The Celtics were one of hte more active teams at the trade deadline, swinging four deals in the final days and hours before the buzzer. But most of those deals were to dump salary and get the team under the luxury tax, a goal which they accomplished. But the only tangible change to the roster was swapping Anfernee Simons for Nikola Vucevic, a seemingly marginal upgrade, at best.
A month later, Vooch is hurt, and arguably being outplayed by Luka Garza anyway, and yet, with each passing day, it feels more and more like the Celtics were the biggest winners of the trade deadline.
But the reason has nothing to do with the Vucevic deal, or getting under the tax, or any transaction the Celtics even made. It’s because no other contenders made any major moves, while Boston just added Jayson Tatum back into their lineup.
Tatum obviously isn’t a trade acquisition, but it now appears clear that the Celtics knew they were going to be adding him to the mix for the stretch run of the season. They planned on making the biggest of all additions shortly after the deadline, and knew that they didn’t need to go bananas.
No contenders made meaningful upgrades
They just had to hope that nobody else in the league went crazy to tip the scales, and the rest of the league obliged. The first-place Pistons only added Kevin Huerter, who hasn’t even been able to crack their rotation.
The Knicks replaced the injured Deuce McBride with a good defensive backup point guard in Jose Alvarado, but that’s about it. The Cavaliers added James Harden, but that may not even be a playoff upgrade over Darius Garland, whom they gave up in the deal.
Nobody in the East got substantially better, while the second-place Celtics just slotted one of the best players in the NBA seamlessly into their starting lineup.
Even in the West, there were no moves that should scare you. The Thunder picked up Jared McCain, the Timberwolves got Ayo Dosunmu, and nothing else is moving the needle.
It was, in many ways, a bizarre deadline, as the biggest moves were made by teams that are currently tanking. The Jazz pushed in some chips for Jaren Jackson Jr., the Wizards bought low on Trae Young and Anthony Davis, and the Pacers paid a handsome price for Ivica Zubac to patrol their frontcourt going forward.
But nobody who’s chasing the title this season made anything close to an all-in move. The league, and especially the East, felt wide open before the deadline, and with nobody stepping forward and the Celtics ramping up Tatum, it’s starting to look like Brad Stevens and company were playing chess while everyone else was playing checkers.