The Portland Trail Blazers own three first round picks this year and are willing to part ways with one of them in order to remove one of their unwanted contracts from their books, according to a source.

The Blazers have no pending free agents this offseason and face a numbers crunch with their roster in addition to a significant luxury tax payment.

The Blazers re-signed Allen Crabbe, Meyers Leonard and Maurice Harkless last offseason, while also adding Evan Turner and Festus Ezeli in free agency. The Blazers will waive Ezeli in the offseason.

The Detroit Pistons have interest in trading the 12th overall pick in exchange for an established player.

The Pistons received little production out of their first round picks from the past two seasons during the 16-17 season as Stanley Johnson and Henry Ellenson struggled to make an impact.

Stan Van Gundy is entering his fourth season with the Pistons and the team has made just one playoff appearance.

The Golden State Warriors were close to trading for Kevin Garnett in 2007 before the Minnesota Timberwolves eventually dealt him to the Boston Celtics. The Warriors were coming off a first round upset of the Dallas Mavericks and were one of the NBA's most compelling teams.

"After the playoff series with Utah, we had a nice group but we were trying to figure out a way to bridge the gap," said Chris Mullin. "We had a deal. Kevin Garnett was getting ready to move and I think he was being very selective. But at one point, he liked our situation.

"The exact deal was probably going to be more Minnesota's choice. We had Monta (Ellis), Andris (Biedrins), the pick itself, Jason (Richardson), Baron (Davis). We felt whatever combination they took, we had enough.

"It got really, really close, but it was vetoed.

"For us, it was more of a way to keep that success going than be a one hit wonder."

Chris Cohan and Robert Rowell vetoed the Warriors' trade for Garnett for financial reasons.

"At that time financially, they weren't willing to go there," said Mullin.

The Warriors won 48 games during the next seasons but missed out on the playoffs. Davis signed with the Los Angeles Clippers in the 2009 offseason to make the We Believe team short lived. 

David Stern further expounded on his controversial decision to veto a trade in 2011 for "basketball reasons" that would have seen the New Orleans Pelicans trade Chris Paul to the Los Angeles Lakers.

The Pelicans and Lakers agreed upon a three-way trade with the Houston Rockets involving Pau Gasol and Lamar Odom.

"(My decision) was only based on what was good for New Orleans, or what was not good for New Orleans," said David Stern. "It had nothing to do with the Lakers at all. And in fact, in the course of the weekend, we thought we could re-do the deal. We really thought that Houston would be ready to part with Kyle Lowry; and we had a trade lined up for Odom that would have gotten us a good first round draft pick. Not we, but my basketball folks. But Mitch Kupchak at the time panicked, and moved Odom to Dallas. So the piece wasn’t even there for us to play with at the time. So that was it — just about what was good for the then New Orleans Hornets."

New Orleans soon thereafter traded Paul to the Los Angeles Clippers.

The Boston Celtics reached the Eastern Conference Finals this season while not sacrificing any future assets, but Danny Ainge acknowledged the team needs improvement.

“I don’t know what ‘level’ that means,” he said. “I feel like wins are deceiving sometimes. I think that the fact that we were one of three teams still left playing was something to be proud of, but it’s not necessarily where we really are.

“I think sometimes teams make false assumptions of their team based on things like that. I think that our team is not that much different than a lot of our competition in the East. I think we had a good year in spite of some injuries, you know, with [Al] Horford going down early and Isaiah [Thomas] missing a short time and Avery [Bradley] missing 22 games there in a stretch. We had to overcome some injuries, and it was good because our depth got a chance to play. Everybody on our roster got a chance to prove their worth.

“But I feel like it doesn’t really matter what we’ve accomplished. If we’d lost Game 7 against the Wizards, I don’t feel any different than if we’re where we are today. I know that we’re good. I know that we’re not great. I know that we still have more to do, and, you know, that next step is by far the hardest.”

The Celtics were eliminated by the Cleveland Cavaliers in five games.

“This is what’s difficult about our business that I think sometimes... you know, I don’t think I knew this even when I was a player and maybe even when I coached as much as I do now,” Ainge said. “As I look around the league, I think sometimes the mistakes that are made are when you’re just that little bit, just that one piece away and you can’t get that piece.

“Just because you’re one piece away doesn’t mean you can get it. And if you force yourself to get it, and if you force a deal or force yourself to get the second best available or the third or fourth best available player at that position that you need, then it might not make you that much better or make you still not good enough, and you’re stuck. So, yeah, we’re not that far away, but we’re still a ways away. We still know we need to get better. Everybody in our organization knows we need to get better. We need to add.”

While the Celtics own the top overall pick and have a good core, they could make major changes this offseason.

“Time will tell on that, but, yeah, there is a potential for there to be some significant change,” said Ainge. “But maybe less change. Maybe more change; maybe not. A lot will be dependent on what we’re able to pull off in the draft and in deals leading up to free agency and then what happens in free agency. There’s just so much unknown right now. Right now it’s all talk and pipe dreams and planning. But there’s no certainty. It’s an exciting time for us, and it’s a very busy time for us.”

The Toronto Raptors will acquire a second round pick in 2018 from the Orlando Magic as compensation for Jeff Weltman.

Weltman was hired by the Magic this week as president of basketball operations.

Orlando will send the Raptors the least favorable of two second round picks they control in 2018. The Magic have their own second round pick in 2018 along with the second round pick of the Los Angeles Lakers as part of the Dwight Howard trade.

The New York Knicks have interest in revisiting trade discussions with the Minnesota Timberwolves for Ricky Rubio.

The Knicks and Wolves discussed a Rubio trade at the deadline.

Rubio fits the mold of a two-way contributor that the Knicks are seeking.

Rubio had an excellent second half of the season after trade talks with the Knicks broke down.

The Atlanta Hawks offered four first round picks to the Indiana Pacers in exchange for Paul George at the trade deadline.

The Pacers also received trade interest in George from the Boston Celtics and Denver Nuggets.

In addition to their own picks, the Hawks own future first rounders from the Minnesota Timberwolves in 2018 and the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2019.

The Hawks' front office has since undergone significant changes, with Mike Budenholzer stepping down as president of basketball operations. Atlanta is still searching for their ultimate decision maker.

With George only one year from free agency and believed to prefer to sign with the Los Angeles Lakers, it is unlikely the Pacers will receive a package of that quality again if they revisit trade talks.

Owner Wyc Grousbeck indicated the Boston Celtics are unlikely to trade away the top pick in June's draft.

"I think these picks are very, very valuable," said Grousbeck. "You think of it, if you’re going to trade this pick as part of a package for an established star [who is] making max [money], you’ve got to send max money out the door, as well. You’ve got to send more guys along. So, this guy coming back better be the second coming. What’s more, he’s going to be halfway through his career, whoever he is. And he’s going to be paid, right now, a ton of money, which restricts you in other ways.

"If you can get a really good guy with this pick, you’ve got him. You can build with him. You can grow with him. You can coach him up. And you get to max money eventually — five, six years down the road — but it’s a totally different thing.

"So, these picks are really valuable in today’s NBA. And so our intention would be to make the pick unless someone blows us away with an offer. That’s the way I would probably think about it."

The Celtics are widely expected to select Markelle Fultz.

The Boston Celtics won the lottery and made their potential trade offers more valuable since they control the draft.

The Celtics had interest in trading for either Paul George or Jimmy Butler at the deadline and can revisit those discussions in June.

"Fultz is the clear choice" for the Celtics if they decide to keep the pick, according to Chad Ford. 

The Celtics will also own the Brooklyn Nets' unprotected first rounder in 2018.