Danny Ainge shed some light on the Boston Celtics’ trade deadline approach ahead of Thursday’s 3 p.m. ET cutoff. And in doing so, the organization’s president of basketball operations may also have shared insight into one potential, and well-established, suitor.
Boston has three first-round picks in the 2020 NBA Draft while the Houston Rockets shipped off a haul of draft picks to the Oklahoma City Thunder while acquiring Russell Westbrook last year.
“I think our draft picks have some interest,” Ainge said on NBC Sports Boston on Monday. “I think everybody always has interest in draft picks, especially teams (cough, cough Houston) that have just given them all away.
“So that’s why draft picks are important. They’re important at the trade deadline, but they’re also very important at draft time to make deals to improve your team. Not just taking a swing with a young player in the draft, but also in the trade market.”
Of course, the Celtics have been closely linked to the Houston Rockets as rumors swirl about Boston’s interest in Houston center Clint Capella. It surely seems the Celtics have exactly what the Rockets could want in order to get a deal done — draft capital.
Whether the Celtics should shuffle their current roster for Capella, however, is another conversation.
