Celtics Rumors: Boston Trying To Acquire Second Lottery Pick To Include In Possible Porzingis Trade

The New York Knicks are continuing to listen to trade offers for Kristaps Porzingis leading up to tonight's NBA Draft, and the Boston Celtics have emerged as the most serious contender.

According to ESPN's Ian Begley, the Celtics are trying to acquire a second lottery pick they can flip to the Knicks in a deal for Porzingis.

Sources: BOS offered NYK its No. 3 pick, a player & an additional lottery pick that they think they can acquire tonight in a trade for KP.

— Ian Begley (@IanBegley) June 22, 2017

Boston is willing to use the No. 3 pick as the centerpiece of the deal, but are trying to talk New York down from their high asking price. Frank Isola of the New York Daily News has the details:

According to a Knicks source, Jackson is asking for the third overall pick in Thursday's draft as well as next year's Brooklyn pick along with the Celtics' 2016 first-round pick Jaylen Brown (3rd overall) and Jae Crowder. This version of the deal would not include Boston taking on Joakim Noah's contract.

The Celtics feel the price is far too high but they are open to tweaking the deal to include just one draft pick, either this year's No. 3 or next year's Brooklyn pick.

Parting with both Brown and next year's Brooklyn pick may be a dealbreaker for Boston, which is why they're trying to acquire another top pick in this year's draft.

New York had been asking for both the No. 4 pick and shooting guard Devin Booker from the Phoenix Suns in return for Porzingis, but Phoenix turned them down, leaving the Celtics as the lone serious suitor for him.

Porzingis averaged 18.1 points, 7.2 rebounds and 2.0 blocks per game last season.

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