The NBA trade deadline comes up on Thursday at 3 p.m. Eastern, so we’ve decided to throw the spotlight on some specific teams who could be active to either help bolster their playoff chances or clean house in order to rebuild for the future.
My job is to look at the Boston Celtics, who have a ton of assets and draft picks, and a strong looking lineup heading into the second half of the season. They look pretty much like a buy-now team … but the player that was looking like the one that made the most sense — Clint Capela — has gone and landed on the Hawks in a four-team deal.
Which leaves the Celtics with needs, still. But how do they go about getting it?
Here’s the issue with the Celtics and what they want to do — they want to upgrade the center position, but the big targets out there all have problems.
Let’s break down some options:
Go for broke and get Steven Adams
Steven Adams makes a lot of money, and for the trade to work the Celtics would have to bring in a bunch of other teams to balance the math, or part ways with one of their more expensive pieces, like Marcus Smart. The Celtics don’t want to do this, and bringing in more teams would probably mean giving up more assets to make the deal work.
I’d love to see it … but I just don’t know if I see Danny Ainge pulling the trigger.
Offer the farm for John Collins
The Celtics could try to throw the kitchen sink at the Hawks for John Collins. Collins is now somewhat more expendable with Clint Capela on Atlanta following last night’s trade. Could the Celtics convince the Hawks to part with him for Semi Ojeleye, Romeo Langford, and two first round picks?
Probably not! Not sure why the Hawks would do that! But still, that would be good for Boston!
Offer the farm for Mitchell Robinson
Could the same deal convince the Knicks to party with Mitchell Robinson? Also probably not!
I don’t even know why I’m discussing these trades. I’m living in Boston Sports Radio Fantasy World right now, and I should probably get out of here before I start forming an opinion on which Dunkin’ Donuts is the best in Saugus.
(Quick note: For Celtics fans who fear giving up a draft picks, stop it. The Celtics have more draft picks than they know what to do with. Half their recent draft picks are on the Maine Red Claws because they can’t find roster spots for them. They have three first round picks in the next draft alone, and not nearly enough space to roster them. While Portland, Maine is enjoying having a thrilling team, you can only stash so many guys there and in Europe.)
Turn Enes Kanter into someone slightly better than Enes Kanter
Could the Celtics package something together for someone like Dwayne Dedmon, or Alex Len? Do they go and get Tristan Thompson? Could they take a flyer on Willie Caulie-Stein?
The one that is intriguing is Thomas Bryant with the Wizards, but the Wizards are apparently in buy mode, because … Wizards.
Looking at this, I’m coming around more to the idea of: Why do anything? I’m not sure any of those guys I just listed are a major upgrade over Daniel Theis. If you can get Dedmon, Thompson, or Bryant for Enes Kanter and a protected pick, sure, but I’m not sure the other teams would do that. So, the best option probably is …
Do nothing
Yeah, this is probably what will happen, and it might be the smartest thing. Don’t overpay for anything, don’t settle for slight upgrades. Trust Brad Stevens and the team he’s built.
Of course, there’s one more option …
Promote Tacko Fall and build the team around him
Now we’re talking.
[jwplayer TNoDH13e-q2aasYxh]