Should the Boston Celtics be Active at the Trade Deadline?

The Boston Celtics may still have plenty of assets, but that will not necessarily make them buyers at the trade deadline.

The trade deadline is quickly approaching, and even though Danny Ainge cashed in his major assets during the offseason, there is no doubt that he will be connected to all kinds of rumours. Ainge has a reputation as the most active trader in the NBA, and a lot of people might still be expecting him to at least make a minor move.

The Boston Celtics are finally out of Nets picks, but Ainge’s wizardry has given them another one of the most coveted assets in the NBA. The Los Angeles Lakers are struggling greatly, and it is looking more and more like their pick will land somewhere between 2-5 and will end up in the hands of the Celtics.

When you add on all the young talent that has been showcased this season, there is no doubt that the Celtics have the ammunition to go and make another blockbuster trade. The name everyone wants to talk about is Anthony Davis, and that might be the only name that would make Ainge consider something with the Lakers pick, Jaylen Brown or Jayson Tatum, but that is simply not going to happen.

The Celtics made the blockbuster trade for Kyrie Irving, and there is absolutely no sense in blowing up this current core. When you take into account that Gordon Hayward will be returning after this season, Brown and Tatum are still going to grow a lot before their prime, and Irving is only 25 years old, this is a roster that should be contending for many years.

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There is no doubt that Davis on the Celtics would create the kind of monster no one else wants to see, but it is far too risky for both sides involved to move these kinds of assets and players, especially in the middle of the season.

Keep in mind that any move that is strictly to win now will make no sense for the Celtics. There is no doubting that the roster wants to win a championship now, but with no one expecting Hayward to return this season, the Celtics are not going to sacrifice anything that would threaten that immediate future, when one of the premier players on the team will be back.

Maybe in the offseason the Celtics will be enticed by making a win now move, but Ainge might be the last GM you could expect to sell everything to go all in this season, and unless he is willing to sacrifice value for the first time in his career, Davis is untouchable.

That, however, does not make all trades out of the question for the Celtics. We often see Ainge make a lot of smaller moves, but he has been very good with those also. Isaiah Thomas and Jae Crowder were acquired without giving up very much, and we could see some smaller moves like that this trade deadline. He could look to make movements with future seasons in mind, but it is harder to get proper value like that in the middle of the season.

The Celtics have roster flexibility with young players that go to Maine, and they still have a solid collection of other draft picks that can be used. The Celtics would need to find an ideal player that could be plugged into a secondary role and have an immediate impact, and they certainly have the assets to make that kind of move.

The Celtics are currently using a very deep rotation, but there are still some spots that Ainge may want to upgrade. A lot of their young players may be better off getting more action in the G League, and that would open up the space.

Guerschon Yabusele is the first that comes to mind, because his role is inconsistent and limited, and there is a good chance Ainge could fill that roster spot with someone a bit more productive. It also does not help that both Semi Ojeleye and Daniel Theis play Yabusele’s role better than him right now.

Whether or not the Celtics are active at the deadline will have a lot to do with that second unit, and that is difficult to gauge right now. We have seen them go in shooting slumps that have killed games, but then you also get the moments when both Smart and Rozier look like 6th may of the year candidates, and Theis and Ojeleye are able to defend some of the best talent in the NBA.

When the bench is working well, the Celtics really do not want to touch it at all. If they could play consistently for the remainder of the time leading up to the trade deadline, then there will not be much sense in making a move.

The Celtics do not want to tinker with the second unit unless it is a pressing need, and all they need to do is establish consistency to prove that they cannot be improved by some secondary trade target.

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Right now it feels like the Celtics are not going to be actively looking ot make moves at the deadline. As always, if the perfect situation falls into their lap, we know that Ainge will not hesitate to make the move. Barring that kind of anomaly, which Ainge has a tendency to find, the Celtics are better off waiting until the offseason to make moves in preparation for the return of Hayward.

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