The Boston Celtics are long on trade assets but short on tangible building blocks. As a result, president of basketball operations Danny Ainge has been trying to wheel and deal in advance of tomorrow's NBA Draft.
One proposed deal Ainge cooked up was Marcus Smart and the 16th and 28th picks for Philadelphia 76ers big man Nerlens Noel and the No. 3 overall pick. However, the 76ers were not interested, according to Broderick Turner of the Los Angeles Times.
Noel, a first-team All-Rookie selection, came on strong in the latter half of the season and emerged as a defensive force. He averaged 9.9 points with 8.1 rebounds, 1.9 blocks and 1.8 steals in 75 games this past season. Although he needs to improve at finishing around the rim, his long wingspan and quick feet proved to be quality deterrents in the paint.
Smart, while promising and talented, is not quite of equal value as a player to Noel. He averaged 7.8 points with 3.1 assits and 3.3 rebounds in 67 games. His ceiling is not as high as Noel's. On top of that, the third pick is significantly more valuable than Nos. 16 and 28. It's no surprise that Philly general manager Sam Hinkie turned this deal down.
Ainge confirmed to the media yesterday that he is trying to move up in the draft with Boston's pair of first-rounders. He has also said that no one of Boston's roster is untradeable. But it's unclear if their current collection of talent, along with their four total drafts picks this year, will be enough to land a major deal.
