As the NBA trade season trudges on, the Boston Celtics look to continue their pace as one of the Eastern Conference’s top contenders. Based off of recent rumors, they appear to be buyers at this stage in the NBA calendar.
Every time a star player’s name gets thrown into the bubbling cauldron that is the NBA’s trade news cycle, the Boston Celtics are usually mentioned as potential destinations. It’s easy to understand why; few teams in the league possess the amount of win-now and win-later assets the C’s do.
If you scan the landscape of the league, it is easy to tell who would qualify as a buyer and who would look to trade away veterans to prepare for the next phase of rebuilding. If you’re in the playoff hunt, you’re a buyer. On the other hand, if you are more than a couple games out of the playoffs and have a disgruntled star or an impact player that is on an expiring deal, the odds are likely that you are looking to get a return on your depreciating asset.
Recently, Bleacher Report’s Zack Buckley listed his trade wish-list for all 30 NBA teams. Suffice to say, no other team had members of the Boston Celtics on their list. Danny Ainge is the one in control of negotiations. He doesn’t have to make a move if he doesn’t want to.
With this position of power, Boston can pick its spot. That makes it all the more likely the Celtics will end up being on the right end of a trade heist.
With that in mind, these are the players the C’s could have their eyes on before February’s trade deadline: