Why did the Boston Celtics trade the 25th pick? Finding out more

After stunning the basketball world by trading Marcus Smart to the Memphis Grizzlies in a three-team deal, the Boston Celtics had another surprising move. They moved back from the 25th to the 31st in a trade with the Detroit Pistons.

Boston grabbed point guard Marcus Sasser. Detroit sent two future second-round picks and the 31st pick to the Celtics.

Stevens, however, was only getting started. He dealt the 31st pick to the Charlotte Hornets in exchange for the 34th and 39th picks. Boston’s president of basketball operations then sent the two new picks to the Sacramento Kings and Atlanta Hawks, respectively for future second-round picks.

Heading into Wednesday, the Boston Celtics had the 35th pick. They sent it to the Washington Wizards along with Danilo Gallinari and Mike Muscala in the Marcus Smart deal. Boston got Kristaps Porzingis and the 2023 (25th) and 2024 first-round picks.

Brad Stevens made the head-scratching moves so the Celtics get much-needed salary cap flexibility. They can sign their pick to a two-way deal instead of a guaranteed contract if that’s the route they want to take.

In all, the Boston Celtics received the 38th pick and four future second-round picks, cap relief and roster flexibility by trading the 25th pick.

Stevens had this to say about the series of draft night moves:

"We had a list of guys that we were really comfortable with. The guy that we ended up getting was on that list."

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The Boston Celtics made Jordan Walsh the 38th pick of the 2023 NBA Draft

The Boston Celtics chose a potential contributor when they drafted Jordan Walsh from Arkansas. Boston added another rangy defender to its lineup. Walsh is 6-7, 205 pounds, 7-2 wingspan and a 36-inch vertical leap. He has the tools to be elite on the defensive end.

Walsh showed flashes of that potential for the Arkansas Razorback. He is usually all over the floor, disrupting their opponents’ offensive flow. His defense is already way better than his offense at this point in his career.

The Celtics will have to count on the former Razorback to improve his shooting to see more action. Walsh was only 27.8% from behind the arc in his only collegiate season in just 72 attempts. Boston’s coaching staff is confident that they can turn him into a much better shooter the way they did with Grant Williams.

Two years ago, the Celtics traded Desmond Bane to the Memphis Grizzlies and may have regretted it. Tonight, they’re hoping they didn’t make the same mistake when they could have drafted one of Marcus Sasser, James Nnaji and Mouhamed Gueye.

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