Report: Celtics targeted Kelly Oubre on draft night
Heading into the summer, the Boston Celtics made it known they wanted to get stronger on the wing. They want to be more versatile and athletic next season. Adding a shooter or two wouldn't hurt either.
Washington Wizards rookie Kelly Oubre Jr. figures to check off all those boxes, so it should come as no surprise to hear that the Celtics wanted him on draft night. Here's the full report from Sporting News' Sean Deveney:
"Oubre was high on the board of several lottery teams, including the Hornets at No. 9 and Heat at No. 10, but when he slipped into the teens, there was a clamor from teams to move up and grab him. Boston likely would have taken him at No. 16, a source said, and once the Celtics failed to get Charlotte’s pick, they tried to move up for Oubre. Several other teams had interest, and a source told Sporting News that the Rockets (with the 18th pick) were trying to move up, too. But it wasn’t until Oubre’s agent, Nima Namakian, got a text message from Wizards vice president Tommy Sheppard on draft night, telling him that the Hawks had agreed to a deal, that Oubre finally knew how his situation would pan out."
It's unknown what, if anything, Boston offered the Atlanta Hawks to move up and grab Oubre. Instead, they stood pat in the first round and selected Terry Rozier and R.J. Hunter.
There's a feeling the latter could be one of this draft's biggest steals, and a real possibility he has a better career than Oubre. But it's hard to grade the Celtics here without knowing just how aggressive they were in their attempt to move up for the former Kansas swingman.
We know they offered four first-round picks to Charlotte for the ninth pick and Justise Winslow, but how far were they willing to go to move up one spot? Did they negotiate with any other teams?
(h/t: Sporting News)
