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On Tuesday, a report surfaced that indicated the Boston Celtics were interested in packaging their three first-round picks together to move up in the NBA draft. Now, the apparent target of the Celtics has emerged.
According to Aran Smith of NBADraft.net, the Celtics have Onyeka Okongwu on their radar and are looking to trade up in order to have the opportunity to draft him. The former USC product has been receiving interest from quite a few teams and appears to be a hot commodity.
Boston is reportedly willing to package each of its three first-round picks, Nos. 14, 26 and 30, to move up into the mid-lottery range. However, they have been unsuccessful in finding a potential trade partner with two weeks to go until the NBA draft on Nov. 18.
Hearing same as @KevinOConnorNBA, Boston trying to package their three picks to move up, and the player the Celtics are targeting is bigman Onyeka Okongwu #nbadraft #nbadraftrumor
— NBADraft.net (@nbadraftnet) November 3, 2020
Okongwu emerged as perhaps the top defensive center in the country last season after averaging 16.2 points, 8.6 rebounds, 2.7 blocks and 1.2 steals. While he is known to be an elite defender, he also showed promise on offense and has the potential to impact games on both ends of the floor.
The 6-foot-10 forward is widely considered to be drafted in the top 10 while some believe he could even be taken in the 4-6 range. If the Celtics are interested in Okongwu, as the report indicates, they will certainly need to enhance their trade package in order to move up.
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