The Boston Celtics’ increasing desire for continuity might produce some surprising results.
The Athletic’s Jay King predicted Thursday the Celtics won’t trade for a center but will acquire another wing player in the coming weeks and months. Conventional wisdom has said since last summer the Celtics need to upgrade their frontcourt options by including a member of their “core group” in any successful trade offer. However, King believes the Celtics’ impressive start to the 2019-20 NBA season has increased team officials’ faith in the current roster and he predicts they’ll stay the course ahead of the Feb. 6 NBA trade deadline.
“My thoughts on the Boston frontcourt have changed since the beginning of the season for a variety of reasons,” King wrote in his third (of 10) Celtics prediction for 2020. “Daniel Theis is better than I thought — and I already considered him a decent rotation player. Robert Williams has proven capable during his minutes and still has plenty of room to grow. Enes Kanter will never be great defensively, but the Boston defense — believe it or not — has been downright stingy with him on the court. Grant Williams, even at 6-foot-6, emerged quickly as another option in the middle. The Celtics have had some great stretches with him in the position.
“The center rotation is still flawed, but the Celtics would need to trade one of their key players for a top interior option — given the market, I just don’t think they’ll find a big man worth that price. The risk is obvious. If they fail to add size, Joel Embiid or Giannis Antetokounmpo could crush them in the playoffs. But the Celtics are just too limited in terms of tradeable salaries to acquire the type of center they could use.”
Rumors for months have linked the Celtics with potential trades for Houston Rockets center Clint Capela or Oklahoma City Thunder center Steven Adams. However, talk of the Celtics acquiring either in a trade has died down in recent weeks, as their salaries will make completing a deal difficult and Boston reportedly now is unwilling to offer any of their “core wing players” in a package.
King now is among the NBA writers who believe the Celtics no longer need to trade for a center. In fact, he suggests Boston will consider adding another versatile wing player to their ranks.
“With frontcourt trade options limited, team president of basketball operations Danny Ainge could decide to lean fully into versatility as the Celtics’ strength,” King wrote in his fourth Celtics prediction. “As well as Ainge’s team has played so far, the bottom half of the bench could use an upgrade. That could come internally. Carsen Edwards has struggled, but there’s a shooter inside him somewhere. Grant Williams has developed already, Romeo Langford has flashed some skills recently and Javonte Green’s athletic profile is intriguing. Still, Boston could use a veteran to provide a little bit of extra spacing from the back end of the rotation. Somebody like old friend Jae Crowder could help without costing major assets.”
The Celtics’ 21-7 record is second only to the Milwaukee Bucks in the Eastern Conference standings. If the Celtics maintain their fine form for the next five-plus weeks, it only will make sense if they decline to reshape their roster dramatically via blockbuster midseason trade. We only can predict all options will be on the table again once the season ends.
