval on the terms.
There are some conditions on the future first-rounder Boston gets out of this deal. If the Lakers hold a pick between No. 2 and No. 5 next season, Boston now gets that one as well. If not, Philadelphia will send Boston either its own first-rounder in 2019 or Sacramento’s first-rounder that year.
With Thomas, the Celtics didn’t necessarily need a point guard — which is the piece Philadelphia apparently wanted most.
Fultz averaged 23.2 points, 5.7 rebounds and 5.9 assists in 25 games during his lone college season at Washington, excelling on a team that finished 9-22. Fultz, who went to high school in Upper Marlboro, Md., led the Pac-12 in scoring and finished No. 6 among all Division I players.