Is it time to ‘shake up the Celtics’? Per one prominent analyst, yes

The question for them is how much do they need to move on from their current core, not if.

It is hard to look at this Boston Celtics roster, a game under .500 and now in their third season with admittedly high expectations not being met, and convince oneself that underneath all the bad luck, poor fits, and substandard returns that there are the seeds of a real contender here without making some moves.

So it probably should not surprise that this perspective seems to be a growing consensus among fans and analysts alike, and not just because the potential novelty of trade season is upon us. The team needs change, but young teams working their way into something better have needed such change as long as the sport has allowed them.

Such is the perspective of The Ringer’s Kevin O’Connor, who compares the Celtics of today to another iteration of the team that couldn’t get over the hump. “One of my most prominent childhood sports memories is Antoine Walker getting traded,” begins O’Connor in a recent column.