The Boston Celtics, Orlando Magic, and Washington Wizards may be looking to trade up in the 2020 NBA Draft.
The Ringer's Kevin O'Connor reports in his updated draft guide that all three Eastern Conference teams could be looking to improve their positioning, though they are not necessarily looking towards the top of the lottery.
“League sources say both the Celtics and Magic are trying to move up into the mid-lottery using their own first-round picks, and the Wizards are angling to move up from no. 9,” O'Connor writes.
O'Connor adds that the rumor mill has been generally chaotic surrounding the Nov. 18 NBA Draft, which makes sense considering how many wavering opinions there seems to be about players up and down the board.
O'Connor notes that teams could be looking to nab a player who slips, perhaps like point guard LaMelo Ball, who has reportedly interviewed poorly. Washington could be one of the teams interested in Ball, despite presumably getting John Wall back next season.
“Wizards general manager Tommy Sheppard has said he’d be interested in moving up. But for who? That remains to be seen,” O'Connor writes. “However, here’s what Sheppard told me back in July: ‘This draft is looked at by several people as being weaker than recent years. We see it as a great opportunity. This might give us an opportunity to swing for the fences, take a wild card, buy a lottery ticket, if you will.' Is there a bigger home run swing in the draft than Ball? At 6-foot-7, he could be paired with Bradley Beal and John Wall to create a three-headed monster in the backcourt with players who can attack from anywhere on the court, or as a succession plan if one (or both) of them are eventually dealt.”
The Celtics — who have reached the conference finals in three of the past four seasons yet still have three first-round picks in this NBA Draft (no. 14, from Memphis, no. 26, and no. 30, from Milwaukee via Phoenix) — have unsuccessfully tried to package picks to move up, per O'Connor.
“The Celtics have offered their three first-round picks (nos. 14, 26, and 30) in trades to try and move up, according to multiple league sources. So far, no one is biting.”
Orlando may try to trade into the lottery, but if not, O'Connor believes they would be content taking Kentucky guard Tyrese Maxey at no. 15 as an ideal fit next to Markelle Fultz.
“League sources say the Magic are attempting to move up into the lottery; if they stay put, though, Maxey could potentially provide lottery value and immediately inject life as an energetic presence and hard-nosed defender. Though Markelle Fultz’s resurgence makes for a nice story, he’s still yet to prove he can reliably shoot the ball. Maxey is further along as a scorer off the dribble, which could push Fultz into his ideal role as a supercharged Shaun Livingston.”
If O'Connor's overall read on things is accurate, it sounds like we should expect a lot of trade activity before and during the draft.
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