Why The Celtics Should Be Buyers At The NBA Trade Deadline
BOSTON (CBS) -- For most of the season, the Celtics appeared destined to be sellers at the trade deadline. They couldn't beat the worst teams in the league, so it made sense for Brad Stevens to sell off some of the team's depth pieces, reset the luxury tax and look ahead to 2022-23.
Then 2022 arrived, and Brad suddenly has some decisions to make ahead of his first deadline in Danny Ainge's old seat. Since the new year, the Celtics are playing some pretty incredible basketball. They've won six straight and eight of their last nine, playing some absolutely dominant defense. While they've been piling up wins against some of the worst teams in the league, there is reason to believe this turnaround will continue against good teams. There aren't very many of those in the East, which has the conference wide open for the final two-plus months of the season.
Boston has gone from being certain sellers to potential buyers at Thursday afternoon's deadline. Even Dennis Schroder, who's been expected to be dealt since he signed his one-year deal with the team late in the offseason, may be sticking around now. And if Schroder does get shipped out, the Celtics are no longer looking to simply get some tax relief for their backup guard, reportedly upping their asking price to a real, live rotation player.
There is concern that this recent run is just a team taking advantage of a soft part of its schedule. The Celtics haven't played the best of teams during their win streak, with a home win over the Hornets representing the best of the batch. Boston's win over the Heat came when Miami was without Jimmy Butler, and Tuesday's win was against Brooklyn's F-team.
But the recent run has the Celtics, though presently the seven-seed in the East, right there in the mix in the East. They're percentage points out of being a real playoff team instead of settling for a play-in spot, and just 4.5 games back of the top seed. No one thinks the Celtics will finish in the top three, but the opportunity is there if things go really whacky. The Celtics could very well sneak into the top four in the conference by season's end.
It's all right there for the Celtics should any of the six teams ahead of them slip up. Most of those teams -- the Heat, Bucks, Bulls, Cavilers, 76ers and Raptors -- are looking to improve at the deadline. The surprising Raptors could have their eye on the future and may be sellers at the deadline. The Nets will eventually get Kevin Durant back, but outside of the best player in the game, they're an absolute dumpster fire.
There's also the matter that the Celtics have some pretty good players on the current roster, and those players would probably like to see Stevens add rather than substract. Jayson Tatum usually explodes in the second half of the season, and Jaylen Brown is having a great year despite not making his second straight All-Star team. This is something the Celtics should be looking to take advantage of rather than wasting. Mix in the fact that Robert Williams has become a legit third wheel, while Marcus Smart, Al Horford and Josh Richardson are all currently thriving in their important roles, and the Celtics aren't far away from being one of the better teams in a watered down Eastern Conference. They're finally playing Ime Udoka's brand of basketball, and it has brought with it a surprising air of positivity around the team.
There really hasn't been much to cheer about with the C's since they missed their shot at an NBA Finals visit in the bubble two years ago. That was a huge missed opportunity for the team, and they can't afford to have another.
That's not to say the Celtics should push all their chips in the middle for this season. That would be silly. They're not that good, especially with such an inconsistent offense. As great as their defense has been, the offense has been incredibly average all year.
But that just further screams for Brad to do something to improve the bench. A dead-eye shooter would be the perfect addition, and something that the Celtics are reportedly scouring the market for. If one can be had, it might be worth it to overpay just a tad. (Just don't go trading for Evan Fournier, again.)
Cashing in on Schroder, who isn't the greatest fit for the offense, should still be explored. Maybe some other team will want to continue the project that is Romeo Langford. And Grant Williams' inclusion in a deal shouldn't be a make-or-break factor at the deadline, as solid as he's been all season.
But with the team suddenly playing some great basketball, the Celtics should be looking to add to what it has to improve the team's shot at making some noise this postseason. Simply trimming salary to save ownership some money down the road would feel pretty cheap, and rob the current group an opportunity to inject some fun -- and potentially even some success -- into Boston basketball.