With a lack of team success outside of the individual triumphs of Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum, the Boston Celtics could be a team preparing for seismic roster changes in the coming month. 2021 is offering a March that not only offers madness in the NCAA, but also on the trade market in the NBA.
The current standings in the Eastern Conference could make this year one with a buyer’s market at the deadline. There are three teams sitting at the top of the pack, and the #2 (Brooklyn Nets) and #3 (Milwaukee Bucks) seeds are both within one game of the east’s #1 seed that is currently owned by the Philadelphia 76ers.
The #4-#14 seeds in the Eastern Conference are all within 4.5 games of each other, and the pack as a whole is only 3.5 games behind the Bucks.
In essence, the madness has actually been a season-long theme in the National Basketball Association. I suppose that’s what happens when you factor in a global pandemic and the complications that come with it.
That the Boston Celtics–who have had a standard of Eastern Conference finals appearances for the majority of the past half-decade–are part of said scrum is damning. Danny Ainge has talked a lot about making trades. It may only be a matter of time before a move is made in Beantown.
If one goes down, the Houdini is hoping the following 3 role players aren’t included in any transaction:
Boston Celtics role player they shouldn’t deal #1: Semi Ojeleye
HH has been guilty of publishing Semi Ojeleye trade pieces in the past, but at this moment in time, his salary isn’t big enough to be included in a deal that would be worth giving him up for.
Ojeleye has remained an above-average shooter with increased usage, and his additional minutes have been accompanied by career-highs in both true shooting percentage and rebounding percentage.
What truly makes him essential, though, is the fact that he is tied with Jayson Tatum for the second-longest tenure on the team. While change is good, so is continuity, especially since Ojeleye was a part of two different ECF teams.