The Boston Celtics have the number six pick in the draft and there is a chance the team could trade the pick this offseason along with names like Rajon Rondo, Jeff Green, Jared Sullinger, Avery Bradley, Kris Humphries or Gerald Wallace and those deals could come if Aaron Gordon is taken in the top five, as the Celtics are targeting him with their lottery draft pick.
The Celtics have been mentioned quite a bit in trade rumors this offseason centering around Rondo and Jeff Green and while so far no traction has been made, other teams like the Houston Rockets, NY Knicks and Lakers have shown interest in Rondo. According to Pro Basketball Talk, the Celtics like Aaron Gordon with the number six pick and the team ended up in a solid spot in the lottery after the Cavaliers jumped ahead and screwed everyone by getting the top pick for the second straight season.
The Celtics and every other team in the top 10 has been connected to trades involving their picks and Boston likely will not move the pick unless it's for Kevin Love or if Gordon is taken before the pick. The report says that the Celtics are enamored with his skills and size and that they feel the Arizona freshman could be a franchise player for GM Danny Ainge. The team is still looking to lock up Rajon Rondo with a long term deal and if they sit tight and draft Gordon, they would have put together a solid young crop of talent over the past two seasons.
Gordon is just 19 years old and that youth could be big for the Celtics and with players like Jabari Parker, Joel Embiid and Andrew Wiggins ahead of him, Gordon could slip out of the top five and into the Celtics hands. Chris Mannix at SI.com writes that the Celtics are looking at Gordon as their pick and if they don't go for a blockbuster trade, they likely will not deal the number six pick. Gordon is an athletic player and he could give the Celtics a prime option with Rondo and they come into the offseason after going just 25-57 under Brad Stevens and it could be a number of years before they are competing again.
The team has been mentioned as a wild card in the Kevin Love trade rumors and one reason they are in the mix with the Timberwolves is because of that number six pick. The Celtics will pick Gordon if he is there says Bill Simmons, as they see him as a Shawn Marion type, but they also could use that pick in a trade. Kevin Love visited Boston last week and the team has first round picks and enough young talent to make a deal, but it's not clear how hard the Celtics will try and pull off that trade. Boston comes into the offseason with Rondo at the center of their plans and Ainge feels that adding a top player like Gordon could help turn the team around and he will have to decide whether to attempt a trade for Love or if the team should sit tight at six.
