Celtics On NBA Trade Deadline Day: What Do You Think Boston Should Do?

The NBA trade deadline is upon us, and if we’re to believe any or all of the reports, it seems the Boston Celtics might be busy.

According to most reports centered around the Green, Boston president of basketball operations Danny Ainge is getting antsy. The Celtics have no shortage of assets, which in theory, could lead to a blockbuster trade.

Of course, it’s a delicate balance when you’re talking about giving up potentially valuable assets in order to acquire players at the deadline, particularly when some of those players are set to become free agents or have the ability to make themselves free agents.

That uncertainty has led to plenty of debate, and we’ll get our answers Thursday. Let’s dig a little deeper into those debates leading up to the 3 p.m. ET deadline, shall we?

Celtics’ trade deadline strategy
The Celtics undeniably are improving. This is the best they’ve played under coach Brad Stevens, and they’ll come out of the All-Star break holding the Eastern Conference’s No. 3 seed, just 4 1/2 games out of first place in the Atlantic Division. The East is pretty open, so acquiring a big-name talent could make the C’s a legitimate contender. Then again, does Boston really want to tinker with its roster and/or trade away very valuable assets in order to make a run this season when the better play might be to wait a little longer and continue to build? It’s one of the biggest questions Ainge has to answer.

The Brooklyn pick
If Ainge’s greatest heist was bringing Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen to Boston, his second-greatest move might have been trading KG and Paul Pierce to Brooklyn for a ridiculous amount of draft picks. One of those picks is a 2016 first-rounder, which is looking pretty good right about now. The Nets currently are tied for the third-worst record in the NBA, meaning the Celtics will have a decent chance of winning the draft lottery, which likely means the chance to draft LSU star Ben Simmons. While that prospect might be tantalizing, the Celtics as well as any team can tell you it’s risky business playing the ping-pong balls. Still, the Nets’ pick is one of the best chips the Celtics have, and if teams are going to part ways with legitimate star players, they’ll likely want that pick in return. Deciding who’s worth giving up that pick for will be extremely important.

The current roster
As mentioned earlier, the Celtics have been pretty good this season. Those among the strongest defenders of the shamrock believe the C’s should stand pat and do nothing because this team has an undeniable chemistry. But sometimes augmentation is necessary. And while the Celtics do have that vault of draft picks, they do have plenty of players who could be attractive in a trade. Sometimes you’ve gotta give up something to get something.