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NEW YORK -- The Boston Celtics acquired second-year Portland Trail Blazers point guard Sebastian Telfair for the No. 7 pick in Wednesday's NBA draft, as well as one or two other players, multiple sources told ESPN.com.
The trade was agreed upon Wednesday afternoon but it came after the 2 p.m. ET deadline which means the Celtics will still be on the clock, selecting for the Blazers, when the No. 7 pick comes up during the draft.
Portland will pick at No. 4 and No. 7, barring any more trades.
One of the players from the Celtics could be injured point Dan Dickau (Achilles), but that wasn't confirmed as of Wednesday.
Boston has been searching for a true point guard and wasn't overwhelmed by the choices that it may have at No. 7. The Celtics worked out Connecticut's Marcus Williams, Kentucky's Rajon Rondo and Villanova's Randy Foye on Monday. All three could be available at No. 7. But the Celtics brass decided that Telfair, two years into the league, was better suited for the Celtics' system at this juncture in his career.
Danny Ainge, the director of basketball operations, looked at Telfair's first eight games -- 12.6 points, shooting 45.7 percent, 42.3 percent on 3s as well as four assists a game -- as the indicator of his ability. Telfair hurt his thumb after that and was out for an extended period of time. He lost the starting point guard position during his absence to Steve Blake and Jarrett Jack. He finished averaging 9.5 points, 3.6 assists and shot 39.4 percent in 68 games. Telfair was the No. 13 pick for the Blazers in 2004 out of Lincoln High in New York.
In his two years he averaged a combined 8.1 points, 3.5 assists and shot 39.4 percent.
This deal allows the Celtics to play Delonte West more as an off guard with Telfair as a natural point.
This trade won't deter the Celtics from still pursuing Philadelphia's Allen Iverson in a summer deal that is still very much alive with a third team still to be determined.
Andy Katz is a senior writer at ESPN.com.
The trade was agreed upon Wednesday afternoon but it came after the 2 p.m. ET deadline which means the Celtics will still be on the clock, selecting for the Blazers, when the No. 7 pick comes up during the draft.
Portland will pick at No. 4 and No. 7, barring any more trades.
One of the players from the Celtics could be injured point Dan Dickau (Achilles), but that wasn't confirmed as of Wednesday.
Boston has been searching for a true point guard and wasn't overwhelmed by the choices that it may have at No. 7. The Celtics worked out Connecticut's Marcus Williams, Kentucky's Rajon Rondo and Villanova's Randy Foye on Monday. All three could be available at No. 7. But the Celtics brass decided that Telfair, two years into the league, was better suited for the Celtics' system at this juncture in his career.
Danny Ainge, the director of basketball operations, looked at Telfair's first eight games -- 12.6 points, shooting 45.7 percent, 42.3 percent on 3s as well as four assists a game -- as the indicator of his ability. Telfair hurt his thumb after that and was out for an extended period of time. He lost the starting point guard position during his absence to Steve Blake and Jarrett Jack. He finished averaging 9.5 points, 3.6 assists and shot 39.4 percent in 68 games. Telfair was the No. 13 pick for the Blazers in 2004 out of Lincoln High in New York.
In his two years he averaged a combined 8.1 points, 3.5 assists and shot 39.4 percent.
This deal allows the Celtics to play Delonte West more as an off guard with Telfair as a natural point.
This trade won't deter the Celtics from still pursuing Philadelphia's Allen Iverson in a summer deal that is still very much alive with a third team still to be determined.
Andy Katz is a senior writer at ESPN.com.
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