The Boston Celtics are currently scheduled to wrap up the first round of the 2024 NBA Draft by making the 30th and final pick Wednesday. But it remains to be seen whether the Celtics keep that selection or trade it.
MassLive's Brian Robb reported Wednesday afternoon that "Boston has been shopping that selection in hopes of picking up additional draft compensation, per a source. Boston’s front office is attempting to thread the needle between infusing some young talent into the franchise and adding more draft capital to the cupboard to add ammo for future moves."
Why trade the No. 30 pick? There are some financial reasons. The C's would save money in salary (as well as luxury tax savings) by paying a second-round pick instead of a more costly first-round pick. Trading a first-round pick for a couple second-round picks also would give the Celtics more assets to make deals before future trade deadlines, especially since so many of those in-season moves involve second-rounders.
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The 2024 draft class also is viewed by experts as being weaker than normal, so not picking at the end of the first round wouldn't be a huge deal in this particular year.
How are the Celtics approaching the draft? C's president of basketball operations Brad Stevens held a press conference Tuesday and provided some insight.
“As far as the picks go, if the right person is available at 30, then we’ll take them,” Stevens told reporters. “If we have a couple of people that we think are still the right person, then we’ll see what our options are and what kind of flexibility we have.
"I anticipate picking a couple picks. Whether they’re on roster or two-way, and investing in young players. If they come in and crack our rotation, then they’re really good. And that’ll be a good thing, too.”
The Celtics have not made a first-round pick in each of the last three drafts. It's the longest period of time they've gone without making a selection in Round 1 in team history.
The Celtics have done a good job scouting players in the later stage of the first round in recent years. They found quality players in Robert Williams III (No. 27, 2018), Grant Williams (No. 22, 2019) and Payton Pritchard (No. 26, 2020) all in a three-year span.
Boston doesn't need to find a star with the No. 30 pick. Just getting a quality player who can crack the rotation at some point would be a nice addition to the roster.