Boston Celtics: 3 assets to target if season goes sideways

The Boston Celtics once again host the Atlanta Hawks tonight, and somehow, they are in danger of falling below .500 for the first time this late into the season since Brad Stevens’ first season as head coach in 2013-14.

2020-21 has not gone according to plan in really any way. While injuries (to the likes of Kemba Walker and Marcus Smart) and COVID-19 (contracted by the likes of Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, and Robert Williams) have both knocked out key Cs for portions of the season, there have been numerous losses that planted the seeds of doubt into many fans.

Those seeds of doubt have also been planted into the head of Danny Ainge, who said that this team simply isn’t very good (via boston.com):

"“Our roster obviously is not good. I mean, we are a 14-14 team,” Ainge said. “There’s no if’s, and’s or but’s about it. That’s who we are. This team, where we are, 14-14, if there’s somebody to blame, this is Danny Ainge to blame. This is not Brad Stevens. It’s not Jayson Tatum or Jaylen Brown. It’s not good enough right now. And we all know that. And, you know, we need to get better.”"

This is not a good vote of confidence from the man that created said team. Hardwood Houdini believes there wasn’t enough done this past offseason to compete for the top spot in an increasingly competitive Eastern Conference, but we certainly didn’t see this season coming.

Could Boston actually end up in a scenario where they end up as sellers at the deadline? Instead of going all in on the present–with the Brooklyn Nets three-headed monster appearing to be a budding dynasty while the improved Milwaukee Bucks seem best-equipped to challenge them–here are 3 assets the Boston Celtics should target if the season goes sideways: