It’s currently nine past midnight here in the great central timezone. I should be studying for the marketing exam I have in less than 12 hours. I haven’t even written an article on this site in like 8 months. Regardless, I insist on fighting the good fight by asking what in the world the Celtics anticipate will happen in the NBA Playoffs this year. When every team they’re competing with has gotten substantially better, while the Celtics themselves haven’t made any moves to push the needle an inch, one must wonder what Danny Ainge and the rest of the Celtics’ front office is doing as the trade deadline nears it’s close. I’ve seen this movie before and I’m not a giant fan of how it ends.
Within the past, I don’t know, six hours or so, the Heat and Sixers both have made moves to better their chances come May. Neither team is necessarily done either, with the Heat potentially adding an incredibly valuable piece in Danilo Gallinari by 4PM EST tomorrow. The Celtics aren’t substantially better than the Heat, or the Sixers, or the Raptors, or the Pacers. They certainly aren’t better than the Bucks as well. Despite this, the Celtics have not only been hesitant, but straight up incompentant when shooters like Alec Burks, Nemanja Bjelica, Luke Kennard, and Davis Bertans have become readily available on the market. Alec Burks addressed a very specific need for this team in both bench scoring and three-point shooting, but the Celtics managed to let him go (along with Glenn Robinson III) to their biggest rival at the moment in the Sixers for a whopping three second rounders. Are you telling me that Danny Ainge, hoarder of assets, Trader Danny himself, wasn’t capable of pulling the trigger for a haul that even a team who didn’t need him would’ve given up? I mean, come on.
I have less of a problem with the Celtics missing on Clint Capela for several reasons. He’s apparently got a heel injury that could extend deeper into the season, it would’ve taken a bit more to get him, and the hoops we’d have to jump through just to get him on the roster would’ve been inconvenient. But when the chance arises to snag a young, talented center in Capela who’s locked up for another four seasons on a fairly cheap contract, how about you try and offer a deal that’s even slightly better than Evan Turner and a mid-to-late 1st rounder? I know, I know, a lot of people would’ve been reluctant to give up Daniel Theis, who’s had a surprisingly strong year playing undersized at the center. Did we even have to though? Would Romeo Langford, Enes Kanter, and Carsen Edwards, along with a 1st not have outbid Evan Turner and a similar 1st? Capela fits the timeline of Tatum and Brown, is an obvious upgrade over Kanter, and could even be used down the road as a nice contract in an even bigger trade (say, KAT?). He’s 25. Locked up for 4 more years. Making $15 million a year. You gotta make that trade.
The Celtics have five rookies on their roster that just came out of college – six if you include Javonte Green, but he’s 26 so I’ll disregard him in this argument. For a team that’s contending now, three of those five rookies who scarcely see the floor should not only be available, but shopped for talent that could help the Celtics better compete with the top of the East come playoff time. Kemba is in his prime, yes, but for how much longer? He’s a smaller PG who’s had to carry a substantial load his entire career in Charlotte – you really can’t be certain when he’ll inevitably decline, although I’d prefer it to be later than sooner. You gotta cut bait and trade some of these young guys with potential for some veterans with talent.
We saw what happened last year. The Bucks made some great moves and ended up with the 1 seed. The Raptors snatched Marc Gasol in a move that potentially pushed a contending team to a championship team. The Sixers snagged Tobias Harris. The Celtics? Nothing. No in-season trades since the IT trade for the team with more assets than one team (besides the Thunder) could hope for.
You gotta expect more out of this team at some point. The whole “In Danny We Trust” schtick has to take a backseat until this team makes some moves to win, because the potential is there. This isn’t the same team that was one game away from the Finals two years ago by any means, but a lot of the talent is still there. It’s time to put the finishing touches on this team and get over that hump, but unfortunately it doesn’t look like that’s gonna happen anytime this season.
The Pod 