The Philadelphia 76ers are in talks with the Boston Celtics about a trade for the No. 1 overall pick in next week's NBA Draft, according to ESPN's Marc Stein and Zach Lowe.
League sources tell @ZachLowe_NBA and me that the Sixers and Celtics are in serious talks on a trade involving the No. 1 overall pick.
— Marc Stein (@ESPNSteinLine) June 16, 2017
Current iteration, per league sources to @espn, is a package of a draft picks from Philly, including No. 3 overall, to the Celtics for No. 1
— Marc Stein (@ESPNSteinLine) June 16, 2017
Philadelphia would be making the trade to select Washington point guard Markelle Fultz, who is heralded as the top prospect in this class. Fultz has not worked out for the 76ers yet, but if the trade goes through, he will make the trip to Philadelphia this weekend to meet with team officials.
According to Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical, the 76ers are waiting on Fultz's medical information before finalizing the deal.
The 76ers expressed a lot of interest in Fultz in the pre-draft process, but after getting the No. 3 overall pick in the lottery, they knew they would have to make a move like this to get him. They have been doing their due diligence on a number of prospects, but are convinced that Fultz is a superstar in the making.
Fultz has reciprocated Philly's interest over the past few months. He actually attended a Sixers game in April, during which he expressed interest in playing in Philadelphia.
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"Oh, man, I can see it happening," he said in an interview with CSNPhilly's John Clark at the time. "I think it would be a great atmosphere, so it would be cool."
Philly plans to move Ben Simmons to point guard this season, which is the position Fultz plays, but he doesn't have a problem with that. A member of Fultz's camp said that Fultz was excited about the idea of being the primary scoring option alongside a playmaker like Simmons.
Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress reports that the Lakers may also try to trade up one spot to get Fultz after his workout with the team this week, but it appears they only have a shot if this deal with the Sixers falls through.
Multiple sources have told me that Magic "is in love" with Fultz. May try to move up to #1, possibly with a Julius Randle + #2 pick offer.
— Jonathan Givony (@DraftExpress) June 16, 2017
A 6-foot-5, 186-pound combo guard, the Upper Marlboro, Maryland native averaged 23.2 points, 5.9 assists and 5.7 rebounds per game last season.
For Boston, they have expressed recent interest in Kansas forward Josh Jackson, who they would be expected to take with the No. 3 pick should this trade happen.
Jackson averaged 16.3 points, 7.4 rebounds and 3.0 assists per game.
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