Will the Celtics Make a Move Before the Trade Deadline?
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Sitting in first place in the Eastern Conference with the best record in the league, it may seem that the Boston Celtics roster is doing just fine. They have arguably the best starting five and a good sixth man in Al Horford, but aside from that top six they may lack the depth to make a deep playoff push. They do have some depth on the bench with players like Sam Hauser, Payton Pritchard, and Luke Kornet, however these might not be players you would want to rely on too heavily if one or two players in the top six were to get injured and miss the playoffs. With the NBA trade deadline less than a month away, there are some rumors of potential trades being reported.
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The Celtics are among the worst in the league when it comes to bench scoring. Now of course this isn’t too much of a big deal because their starting lineup is loaded with scorers, but having said that, adding a couple of impactful scorers on their bench could be the move that solidifies their best chance at getting the Larry O’Brien trophy at the end of the season. Along with potentially finding some scoring for the bench, the Celtics are also thin when it comes to their bigs. After Kristaps Porzingis and Al Horford, the play in their bigs drops off quite fast. Luke Kornet and Neemias Queta have played decently well up to this point, yet it remains to be seen if they can be trusted to perform in the long run, especially in the playoffs. One name that sounds enticing is Andre Drummond.
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The Chicago Bulls Center’s name has been thrown around the rumor mill as he will become an unrestricted free agent after the season. He could potentially add some more depth to the Celtics big men. The one problem the Celtics are facing, and even Brad Stevens has admitted, is that outside of the Celtics top six players, they don’t have a whole lot of trade value. Even still Brad Stevens did say he was looking to add some beef to the bench to help for a title push, as this year it seems more realistic than it has in a long time for the Celtics.
Some people may say with the best record in the league, there is no need to do anything to this roster, and as exciting as trade rumors are there’s no point in making a trade just for the sake of it. Still though, the Celtics aren’t flawless, and if the right player becomes available without having to give too much up to get him, it would be great to jump on the opportunity. Either way, the Celtics are arguably the best team in the NBA, and should be very happy with the roster they have and developing that from within.
