We probably shouldn’t expect Danny Ainge to swing for the fences as the NBA trade deadline nears.
Teams across the league have until Thursday afternoon to wheel and deal, and a handful of rumors have indicated the Celtics could be active. One report labeled Boston as one of the teams with the “strongest interest” in trading for Andre Drummond — a deal that likely would need to involve Gordon Hayward — while a more recent report claimed the C’s have engaged in trade talks with the Houston Rockets for Clint Capela.
During an appearance on NBC Sports Boston’s “Celtics Pregame Live,” Ainge offered some clarity on how he believes the team can be improved.
“I think our No. 1 need is health,” Ainge said, as transcribed by NBC Sports Boston. “I think we’re going to look to see if there’s ways to strengthen the end of our bench. We like all of our guys. We do have probably too many really young guys.”
The Drummond and Capela reports suggest the Celtics aren’t overly confident in their big-man depth, but Ainge doesn’t seem to be worried about that facet of his team.
“We’re not getting beat at the center position,” Ainge said. “We’re getting 17, 18 points per night. We’re getting double-figure rebounds. We’re just doing it as a team.”
The Celtics currently sit in third place in the Eastern Conference standings entering Tuesday. They have five games remaining before the All-Star break, including a road tilt against the Houston Rockets and their final regular-season meeting with the Los Angeles Clippers.
