The NBA’s offseason has featured many star players switching teams, confirming that basketball has the most exciting free agency period in sports.
One team that has been surprisingly quiet in the trade and free agent markets this summer has been the Boston Celtics, and majority owner Wyc Grousbeck admitted to WEEI’s Rob Bradford that he hoped his team could have made more progress in its rebuild to this point.
“We had definitely hoped to try to make bigger moves this offseason, to be honest,” Grousbeck said. “Having said that, it takes two partners to make a trade, so we focused on long-term trying to build the club. We think we’re a better team now — positioned for the future, some new young talent and even more draft picks — but it’s been a patient summer so far, and I’m not always the most patient guy.”
The two most notable additions to the Celtics’ roster are their two 2014 first-round draft picks, point guard Marcus Smart from Oklahoma State and forward James Young from Kentucky.
The Celtics, with their abundance of future first-round picks and talented young players, have the firepower required to make a blockbuster trade.
Of course, one player whose long-term future hasn’t been decided is Minnesota Timberwolves superstar forward Kevin Love.
Boston reportedly has been interested in the former UCLA big man, but the latest reports indicate that the Golden State Warriors and Cleveland Cavaliers are the two teams talking to Minnesota about acquiring Love. The Timberwolves want to compete for a playoff spot in an ultra competitive Western Conference next season, and the Celtics don’t have an established star — outside of point guard Rajon Rondo — to offer Minnesota.
The good news for the Celtics is that they are better positioned for a successful rebuild than they were prior to the Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen trades in 2007.
