The Celtics are doing their due diligence on point guard prospects ahead of the 2025 NBA draft, as well as evaluating potential trade-up scenarios, league sources tell Grant Afseth of RG.org.
Boston currently controls the No. 28 pick in the first round and the No. 32 pick in the second round, giving the team some ammunition to potentially move up a few spots if there’s a specific prospect the front office likes in that range.
Of course, the ability to draft a player with that No. 32 pick and sign him to a rookie-minimum salary would benefit the cap-strapped Celtics as they look to reduce their payroll, so the club would have to weigh its options carefully if it considers a move up — packaging the No. 28 selection with a future pick or two while hanging onto No. 32 could also be an option, though that’s just my speculation.
As Afseth writes, the Celtics have “quietly evaluated” a number of point guards in this year’s draft class, conducting background work on those prospects and making an effort to bring them in for workouts. Adding a “rotation-level” guard on a rookie scale contract is viewed as a priority for a team that operated over the second tax apron this past season, Afseth adds, especially with Jrue Holiday considered a prime offseason trade candidate.
Among this year’s draft-eligible point guards, Dylan Harper, Jeremiah Fears, Kasparas Jakucionis, and Egor Demin are viewed as probable lottery picks. Nolan Traore is at No. 25 on ESPN’s big board, with Walter Clayton Jr. at No. 27 and Ben Saraf at No. 30. For what it’s worth, Traore was once considered a potential top-10 pick and was still in the lottery in ESPN’s mock drafts as of mid-March, but has fallen in the rankings this spring.
According to Afseth, Boston is one of a few teams with multiple picks in the first round or early second who are exploring the idea of trading up. The Thunder (Nos. 15, 24, and 44), Magic (Nos. 16, 25, 46, and 57), and Nets (Nos. 8, 19, 26, 27, and 36) are also “viewed as active in that market,” sources tell RG.org.
Maybe the Magic would go down and add Hauser. They need a shooter bad.
The Magic are currently over the first apron, so they can’t take back more salary than they send out in a trade. Boston isn’t trading Hauser unless they don’t take salary back.
This means they need to do a multi-team trade where they send out Cole Anthony or Johnathan Isaac elsewhere in order for the trade to be legal. That’s a lot of maneuvering for Hauser.
The trade would have to look something like this:
Magic: Hauser, Pick #28, two seconds
Boston: #16 pick
Third Team: Cole or Issac
Fourth Team: seconds and salary filler
And what is the 3rd team getting for playing along and helping the Cs? Isaacs is a horrible contract given how he regressed this year and Anthony appears to be a backup pg.
The Cs aren’t getting payroll relief *and* a FRP in a deal like this. What they might be able to do is consolidate their 2 picks into a pick in the lower 20s.
Buddy, I don’t think you’ve looked at any NBA contracts recently, but $13-$15 mil isn’t much these days. Isaac is one of the better defenders in the NBA and 28, and his contract is mostly non-guaranteed – if he doesn’t play in 52 games in any season, he can be cut for nothing. And Anthony has a club option for next year.
Yeah, the Celtics will probably need to throw in some seconds to the team taking filler, but Anthony/Isaac is worth 2 seconds for your rotation, especially if you have useless matching salary to dump.
Hauser is top 20 in 3-pt FG %, and only making $10 mil/year for the next three years. That is extremely valuable, and definitely worth dropping from 16 to 28 for the Magic who don’t have good three point shooting.
Shaqfoo is right nobody is going to take Cole or Issac contracts without some compensation going to them. Both players are back ups and to pay that much for a backup player with most team trying to stay under the cap. issac would be very hard to trade since he has 3 years left on his contract. Somebody may take cole if magic add that #28 pick to take him.
His contract is non-guaranteed if he doesn’t play in 52 games in any season, so Isaac’s contract isn’t really bad. You’re telling me there isn’t a single team out there that doesn’t have $13 million in useless contracts that they could swap for Anthony or Isaac and see it as an upgrade?
You’re telling me the Bucks wouldn’t trade Pat Connaughton and two seconds or the Lakers Gabe Vincent and two seconds for Cole Anthony?
Both teams you mentioned have very little draft capital and so I don’t see either using what little they have on a guy who didn’t play more than 15 mpg the past 2 szns and has something like $60M remaining on his contract.
Cole Anthony is a different situation – different contract, younger, produces more. I do think he has some value. Two SRPs? maybe, from a team that needs pg depth… Wolves? idk.. don’t the Magic need backcourt depth?
Why would any team add on 2 second round picks for him if they are just trading bad contract for bad contract. Vincent is more valuable than Cole because Vincent can be a 3 pt shooter off the bench.
Hauser’s contract is a lot because it costs the Celtics 80 MILLION in luxury tax penalties. Every other team in the league knows this. The Celtics are not dealing from a place of leverage.
Celtics can still duck the tax if they get rid of Holiday and Porzingis. They don’t need to trade Hauser so they have plenty of leverage – they just don’t need him this season since they can’t win without Tatum, so they should trade him at his highest value right now.
How are they getting rid of Holiday/Porzingis without taking salary back in return?
And the point is the team’s 8th man isn’t worth 80 million.
The Celtics do not have leverage in any of these trades.
Celts might also need to use one of their picks as a sweetener to induce someone to take on the Holiday contract.
Porzingis is more likely the one leaving than Holiday.
Holiday has a better trade market.
Porzingis is an expiring and has health issues – he is more likely to be a salary dump to a cap team (like the Nets) rather than bringing back meaningful assets.
Isn’t that what the Celtics want to dump payroll. Holiday will be needed more on the team with injuries to Brown and Tatum.
Holiday will have more suitors than Porzingis.
The Nets are the only cap space team this summer and a dump there is only a possibility, not a lock.
Yeah the way Kristaps limped to the finish line, they’re going to have a hard time moving him.
The Celtics need a Big, a center. Not a PG.
Both Horford and Kornet are FAs …
Horford is probably gone. Kornet they might sign. But he could get offers ….
They have bird rights on Kornet (reason he took a minimum last year despite his market being higher). He isn’t going anywhere.
They need a PF and a lead playmaker with Tatum out for the year. They have zero players on the roster capable of either.
Why would Horford leave? He said leaving the Celtics last go around was a mistake. He has kids in school. My guess is he sticks around.
Evaluating Harper if they trade Brown?
Like I said…Stevens isn’t attaching a pick. Gafford, Marshall for Jrue. Hauser and pick 28 to move up the board draft Walter Clayton Jr etc. Gap year sorted.
If Celtics can get rid of Porzingis then the trade for Gafford and Marshal would be a good trade for them.
I honestly don’t see the Mavs punting the season with Flagg entering the pix. And that means they’ll probably try to retain Gafford, Naji.. both younger less expensive players, than bring on a big contract that they’ll have to deal with in addition to a possible Ky extension. I don’t seeva Mavs deal for Jrue.
I actually think Jrue in Houston is probably easier to get done than KD, which probably needs a 3rd team. If the Celts are willing to take Dillon the villain, then you have an easy deal:
Celts: Brooks, Landale, #10 pick
Rockets: Jrue, 28th pick
And the Rockets save other bullets for ?
Would be a good trade for both teams. Rockets should get rid of Brooks because he is a bad influence on the younger players.
No thanks.
Orlando will not trade Jonathan Isaac, Period. Cole Anthony, maybe, yes, perhaps, if Orlando can package him alongside a first-round pick and another player, like Goga Bitadze or Jett Howard, for a veteran shooter or a point guard, it can be possible. Still, Isaac is the heart and soul of the team, something like Udonis was for Miami; that is why I think he will not be traded.
They won’t trade him because his contract is untradeable.
J.Brown and 28th pick for Giannis…