Wyc Grousbeck: Celtics Not Necessarily Interested In Trading No. 1 Pick
BOSTON (CBS) -- Lady Luck smiled down on the Celtics during Tuesday's NBA Draft Lottery, when the C's were awarded the draft's first overall pick for the first time in franchise history. As the first team to be both a top seed and hold the top selection in the following draft since the Lakers landed James Worthy in 1982, it's a great time to be a fan of the Green.
WBZ NewsRadio 1030's morning sports anchor Adam Kaufman spoke with Celtics co-owner Wyc Grousbeck on Wednesday to revisit draft lottery night and look ahead to the evening's Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals against the Cavaliers.
It was a wide-ranging interview, where the two even discussed whether Ray Allen's old jersey No. 20 would be available for a player such as Washington's Markelle Fultz - the projected top choice in the draft - but one of the more interesting notes came from Grousbeck when he gave the impression he's not interested in trading away the prized pick.
"You don't really want to necessarily trade a number one pick in a really good draft for somebody that's halfway thru their career, already making max money," the team's governor and CEO stated. "That's just a difficult trade to make. First of all, you have to match the money in the trade, so you've got to add significant additional players on our side to go just to sort of match the money, so it's three or four guys going and one guy coming back.
"That guy better be pretty good because if you're drafting No. 1 and you make the pick well – you do really draft a transcendent player – you've got that player for five or six years as they build up before the max money even kicks in. It just feels like this is a pick we will listen to offers, I'm sure, we will have conversations all the way thru June but, for me, making a first pick is an exciting prospect right now."
Some more highlights:
Grousbeck said he introduced himself to Markelle Fultz before #draftlottery and said "Boston's a really nice place," left it there. #Celtics
— Adam Kaufman (@AdamMKaufman) May 17, 2017
Wyc Grousbeck on match-up with #Cavaliers: "I believe in luck...we're gonna need all the help we can get against a super-team." #Celtics
— Adam Kaufman (@AdamMKaufman) May 17, 2017
On what Isaiah Thomas has meant to #Celtics, Grousbeck said, "Inspirational. I'd love to see him be a champion some day. He deserves it."
— Adam Kaufman (@AdamMKaufman) May 17, 2017
Wyc Grousbeck: "Having a max free agent come in is like having a No. 1 pick, or better, if you can get a great player to come in." #Celtics
— Adam Kaufman (@AdamMKaufman) May 17, 2017
Spoke w/#Celtics co-owner Wyc Grousbeck. Asked if C's will have No. 20 avail for Fultz (worn by Ray Allen). Laughed, "No comment..nice try."
— Adam Kaufman (@AdamMKaufman) May 17, 2017
You can listen to the full interview between Kaufman and Grousbeck below: