The Karl-Anthony Towns trade should mean nothing to the Celtics

BOSTON — There is no doubt that the New York Knicks are an elite basketball team. Injuries aside, they made a ton of noise in the playoffs last year, and Jalen Brunson emerged as a legitimate superstar. Adding Karl-Anthony Towns and Mikal Bridges in one summer makes them even better. But the Boston Celtics shouldn’t care.

The Celtics are the reigning NBA Champions. The target is squarely on their backs, even if Joe Mazzulla would rather it be between their eyes. New York is coming for their throne. And with Brunson, Bridges, Towns, and OG Anunoby, they have a formidable squad. They could even stay with the Celtics game-for-game.

That shouldn’t matter.

The Celtics need to focus on the Celtics, not Karl-Anthony Towns

From the moment he stepped foot into the head coach’s seat, Joe Mazzulla has made it a point for the Celtics to focus on their internal development. At every turn, he’s stressed the importance of ignoring outside noise and sticking to their game plan. And with the latest Towns move, that’s precisely what will happen.

Mazzulla acknowledged the talent of Towns and New York. But while his words said one thing, his intentions said another.

“I mean, all teams have tried to make roster moves to get better,” Mazzulla said. “Karl-Anthony Towns is a great player. They’re a great team. We got to focus on us, and we got to get better every day.”

Even Al Horford admitted to Towns’ stardom but balked at going any further than that.

“Karl is a great player,” Horford said. “It's going to be good for them. He does a lot of things on the floor.”

A blockbuster move just shook up the NBA, and all Mazzlla and Horford could offer was a cumulative seven sentences and shallow praise.

It’s not shallow in the sense that they don’t mean what they say. They do. Towns is a three-time All-Star and coming off a birth in the Western Conference finals. He’ll very clearly help the Knicks next year.

Their words were shallow in the sense that they aren’t worried about Towns or the Knicks. Not because New York is a bad team, but because Boston’s success has been built on expelling any semblance of exterior commotion.

Throughout the first four days of Celtics training camp, Mazzulla has made practice as hard as it ever has been. 

"Joe Mazzulla's a psycho in a good way,” said Jaylen Brown. “It's probably one of the tougher training camps, first two days, that I've probably had in terms of intensity, conditioning level, physicality, defensive warrior mentality. So I think it'll be good for us. Now, we're just working on building great habits, breaking habits from just being off in the summer, and working on trying to play great Celtic basketball."

Jrue Holiday even chimed in, joking that he wishes he could go back to last season when he missed the first day of Celtics camp.

“Hard day. Tough day,” Holiday said. “Again, I got traded last year, and I think I missed the first day, and I wish I would have missed the first day this year, too. Hard days. Obviously, we want to come back this year and do it again. This is where it starts.”

But that’s the exact reason why the Towns trade shouldn’t be on Boston’s radar.

The second they start accounting for opponents for anything more than scouting reports and game plans, their mentality shifts. And that’s the last thing they should want.

Rather than resting on the laurels of a championship and attempting to fend off opponents, Boston is hitting the reset button. They want to chase a second title, not defend the one they have. And that all starts in training camp.

“The goal is just to create an environment and a mindset of—We have to continue to chip away at greatness and go after that and make it difficult,” said Mazzulla.

The Knicks may end up being a great team next year. They have two All-Stars in their projected starting lineup—a great team should be the bar they are chasing. But the Celtics can’t start losing focus now.

Will they have to adjust their game plans because of the trade? Absolutely. Will Towns present new challenges in a solid Knicks lineup? For sure. But none of that should matter to Boston right now.

Their only focus should be on themselves, and that’s exactly the type of environment that Mazzulla is pushing to create.