Boston Celtics: Do Recent Injuries Change Trade Deadline Plans?
Recent injuries could change the options the Boston Celtics have at the trade deadline
As long as Danny Ainge is the GM, the Boston Celtics are going to be connected to any trade rumour that surfaces. The trade deadline is quickly approaching and there are multiple stars that everyone is going to be paying attention to.
The reality is that these trades rarely actually come to fruition, and when you take into account Gordon Hayward‘s injury, it is hard to reconcile the Celtics threatening their future to try and win today.
That being said, we have recently found out that both Mike Conley and DeMarcus Cousins are going to miss the remainder of the season. Even though there have been no legitimate rumours connecting the two parties, Anthony Davis is the one player everyone talks about, and it makes no sense for the Memphis Grizzlies to hold onto Marc Gasol.
The Cousins injury really is one of the most devastating of the season. He and Davis were absolutely dominating, and the team was staring to see success. With them winning, it made no sense for them to be sellers. Now that Davis is back on his own, the New Orleans Pelicans need to focus that much more on the future, and Davis would bring in the biggest package in the league.
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With Davis, you really cannot expect this to change anything. Davis has always been and will continue to be untouchable. If the Pelicans want to think about the future, they want that future to be with Davis. There is no way Cousins’ injury will reduce Davis’ value in any way, meaning any theoretical price will be too high for Ainge.
For Gasol, there is a chance this can change things a bit. On top of that, there are whispers of a potential trade for Tyreke Evans. With Conley going down, teams get extra leverage knowing the Grizzlies are going into a full rebuild, and any time there is value out there Ainge is going to look to pounce.
With the Hayward injury, the Celtics are not going to do a deal for any of their significant young players, they are not going to deal their top veteran in Al Horford, and they will not give up that Lakers pick.
If the Celtics can somehow get Evans or Gasol for a later first round pick or some of their weaker players, then that is the exact kind of deal Ainge will look for. With the situation the Celtics are in with Hayward, they know they are going to be a better team next season.
Ainge has been to patience to get overly excited about their success this season, to do anything that is going to hurt this core with Hayward. If, however, Ainge can get a deal that will help this team, without losing anything that is vital to what he wants to do with Hayward, then he will have no problem helping accelerating that Grizzlies rebuild.
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Chances are these injuries will make little difference, but it might open the door a bit more with the Grizzlies. Davis will always be that pipe dream that will never actually come true, but the Grizzlies have players that should be attainable this trade deadline.