The Celtics were one of six teams to interview Nerlens Noel at the NBA Draft Combine. (Getty Images)
Anything and everything is on the table as far as offseason moves for Danny Ainge and the Boston Celtics this summer.
Ainge touched on a variety of topics with CSNNE.com’s A. Sherrod Blakely this week, including speculation that the Celtics could somehow swing a trade that would land them the rights to draft Kentucky big man Nerlens Noel, an Everett, Mass. native. Noel is expected to be selected in the top three of this year’s NBA Draft and a trade of that magnitude would likely involve the Celtics surrendering both Rajon Rondo and Paul Pierce for draft picks and then packaging those picks to move all the way up. The Celtics were one of a handful of teams that interviewed Noel at the recent NBA Draft combine in Chicago.
“It’s not a no-brainer,” Ainge told Blakely with regards to any blockbuster deal. “It’s not like you get a 21-year-old All-Star player or you get the number one pick in the draft (if you deal Pierce). Those decisions would not be hard, but I have a feeling the decision is going to be very hard.”
The Celtics currently have the No. 16 pick in the June 27 draft.
“I think we’re going to get somebody that we like at 16,” Ainge said. “There’s some good players out there that I think have pretty good value. There just aren’t a lot of franchise players.”
