Report: Celtics nearly acquired Jahlil Okafor from Sixers

Danny Ainge divulged on Friday that the Celtics had nearly moved the draft pick they have from the Brooklyn Nets, but wouldn’t say for who. A new report says it would have been for Jahlil Okafor.

Ainge said Friday that the Celtics were very close to moving the pick, which will likely be in the top three and could be number one overall, in what would have been a big trade. According to the Celtics president, the other team backed out of the deal at the very last minute.

According to Steve Bulpett of the Boston Herald, that deal would have been for Philadelphia’s rookie big man Okafor, the third overall pick in the 2015 draft.

Boston essentially would have been swapping a top pick in 2016 for a 20-year-old big man, and it makes sense. There really isn’t an Okafor in the upcoming draft. Okafor is already averaging 17.1 points per game, 7.3 rebounds, and 1.4 blocks per game at his young age, and he’s only going to get better.

Interestingly, Boston was the site of a nightclub brawl involving Okafor earlier in the season. Boston was also linked to Okafor before the draft, so Ainge is definitely a fan.