A United States of America-born basketball collegiate star of Nigerian descent, Onyeka Okongwu is attracting transfer attention in God’s Own Country, with a deal looming large for her at Boston Celtics, megasportsarena.com reports.
The report out of Uncle Sam’s nation reveals that Okogwu is on the radar of a likely move to Boston, after Celtics expressed interest in packaging their three first-round picks together to move up in the NBA draft.
Aran Smith of NBADraft.net added that The Celtics have Okongwu on their radar and are looking to trade up in order to have the opportunity to draft him, and the former USC product has been receiving interest from quite a few teams and appears to be a hot commodity.
Boston is reportedly willing to package each of its three first-round picks, Nos. 14, 26 and 30, to move up into the mid-lottery range. However, they have been unsuccessful in finding a potential trade partner with two weeks to go until the NBA draft on November 18.
Okongwu emerged as perhaps the top defensive center in the country last season after averaging 16.2 points, 8.6 rebounds, 2.7 blocks and 1.2 steals. While he is known to be an elite defender, he also showed promise on offense and has the potential to impact games on both ends of the floor.
The 6-foot-10 forward is widely considered to be drafted in the top 10 while some believe he could even be taken in the 4-6 range. If the Celtics are interested in Okongwu, as the report indicates, they will certainly need to enhance their trade package in order to move up.
Another NBA writer, Darren added|: “Smith has Okongwu going No. 3 overall to the Charlotte Hornets in his latest mock draft, while our Chris Forsberg and Rob Snyder have the Washington Wizards taking Okongwu at No. 9. Either way, the 6-foot-9, 245-pound Los Angeles native likely is a top 10 pick who wouldn’t fall to Boston if it stayed at No. 14.
“Okongwu would be a good fit with the Celtics: He’s a versatile defender and an excellent rim protector (2.7 blocks per game at USC last season) with a strong offensive skill set (16.2 points per game on 61.6 percent shooting) whom O’Connor compares to Bam Adebayo.
“The Celtics won’t have much frontcourt depth behind Daniel Theis, Robert Williams and Grant Williams if Enes Kanter (player option) doesn’t return this season, so Okongwu could be a quality reinforcement. Danny Ainge and Co. have yet to find a trade partner, though, and may have difficulty moving into the top 10 by solely offering draft picks.”
