Kansas forward Josh Jackson is one of the most popular players in the draft. Currently, a trio of teams are lining up with trade packages to move into top five and draft the Jayhawks freshman.
The most tradeable selection is at number three, which is held by the Boston Celtics.
Boston is actively looking for more help for their current roster, and the reported teams could provide just that.
Per Ramona Shelburne of ESPN, the three teams with the most interest in Jackson are the Spurs, Clippers, and Bulls:
Clippers, Spurs, Bulls all have interest in him and big name veteran players (DeAndre, LaMarcus, Jimmy) who would really help Boston.
— Ramona Shelburne (@ramonashelburne) June 22, 2017
The Clippers will probably offer DeAndre Jordan, who is on the trade block. Jordan would help the Celtics with their rebounding and defense under the rim, their two biggest problems. However, for how much Jordan will cost the Celtics ($47 million owed for the next two years), other deals might be more realistic.
The Spurs will probably offer LaMarcus Aldridge, who they have been shopping lately around the league. Aldridge is a good scorer but he's 32 years old and has a small, if any, chance of improving. Other than Aldridge, the Spurs have nothing much to offer to sweeten the deal.
Most probable of all deals is the one with the Bulls. Boston has been interested in forward Jimmy Butler for a couple of seasons now, and Celtics GM Danny Ainge might finally pull the trigger. Butler will, however, probably cost the Celtics more than just the third selection in the draft, but Ainge has done an amazing job of collecting trade assets and could finally unload them:
Tremendous appetite around the NBA to trade into the Top 4 to select Kansas' Josh Jackson, league executives tell @TheVertical.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) June 22, 2017
Jackson has been garnering interest from a lot of other teams lately as well. According to Adrian Wojnarowski from the Vertical, Jackson has been one of the most sought after players in this draft. The Kansas freshman is a tremendous athlete with amazing upside, but his shooting is the biggest concern with his game. Due to this, Jackson has been compared to the likes of Spurs forward Kawhi Leonard and Jimmy Butler if he reaches his ceiling, who both developed an outside shot after a few years in the league.
Jackson will need to work on some aspects of his game, but with that potential, teams will not easily pass on him.
Follow Us
Subscribe