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As a result, the Sixers are free to pick Washington point guard Markelle Fultz with the No. 1 overall selection in the National Basketball Association draft.
So it wasn't a surprise that Colangelo was tight-lipped during a press conference at the team's practice facility in Camden Monday to announce the blockbuster deal between the Sixers and the Celtics that sends the rights to the Sixers pick at No. 3 as well as the rights to a future first-round selection to Boston for the No. 1 pick in the draft.
The Celtics gave up the No. 1 pick for the Sixers' No. 3 pick and either the Los Angeles Lakers' 2018 first-round pick (if it falls between two and five next year) or the Sacramento Kings' first-round pick in 2019.
"We're getting the player we want". The 76ers were in position to make the deal because of the assets they acquired under former general manager Sam Hinkie. "And we're getting an additional player that we want in next year's draft or the year after".
We felt like the move from 3 to 1 was worth the cost of a first-round pick in the future, 76ers president of basketball operations Bryan Colangelo said.
Boston didn't seem interested in adding a guard like Markelle Fultz or Lonzo Ball to a team filled with guards in Isaiah Thomas, Avery Bradley and Marcus Smart.
And then come the Celtics, starting the real intrigue. "We think there's a really good chance that we'll take at three, the same player we would have taken at one; an impactful asset". But the only way a deal can go down between the two is something tempting.
That goes along with the reports that the Celtics were considering Kansas' Josh Jackson ahead of Fultz, although there has been recent steam behind Boston taking Jayson Tatum out of Duke. They're big on defense so I think the tools that I have to be a defensive player I think would help them get out in transition. Philly and Boston thought of it as a win-win situation, with both believing there's "little difference" in the level of talent between the first and third picks.
Paul George tells Pacers he will leave for Lakers in 2018
George keeping the Pacers jersey is a locked on for next season but for Season 2018-19, "it's anybody's guess", ESPN reported. George reportedly hasn't requested a trade, but you would think IN would want to get something IN return for losing him.
Los Angeles is looking to acquire a second lottery pick in this year's draft, but aren't going to do so by trading back.
The Celtics would take whichever one is more favorable.
"We have a much better idea of where we are today than just a few days ago", Colangelo said, "and, again, sitting in the number-one spot, we couldn't be in a better place". We watched the same Finals that everybody did. "I can't wait for the draft on Thursday and continue to move forward".
Fultz worked out for the Sixers on Saturday night.
There are some conditions on the future first-rounder Boston gets out of this deal.
While the pair of top picks getting swapped was the biggest news of the weekend for National Basketball Association fans, an under-the-radar story broke, claiming George informed the Indiana Pacers he would be leaving the team for free agency after the completion of next season with the hopes of signing on with his hometown Los Angeles Lakers.
We are certainly aware of our competition, Ainge said. "But we're not afraid of that". Fultz, 19, averaged 23.2 points (47.6 percent from the field and 41.3 percent from three), 5.9 assists and 5.7 rebounds last season. He was the top freshman scorer in the country.
Philadelphia will pair Fultz, a high-scoring point guard out of the University of Washington, with Simmons, last year's No 1 overall pick who missed the entire season with a foot injury.
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