I'm quite averse at using future picks for trying to simply trade-up in a draft. Our future picks are quite valuable to be wasted on something as potential, and that's all you're doing when trading up in a draft. There are no sure things, some seem safer bets than others, but that's all you're doing, trading for potential.
Draft picks should be used to try and grab established players. I'd be very very wary in what we give up just for a chance at some top talent of a draft who hasn't set food on the NBA floor.
Firstly, we have so many future picks that I disagree. But secondly, even if I agreed, it's a lot easier to trade for an established star if you can offer a team a top 5 draftee instead of a collection of future picks. It creates more certainty for the team trading away the star, and someone to instantly market. If we trade futire picks to move up to grab Winslow, for example, we'd have a much better player to offer a team trading it's star. And if we still can't find that trade, then we have a better young player to build around. We have so much volume right now that we need to convert it into higher quality, be it picks or established players.
I said averse, not that I wouldn't do it. I'm just not all gun-ho about doing it. How many future draft picks? Which ones? I'm not going to go all in, so it really depends. I'd have to be very convinced to do it. I mean, we can't look at this as we have a ton of picks, what's a few thrown in here and there? We got picks to waste... that'd be a mistake. It has potential of turning what looks like a good road to rebuilding into a disaster just because we couldn't be patient.
Consolidation it is something that needs to happen, that's for sure and something I've mentioned constantly, I don't think that simply trading up is what needs to be done... at least on this particular draft. We should have plenty of roster space, so we still have room to maneuver.
Let's use this trade deadline as an example, one late first rounder and a player that was of no value for the Celtics landed us Isaiah Thomas. So while these sorts of opportunities don't come along often, there should come more frequently for us during the next 5+ years just because of the amount of draft picks we have.
One thing about future draft picks also, they don't get injured (for trade purposes). I'd be very very careful on what we give up and who we target. It's quite risky.
In the end it's has to be a balanced effort. I'm just not set on the mindset that we have to trade up to certain draft range for the sake of it... because players are supposedly talented there.
It has to be more specific, it has to be almost a guaranteed bet because with all our draft assets, the potential to go after an established player in a trade should he become available is quite good. So I'd be quite careful.
