Danny Ainge is waiting to strike once again.

Nine years ago, the Boston Celtics‘ general manager and president was able to bring both Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen to Boston, capitulating the C's to a title. They got back to the Finals two years later, enjoying their best run of success since the Larry Bird era that Ainge played in.

Now, with a bounty of draft picks to work with, Ainge is looking to pull off a move to elevate the Celtics to the next level once again. Their most coveted asset is the pick they received from the Brooklyn Nets a few years back, which is third overall in the 2016 draft.

A deal may be coming soon. As draft day approaches in a little over a week, CSN Celtics insider A. Sherrod Blakely reports that Ainge is in hot pursuit of a suitable trade partner for the number three pick.

brad stevens
AP Photo/Mary Altaffer

From Blakely:

“[I'm] hearing that No. 3 pick overall is the one that they are really shopping, trying to be as aggressive as possible in trying to move that pick, because they want to get a difference-making, impact player right now. And they believe using that No. 3 pick, and maybe some other players and/or picks, might be the best way to [make] that happen.”

Their targets aren't all that different from the rest of the league:

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“The guys that they want are the guys that everybody wants,” said Blakely. “We're talking about [Kevin] Durant, we're talking about Jimmy Butler, those type of players. And those guys are going to be at the top of their wish list until those guys say, ‘We don't want to come to Boston.' “

They were unable to move the pick at the trade deadline after exhausting all of their options. Now, we'll have to wait and see if they get an offer before June 23rd that they believe is worth giving up the selection for.

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