Report: Celtics Making Push to Draft Austin Rivers, “Pessimistic” About Chances

Austin Rivers is unlikely to fall outside the lottery in Thursday's NBA Draft, but that does not mean the Celtics have taken him off their draft board.

The Celtics are making a push to trade up and draft Rivers, the son of Celtics coach Doc Rivers, Chad Ford of ESPN.com reports. The team is not optimistic that it will be able to move up far enough to have a realistic chance at drafting Rivers, though.

The Celtics are "pessimistic" about moving into the top 10, where Rivers is increasingly likely to be picked, according to Ford, because they are unwilling to include Avery Bradley as part of the deal. The 21st and 22nd picks alone are not believed to be enough for the Celtics to draw a top-10 pick in return.