Philadelphia and Boston completed their trade of draft picks on Monday, the 76ers acquiring the No. 1 pick from the Celtics and netting the chance to draft Washington guard Markelle Fultz.
While the Celtics awaited league approval of their reported swap for the No. 3 pick, the franchise evaluated a new prospect for the first time: Jayson Tatum, according to a source.
According to Ainge, the Celtics chose to trade from No. 1 back to No. 3 because they believe they can get their guy at third overall. The 76ers, selecting first for the second straight year, should take Fultz before Magic Johnson takes Ball with the Lakers again in the No. 2 spot, which is exactly what the UCLA guard and his father, LaVar, want. The Sixers wouldn't be getting the player they absolutely wanted, but would settle for a player that could help out their franchise anyway.
Over a month ago, we debuted our first mock draft of the NBA Draft Lottery.
"I think they're both terrific players", Ainge said.
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Kansas forward Josh Jackson explained that he didn't visit or work out for the Celtics when Boston had the No. 1 pick because he and agent BJ Armstrong thought the Celtics "didn't have much interest".
For what it's worth, Ainge did not rule out the trade with Philly leading to another deal.
If the order in the 2017 draft doesn't change, it will mark the first time in National Basketball Association history that the same three teams pick in the same order in consecutive drafts.
Be proactive - Use the "Flag as Inappropriate" link at the upper right corner of each comment to let us know of abusive posts. The Sixers worked Fultz out on Saturday night as talks with the Celtics got to the final stages.
Fultz averaged 23.2 points, 5.7 rebounds and 5.9 assists in 25 games during his lone college season at Washington, excelling on a team that finished 9-22. They selected Ben Simmons previous year, but he missed all of the 2016-17 season with a broken foot. But the addition of Fultz to a talented albeit unproven young core that includes Simmons, center Joel Embiid and power forward Dario Saric would certainly make the 76ers one of the NBA's most intriguing teams next season. Fultz led the Pac-12 in scoring and finished No. 6 among all Division I players, and was the top freshman scorer in the country.
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