Boston Celtics president of basketball operations Brad Stevens has been working the phones over the last 24 hours, and he isn’t done yet.
After trading Jrue Holiday and Kristaps Porzingis to get under the second apron of the luxury tax, Stevens still has multiple items on his to-do list. For one, he’ll likely aim to shed more salary to clear room for much-needed frontcourt help, perhaps one of his pending free agents Al Horford or Luke Kornet. Secondly, he’ll navigate the team through the 2025 NBA Draft.
The Celtics currently own the 28th and 32nd overall picks in the draft, but according to Steve Bulpett of Heavy.com, Stevens is trying to trade into the top 14 with a specific prospect in mind: Illinois guard Kasparas Jakucionis.
“It remains to be seen whether Boston can get up where they’d need to be to draft him, but there are definitely teams up high that are looking to trade back,” one front office source told Bulpett. “The question is how far back those teams are willing to go and what Boston is willing to offer to get them to do it.
Jakucionis, a 6-foot-6 Lithuanian who turned 19 last month, averaged 15.0 points, 5.7 rebounds and 4.7 assists in his lone season with the Fighting Illini. NBC Sports Boston’s Celtics insider Chris Forsberg had Jakucionis landing with the Phoenix Suns at No. 10 overall in his latest mock draft, but labeled Jakucionis as one of his “best fits” for Boston in the 2025 draft should the C’s decide to trade up.
“The one-and-done Illinois combo guard is known for his creative passing and the way he sees the floor,” Forsberg said of Jakucionis. “He gets to the free throw line a lot, too, and as we’ve seen with Jalen Brunson and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, the foul-merchant business is a good one to be in.
“Before suffering a midseason arm injury, Jakucionis was shooting 41 percent from 3-point range. His numbers dipped afterward. If that dip can be attributed to his injury, his game fills out a bit more. If the Celtics can get higher in the draft through some wheeling and dealing, Jakucionis could be the target.”
The Celtics haven’t had a lottery pick since Stevens took over for Danny Ainge in 2021. Their last one came in 2020, when they selected Aaron Nesmith at No. 14 overall.
Boston will still have solid options if it sticks at No. 28. Creighton big man Ryan Kalkbrenner and Stanford 7-footer Maxime Raynaud have often been mentioned as potential Celtics picks, and Washington State guard Cedric Coward is another name to watch in a possible trade up the draft board.
The 2025 NBA Draft is set to begin Wednesday at 8 p.m. ET.
