Report: Celtics among teams interested in Warriors’ first-round pick originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston
The Boston Celtics couldn’t beat the Golden State Warriors in the 2022 NBA Finals. Maybe they will have better luck getting Golden State’s first-round pick in Thursday night’s 2022 NBA Draft.
The Celtics reportedly are among the teams with interest in the selection, per longtime basketball reporter Sean Deveney of Heavy.com.
Deveney also lists the Orlando Magic and New York Knicks as teams that have talked to the Warriors about the No. 28 pick.
The Celtics sent their 2022 first-round pick, along with Romeo Langford and a top-1 protected 2028 pick swap, to the San Antonio Spurs in February and received veteran guard Derrick White. White was a solid pickup for the Celtics with his defense, bench scoring and versatility.
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Boston currently owns just one pick in the upcoming draft — No. 53 overall in the second round. If the Celtics don’t make a trade back into the first round, they will go consecutive years without making a pick in Round 1 for the first time in team history.
Do the Celtics need the No. 28 pick? No, not really. They already have young guys like Payton Pritchard, Grant Williams and Aaron Nesmith who need more playing time to fully develop. Adding another late first-round rookie to that mix doesn’t make a ton of sense.