The Celtics are doing their due diligence on point guard prospects ahead of the 2025 NBA draft, as well as evaluating potential trade-up scenarios, league sources tell Grant Afseth of RG.org.
Boston currently controls the No. 28 pick in the first round and the No. 32 pick in the second round, giving the team some ammunition to potentially move up a few spots if there’s a specific prospect the front office likes in that range.
Of course, the ability to draft a player with that No. 32 pick and sign him to a rookie-minimum salary would benefit the cap-strapped Celtics as they look to reduce their payroll, so the club would have to weigh its options carefully if it considers a move up — packaging the No. 28 selection with a future pick or two while hanging onto No. 32 could also be an option, though that’s just my speculation.
As Afseth writes, the Celtics have “quietly evaluated” a number of point guards in this year’s draft class, conducting background work on those prospects and making an effort to bring them in for workouts. Adding a “rotation-level” guard on a rookie scale contract is viewed as a priority for a team that operated over the second tax apron this past season, Afseth adds, especially with Jrue Holiday considered a prime offseason trade candidate.
Among this year’s draft-eligible point guards, Dylan Harper, Jeremiah Fears, Kasparas Jakucionis, and Egor Demin are viewed as probable lottery picks. Nolan Traore is at No. 25 on ESPN’s big board, with Walter Clayton Jr. at No. 27 and Ben Saraf at No. 30. For what it’s worth, Traore was once considered a potential top-10 pick and was still in the lottery in ESPN’s mock drafts as of mid-March, but has fallen in the rankings this spring.
According to Afseth, Boston is one of a few teams with multiple picks in the first round or early second who are exploring the idea of trading up. The Thunder (Nos. 15, 24, and 44), Magic (Nos. 16, 25, 46, and 57), and Nets (Nos. 8, 19, 26, 27, and 36) are also “viewed as active in that market,” sources tell RG.org.