Boston Celtics: Assessing the 3 different deadline path Cs can take

Boston Celtics’ path to building for the future

The final option is not one any Boston Celtics fan wants to even think about…but it’s one the team is forcing us to discuss.

Danny Ainge could look at this roster, see the promise in under-25 stars like Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, and the 23-and-under future star potential of the likes of Payton Pritchard and Robert Williams, and decide that instead of acquiring veterans to win-now, the team could acquire pieces that fit the current makeup of the puzzle.

Now, granted, this doesn’t have to mean the team is going to rebuild and intentionally lose games. Instead, it means that the team is open to dealing veterans of their own to acquire pieces that could help them win the title in 2023 and beyond.

That could mean finally entertaining Golden State’s offers for Marcus Smart. If the Warriors want to win while Steph Curry is in his prime, perhaps they would part with the Timberwolves’ 2021 draft pick to acquire Smart.

Perhaps considering a Kemba Walker homecoming could also be on the table. The Knicks are head of Boston in the standings and are enjoying the most success since the days of the Carmelo Anthony-Amar’e Stoudemire-Tyson Chandler trio, so maybe they would bite and include several future picks along with young rotation players like Frank Ntilikina and Kevin Knox to get something done.

Boston could cut costs while acquiring cost-controlled talent, and you never know…sometimes there could be addition by subtraction.

We shall see what path the Cs take in five days.