The Boston Celtics entered the season with high expectations, but for a plethora of reasons, they simply haven't lived up to them.
All made more frustrating because anyone who watches the team regularly knows what it's capable of, as it's been seen in glimpses throughout the season.
Both Celtics president of basketball operations Danny Ainge and owner Wyc Grousbeck said at points this year that Boston likely would hold off until the offseason to use the $28.5 million traded player exception generated with the departure of Gordon Hayward. But after watching the Celtics struggle through more than half the season, the team decided to bring in reinforcements to try and replace his contributions.
And, of course, to give them a little spark.
“When I’ve been watching the games in person and on TV, both, I feel like I had seen a mixed bag of games,” Grousbeck said, via Mark Murphy of The Boston Herald.
“It felt right to change some pieces. It felt right to change it up somewhat and add a new piece... I felt a little bit of change was necessary, but that wasn’t a reflection on the guys we sent out. We just wanted to make a move or two to see if we could get better."
Grousbeck believes they may have accomplished that with Thursday's deadline. Boston dealt Daniel Theis, Jeff Teague, Javonte Green and some draft capital to the Orlando Magic and Chicago Bulls, while bringing in Evan Fournier, Moe Wagner and Luke Kornet.
He made sure to note that that isn't a knock on Theis, whom Boston will miss tremendously. Grousbeck also relayed that his overall outlook about the team hasn't changed much.
At the end of the day, the real change wasn't going to come by making a move. The Celtics still have a lot to address and improve upon.
“I feel the same as I did before, that my fundamental feeling is we have to wait and see with this team,” Grousbeck said. “We’ve got talent, we’ve got two all-stars and three who have been in the all-star game recently, counting Kemba (Walker). We have good talent, and a mediocre record. So I’m still in wait-and-see mode on this team. That hasn’t changed. I’m waiting for it to come together better, and I hope it does.
“It has to come within. It doesn’t come from a move or two around the trade deadline -- it comes from inside. Now we’re in the stretch run and let’s go. I’m optimistic that good things will happen, but it has to happen.”
The Celtics looked like a different team Friday with a victory against the Milwaukee Bucks. We'll see if they can keep that going Saturday as the team goes up against the Oklahoma City Thunder.
