The Celtics rumors continue to fly around in the lead-up to Wednesday night's NBA draft, including some of the seemingly unlikely blockbuster variety.
Tuesday brought a report that the Celtics were making a "late push" for Rockets star James Harden, which was later shot down by the always-reliable Mark Murphy.
Now we have another whopper of a report, though. Marc Stein of The New York Times reports the Celtics are "searching for trade pathways to get into the top three of tonight's NBA Draft."
It's unclear what the Celtics would have to give up to make such a move. Presumably it would be much more than their own first-round picks (Nos. 14, 26 and 30) and could involve a key piece off their current roster.
We also don't know what the Celtics would do with a top-three pick. If they used it for themselves, the projected top three picks in this year's draft are, in some order, point guard LaMelo Ball, Georgia shooting guard Anthony Edwards and Memphis center James Wiseman.
Wiseman would fill the Celtics' most glaring need currently, as they could certainly use a frontcourt upgrade. But with rumors that Danny Ainge has been shopping Kemba Walker and willing to listen on basically anyone who isn't Jayson Tatum or Jaylen Brown, no option can be eliminated.
The Celtics could also intend to then flip that top-three pick in a trade for an established starter.
Regardless, it doesn't seem particularly likely that the Celtics would ultimately be able to pull off a move to get into the top three anyways, but it's certainly something to keep an eye on.
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