The Boston Celtics will think about moving out of the first round of tonight’s NBA Draft. (ESPN)

The Boston Celtics are taking a hard look at Marquette’s Jimmy Butler and Boston College’s Reggie Jackson with the 25th pick in the draft. But there’s another potential option for Boston.

The Celtics are open to moving out of the draft altogether if they can trade their pick for a young player. The Celtics have a $2.4 million trade exception that would allow them to take back a young player without having to send anything in return other than the 25th pick.

Sadly, trading the 25th pick in this (weak) draft will not fetch any good, cheap, young player (unless David Kahn’s in a giving mood). If the Celtics do trade the 25th pick, their prerogative would likely be to save themselves money and a roster spot rather than to find any useful, young talent. The Celtics could package the pick with something else, of course, but if they are trading the pick by itself, it won’t return much value. I see the Celtics trading the choice only if they feel nobody left on the board will help them next season.

Ready yourself for anything tonight, but expect very little. The Celtics will probably keep the 25th pick and select some relatively small name who will in all likelihood make little to no impact next season. Or maybe they’ll trade the selection for whatever they can get because they don’t expect anybody that late in the draft to contribute. Or maybe they’ll trade up a few spots and select another relatively small name who will probably spend next year picking splinters from his rump.

Don’t be completely blind-sided if the Celtics use the draft as a springboard to trades, to change, to evolution, but don’t expect any substantial, franchise-altering trades. The chances, of course, that Danny Ainge drastically changes the team’s nucleus tonight remain small. But Ainge—for better and for worse—has always shot first, then asked questions later. He maintains that he would have broken up the Larry Bird-Kevin McHale-Robert Parish triumvirate before the trio broke down, and he has already broken up Boston’s unbeaten starting five. Assume that if Ainge believes he can find proper value for Kevin Garnett, Ray Allen, Paul Pierce or even Rajon Rondo, one or more star Celtics will find himself in the market for a new home.

Short of a trade, the draft will be bland, at least from Boston’s perspective. A weak draft, two low choices—the Celtics are more likely to find another Allan Ray than the next Ray Allen. We can get excited about Jimmy Butler (and his fantastic story, and his reportedly otherworldly attitude), but we should remember that he’s not nearly as talented as Jeff Green, and that we (or at least I) spent most of last season cursing at Green under our breath. We can get excited about Nikola Vucevic, but is he really the type of player an NBA team should trade up to acquire? We can get excited about Jeremy Tyler, but he was underwhelming while playing in Japan; what’s to say he will make an impact in the NBA? We can get excited about this shooter, that rebounder, or that scorer, but whoever becomes the 25th pick could very well play more D-League games than NBA games in 2012.

Translation: expect the Celtics to draft Luke Harangody, not Paul Pierce. Expect Avery Bradley, not Rajon Rondo. Expect Von Wafer, not Ray Allen. Expect tonight to unfold with barely a whisper, with a lower-tier prospect who might one day boost Ainge’s status as a diamond miner (or, perhaps more likely, become the next J.R. Giddens).

The Celtics need to fill a lot of roster spots this offseason. They need size, and a backup point guard, and now that I’m thinking about it, an entirely new bench. Change will come. But tonight, blandness seems far more likely.

Warning: If you enjoy fantasy sports, I’m about to turn your world upside down.

A very good friend of ours from high school, Rehan, is the CEO and founder of a brand new company– Orpster: The Sports Stock Market — that is bringing together the world of fantasy sports and the world of Wall Street.

Beginning with the NFL season (let’s collectively pray for an NFL and NBA season),  Orpster will allow you to buy and sell shares of your favorite players. Player performance is then rated based on an innovative algorithm based on traditional fantasy player statistics.

The algorithm is personalized for each player and factors in a player’s performance over the past two seasons. What this means is that when Tom Brady throws a touchdown, his stock will raise less than when–or if–Tavaris Jackson throws a touchdown.

If the player you hold stock in performs well, his stock rises, and you can sell back your shares for a tidy profit. Orpster has an easy, secure payment system and they will overnight a check to you the moment you decide to sell your shares.

If you are one of the first 500 followers on Twitter (@Orpster_SSM) or on Facebook, Orpster will give you a free $20 deposit to try out their cutting-edge software. Orpster has both a desktop client and a  mobile app for the iPhone and the Android which update the stocks and statistics in real-time. Take a look at the desktop client:

Orpster's real-time sports stock market software.

Rehan Hussain, CEO and Founder of Orpster

Worried about a player getting injured? Orpster will sell player insurance for just $0.25 which will freeze the player’s share and/or reimburse your account with the appropriate amount if a player gets hurt.

Orpster has released a demo today to show everybody how the sports stock market will work and how easy it is to operate.

In addition to the sports stock market, Orpster will offer traditional fantasy leagues for those more inclined to participate in the old-fashioned way. Orpster is going supersonic, going to be a breakthrough business so get in now on the ground floor by testing out the software with a free $20.

Follow on Twitter: @Orpster_SSM

“Like” on Facebook: Orpster Sports Stock Market Page

When Rajon Rondo returned to play minutes after his dislocated elbow bent in directions it wasn’t meant to, nobody needed Albert Einstein to point out, “That kid is tough.” A month and a half after Rondo’s injury—a month and a half after he played the final two and a half games against Miami with only one functioning arm—he still isn’t medically cleared to play basketball. Rondo won’t be allowed to return to the court for another four weeks.

We knew at the time of the injury that Rondo shouldn’t be playing with his elbow like that; the arm dangled at his side like an icicle, mostly useless and clearly painful. We know now that Rondo’s injury required more than two months of recovery time. He returned in seven minutes. I wonder if that would impress Gregg Popovich.

As badly as Boston’s season ended, the Rondo Elbow game perfectly captivated everything I love about this Celtics team. On one night, Kevin Garnett returned to his 20s to swallow Chris Bosh whole, Shaq returned from injury and hobbled around the court even though he could barely move, Ray Allen tried to physically confront Dwyane Wade, Paul Pierce outplayed Lebron James, and Rondo took seven minutes to return from an injury that still keeps him off the floor a month and a half later. Age could not stop the Celtics, nor could more talented opponents, nor could injuries. They would ultimately fall to James, Wade, Miami and their own mortality, just as they fell to the Lakers last season, but the Celtics—as always—gave away no free lunches.

With hindsight being 20/20, Rondo still has the guts of a burglar, just like we suspected when we saw him return that night, during a glorious game we might (but hopefully won’t) come to regard as the Big Three’s final stand.

Nenad Krstic officially signed with the Russian team CSKA Moscow today, a two-year deal that will expire after the 2012-’13 season. ESPN’s Chris Forsberg reports the contract contains no buyout clause for Krstic to return to the NBA, effectively ending any hopes that he might return to the Celtics at some point next season.

It’s official! The captain of the national team of Serbia, Nenad Krstic, signed a two-year contract with CSKA Moscow, until the end of the 2012-2013 season. After seven years in the NBA — with the New Jersey Nets, Oklahoma City Thunder and Boston Celtics, averaging 10.0 points, 5.4 rebounds in 25.2 minutes in 419 regular-[season] games, and 10.4 points, 5.4 rebounds in 25.2 minutes in playoff games — the center decided to come back to Europe to compete at the highest level to win the Euroleague.

Taken in a vacuum, the Nenad Krstic loss would not hurt much. After all, he spent most of his time last season providing fodder for European stereotypes, and specifically the stereotype, “European big men are quite soft and do not appreciate defense.” With the notable exception of Game 5 against Miami (when Krstic played well enough to prompt questions about whether he should have earned Glen Davis’s playing time sooner), Krstic started his Boston career with a bang before fading into mediocrity and worse. By the end of the season, after Krstic became oddly hesitant on both sides of the court, I felt I could count on him for one thing and one thing only: allowing open layups (and dunks) to opposing big men.

The problem for the Celtics is that Krstic’s loss does not come in a vacuum. It comes amid the retirement of Shaquille O’Neal, the likely departure of Glen Davis, and the continued instability of Jermaine O’Neal’s (deteriorating) body. Jermaine, as I write this sentence, remains Boston’s only center. Kevin Garnett makes the only other big man on Boston’s roster, though I suppose some would argue Jeff Green’s ability to play the four (to which I would respond that his “ability to play the four” often ends with bad results, and to which I would also respond that he’s a free agent, albeit a restricted one).

Whether or not you believe in Green’s power forward-ability, and whether or not he re-signs in Boston, the Celtics have a startling dearth of big men entering tomorrow night’s draft. This is where I will remind you that not only did Danny Ainge trade Kendrick Perkins, but he also traded Semih Erden and Luke Harangody for a box of trading cards and a bag of chips. As you can tell, I’m still a little bitter.

Now Krstic has walked away, and the lack of a buyout clause in his contract means he will not return. Rather than expecting Jermaine O’Neal to play 48 minutes in each of next season’s 82 games, the Celtics will make big men a priority in the draft, free agency and trades. You know, unless they want to enter opening night with Avery Bradley as their backup center. Unluckily for the Celtics, quality big men are often the toughest players to find. Re-signing Glen Davis looks more attractive by the day. Doh.

Trade up for Vucevic?

Nikola Vucevic

The Boston Celtics have reportedly set their eyes on a 6’10 power forward/center who played his college basketball at USC. Danny Ainge has investigated trading up to select Nikola Vucevic, a physically imposing big man with a respectable midrange jumper. Vucevic is expected to be selected at some point between the 9th and 17th picks.

The tallest player measured at the 2011 NBA combine, Vucevic is an intriguing prospect because of his inside/outside scoring talent, length that allows him to nearly touch the rim while standing on flat feet, the ability to defend two positions at the NBA level, and a knack for snatching rebounds. He will never jump up and take quarters off the top of the backboard, but Vucevic can move a little and his game possesses a versatility most young big men do not display. Obviously, since Boston has only one center right now (Jermaine O’Neal), the Celtics would like to (need to?) draft a big man. Vucevic would presumably enter the NBA more ready to contribute than most.

Stand pat and take Jimmy Butler or Jeremy Tyler?

Jimmy Butler

If the Celtics do not move up, Andy Katz reports they will take a hard look at Marquette’s Jimmy Butler (6’8 forward) and 20-year old center Jeremy Tyler, who played in Japan last season.

ESPN listed Butler as one of four later picks most likely to make an impact next season. Tyler, meanwhile, would be a risk-reward project—he could become a more offensive-minded DeAndre Jordan, a young shot-blocker who impacts games with athleticism and improves every season, or he could become a less talented Eddy Curry, a big man who wastes considerable talent because he has the work ethic of a wooden table. Tyler probably would not help immediately as much as Vucevic would, but his frame, athletic traits and decent ball skills scream “upside”.