If you told Boston Celtics fans back in September that their team would be second in the Eastern Conference nearly halfway through the season, they would’ve thought you were crazy. Too much had changed. Boston spent the summer doing financial gymnastics to dive below the league’s second apron and had several rotation casualties because of it.
Jrue Holiday, Kristaps Porzingis, Luke Kornet, and Al Horford all headed to new homes for one reason or another.
This season, it was actually going to be #DifferentHere, right?
Wrong.
Instead, the Celtics have seemingly hit on every offseason addition, and the team has been rolling over the past month and a half.
Now, with the NBA Trade Deadline quickly approaching, there’s beginning to be feeling that the Cs could bolster their roster to position themselves for a deep playoff run.
The Ringer’s Zach Lowe shared that he’s been hearing rumblings that the Celtics will be buyers at the deadline during Tuesday’s episode of The Zach Lowe Show.
“Boston is another one,” Lowe told his guest, Kirk Goldsberry. “All of the rumblings around the league is that Boston is now going to buy. I don’t know how that works. I don’t know if they can buy and cut their tax bill at the same time. The obvious place for them to buy is up front, where they could use another legit frontcourt player. This team is clearly really good… Jaylen Brown is having a majestic season. [Jayson] Tatum, I think, is going to come back at some point. They have a lot of assets to play with.”
We still have no idea what an in-season Celtics trade looks like
Lowe’s confusion about the how of the Celtics being buyers over the next month makes sense. Especially when coming into the season, many felt they’d sell to get below the luxury tax line.
To make things even more complicated, Anfernee Simons, whose $27 million salary was by far the most tradable on the team, has settled into his sixth man role nicely over the past month or so.
Over Boston’s last 10 games, Simons has been the team’s second leading scorer, trailing only Jaylen Brown, with 16.9 points per game on 48.1% from the field and 48.7% from long range. Insane production on excellent efficiency off the bench. Not to mention that the non-scoring parts of his game have come along, too. The former Portland Trail Blazers guard is guarding his yard more consistently on defense and has started to make a habit of hitting the offensive glass. He’s averaged just under one offensive rebound per game over his last 10. It sounds like nothing, but for a microwave scoring player like Simons, getting production in other areas is like playing with house money.
Nonetheless, Boston could still trade him in favor of bringing in a big body for the rotation.
What feels more likely, though, is, as Lowe said, they make a smaller move. Being a “buyer” doesn’t mean you go into the store and buy the most expensive item. You only have to shop for what you need.
Adding a third rotation-caliber center to the rotation alongside Neemias Queta and Luka Garza, who have both been pleasant surprises this season, may be enough to help Boston compete in a weakened Eastern Conference.
Potential targets include Brooklyn Nets center Day’Ron Sharpe, who the Celtics have been linked to since the summer, and New Orleans Pelicans big man Yves Missi, who is reportedly being shopped by the Pels.
Both men make less than $6 million, which would enable the Cs to trade for them without pulling any key pieces out of the rotation. Plus, in an instance like Monday’s loss to the Pistons, where one of Garza or Queta gets into foul trouble, Joe Mazzulla will have another option at center.
The team looking to solidify the roster signals real confidence in the group that they have. Brad Stevens and the front office should be confident, this team is awesome. Plus, as Lowe mentioned, there’s a chance that they’ll add Jayson Tatum to the rotation, too.
Tatum went through one of his workouts in front of the media at Monday’s shootaround, so the hype train about his potential return to the floor is full speed ahead. JT, of course, tore his Achilles tendon last May in the playoffs.
For now, Celtics fans are just going to have to sit back and enjoy watching the team continue to compete, and worry about the trades when they happen (or don’t happen).