Thanks to the high-end activity from Brad Stevens and the Boston Celtics front office this past summer, fans and media alike came into the year with the hope that their lowly performance from the previous campaign would wind up being known as just a mere fluke and, in turn, they’d be heading back to their regularly scheduled successful ways with their new-look roster.
Through five games, however, it would appear that despite showing glimpses from time to time of having ample potential, the Cs are allowing similar flaws and inadequacies that tanked their 2020-21 season flow right along into 2021-22.
From shoddy point guard play to inconsistent offensive production off the pine, bad habits that were thought to have been improved upon this offseason are still proving to be a very real concern for the organization during the early stages of this year.
With this, it’s certainly not out of the realm of possibility that we could see more roster shakeups take place moving forward during the year and, with their several TPEs at the ready, some might even say that mid-season moves are all but a guarantee.
When a transaction such as a trade is made, aside from the obvious that a team ultimately ends up adding assets, they also end up giving up a few in the process as well.
Sometimes the commodities sent packing range from being as insignificant as cash considerations to as valuable as future draft capital.
And more often than not, players are seen being included in deals in order to match salaries and/ or to simply increase the return value for the other participating team.
On the Boston Celtics, we believe that there are 2 players, in particular, that could actually be playing themselves towards being included in a potential trade at some point this season due to their production:
Boston Celtics player No. 1) Grant Williams
Sometimes, a player playing themselves onto the trading block is not indicative of anything negative at all.
Instead, an individual talent could actually be outperforming initial expectations which, to spectators, could be viewed as a tremendous luxury to have on the team moving forward while, for the front office, it could be an incentive to look into trading high on the player.
Grant Williams could be one of these sell-high examples, as he’s been a rather inconsistent producer throughout his tenure with the franchise and now, through the first five games of action, has found himself getting off to a hot start.
In 22.6 minutes per game, the undersized power forward finds himself serving as a trusty marksman out on the perimeter, shooting at an impressive clip of 55.6 percent from beyond the arc on 3.6 attempts a night.
Along with this, Williams is also boasting a stat line of 10.6 points, two rebounds, and nearly assists per game.
To some, this looks to be a turning point in the career of the third-year pro, as he’s producing as one of Boston’s most reliable offensive weapons outside of the likes of Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown which, over the past couple of years, has been a real Achilles heel for the ball club.
On the other hand, the C’s decision-makers could very well believe that this is still the same player they haven’t been sold on as being a long-term option.
That said, it’s undeniable that his play through these first few outings has been impressive, which is why they could be even more inclined to look into trading him away, for it’s very possible that his value will never be as high as it currently is.
Now, are we suggesting that Grant Williams could be the centerpiece in a blockbuster trade at some point this year? Absolutely not!
However, perhaps he could be a sound complementary addition in a smaller yet still impactful deal like one for, say, San Antonio Spurs big man, Thaddeus Young.
In this hypothetical, the allure of bringing on a much-improved shooting forward still just 23 and on his rookie-scale contract could actually save Boston some draft capital, and could even bring them a second-rounder on top of things if they play their cards right.
This is just one of a few potential sell-high scenarios that could wind up benefiting the Cs and, because of this, we believe Williams could be a player to look out for on the trade rumor mill this year.
Boston Celtics player No. 2) Marcus Smart
Now here’s a player slotted onto this list for the wrong reasons…
Coming into the season, there were many who believed Marcus Smart could be heading towards a career season, for, for the first time in his NBA career, he was viewed as the unquestioned option to serve as the starting point guard for the Boston Celtics which, obviously, would lead to a larger role and, as a result, could lead to improved production.
Unfortunately, however, through their first slate of games, the veteran has not only underwhelmed in the majority of his performances but, frankly, has played poorly for this playoff-hopeful squad.
In five games and five starts, Smart finds himself boasting season averages of just 7.4 points, 4.8 assists, and four rebounds per game on a lowly 25.5 percent shooting from the floor and 23.5 percent shooting from beyond the arc.
Now yes, while his defensive prowess has been on display at a high-end rate, snagging 2.6 steals and swatting nearly half a block per night while holding the second-highest defensive rating on the team out of those who have logged over 130 minutes played on the year, but his production on the less-glamorous side of the ball has never been in question, as we’ve always known how great he is there.
This season is all about the 27-year-old proving that he can serve as a quality starting point guard on both ends of the floor and, while it may be too early to hit the panic button on the team’s long-time leader, his start to the season has many concerned about his fit in the role.
Outplayed on several occasions by Dennis Schroder, who has shared starting backcourt duties with Smart the past two games, there is already speculation that if Ime Udoka opts to keep this year’s biggest free-agent signing in the first five it could lead to Marcus being shifted to the bench to serve in a sixth-man role which, in theory, could spark tension between the vet and the organization.
Already having come into the year with offseason rumors suggesting he could be shopped, should his negative play lead to some kind of a demotion, such talks could easily find themselves rising back up again.