There has been a lot said about who the Boston Celtics could possibly target ahead of the NBA Trade Deadline on Thursday.
Should veteran Harrison Barnes, whose Sacramento Kings just defeated the Celtics on Friday, be in play? Or would going after NBA All-Star Nikola Vucevic be a smarter move since Boston already has the traded player exception (TPE) acquired from the Gordon Hayward departure? Then again, what about his Orlando Magic teammate Aaron Gordon?
Jaylen Brown was asked if he thinks the Celtics, now below .500, need to add another piece to this group if they want to make a run to the postseason.
The Celtics guard did his best to side step the question, though.
“My job is to just come out and play basketball and inspire guys to play hard and compete to win,” Brown told reporters Friday after a 107-96 defeat to the Kings. “I haven’t done a good job with that. And that’s something that has been a challenge. Now for me, I accept that challenge, I’ve accepted that challenge at the beginning of the year, so ultimately, I’ve got to do a better job of being a leader.”
Celtics president of basketball operations Danny Ainge has admitted Boston could end up holding off on using that $28.5 million TPE until the offseason.
Of course, based on Boston’s performance Friday as well as their previous loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers, the Celtics may be better suited to be sellers at the deadline rather than buyers.
Brown and the 20-21 Celtics return to the floor Sunday against the Orlando Magic.
