Seth Greenberg suggests Celtics move up for Dylan Harper if they trade Jaylen Brown, others

ESPN’s Seth Greenberg suggested the Boston Celtics consider a massive trade of Jaylen Brown to move up and select Dylan Harper. The Rutgers guard is expected to go No. 2 overall to the San Antonio Spurs.

Currently, the Celtics own the No. 28 overall pick (first round) and No. 32 overall pick (second round). After trading Jrue Holiday and Kristaps Porzingis, Greenberg took it a step further after ESPN’s Brian Windhorst suggested players like Brown and Derrick White wouldn’t be going anywhere.

But Harper is such a tantalizing talent, Greenberg would certainly try. It would take Brown and some picks, at least. Heck, maybe even White to go along with it, to get the No. 2 overall pick.

“If there’s one player, it’s Dylan Harper,” Greenberg said on Get Up. “Dylan Harper is six-six, you’re talking about a guy terrific at ball screens, he’s a big, physical guard, gets downhill. Reminds me of Cade Cunningham, his physicality, his toughness, his ability to finish around the basket, but more importantly, his ability to make it easy for other people. 

“This guy’s got size, strength, he’s got genetics that’s all about championships. He has a toughness about him, extremely comfortable. Got to shoot a little bit better, but I think that Dylan Harper is a guy that you can say, I would not move off of Brown and White, I wouldn’t, because I think those guys are winning players that understand the culture of the Celtics. But if you were going to move on, you need to bring in a guy that understands what it takes to win, and his pedigree says championship.”

Jayson Tatum’s torn Achilles leaves the Celtics in a precarious spot, since he could miss all of next season. If you’re going to remake the roster, Harper is a guy to build around if Greenberg were at the controls. But, it’d be quite tough to give up that much to move up so far in the NBA Draft.

A top three prospect in the Class of 2024 with Cooper Flagg and teammate Ace Bailey, Harper has been locked in as the No. 2 NBA prospect behind Flagg. He finished his lone season at Rutgers with 19.4 points per game, 4.6 rebounds per game, four assists per game, shot 48.4% from the floor and 33.3% from three-point range.

The NBA Draft begins Wednesday night at 8:00 p.m. ET on ESPN. It’ll continue on Thursday.