Why Celtics Have Fair Case To Stand Pat At NBA Trade Deadline

The Boston Celtics are in a unique position unlike any other in the NBA, owners of the best record, built by a new-look roster that’s clicked. So there isn’t a clear-cut direction for the team to follow ahead of the upcoming Feb. 8 trade deadline.

Celtics president of basketball operations Brad Stevens reserved all of Boston’s blockbusters for the offseason, reeling in Kristaps Porzingis and Jrue Holiday. So far, it’s made Boston the most dominant starting five and provided Stevens with a convincing premature NBA Executive of the Year Award campaign — and we’re not even at the All-Star break yet.

Around this point in the season, teams are scrambling, either in search of the missing piece or a trade suitor to scoop up their dump pieces. Then there are the more moderate-positioned teams that might not want to tamper with their mojo and threaten what’s been a good situation. That’s more so where the Celtics stand, and even the organization is aware of it.

“I would like to continue to see how we can find another big wing or so that can help us and I think that can be from within,” Stevens told reporters at Saturday’s practice, per CLNS video. “I also think that we’ll continue to monitor free agency and trades. The difference in this year and maybe other years is our tools are pretty limited, from a dollar standpoint.”

Long story, short: The Celtics don’t need to be active at the deadline, and standing pat wouldn’t be the worst-case scenario.

It’s hard to pinpoint gaping holes in a team that went undefeated through its first 18 home games, but records aside, nearly everything has gone right for Boston. On nights when the Celtics are cornered to find a winning formula without a starter or two, they’ve done exactly that.

Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla has played around with various quirky lineups and rotations, allowing everyone to pitch in and showcase what they have to offer. This wasn’t the case during Mazzulla’s first season, so the growth isn’t limited to Jayson Tatum’s facilitating or Derrick White’s scoring.

Up at the top, Stevens has made all the right moves, and down courtside, Mazzulla’s supported those moves by giving everyone some shine while also doing so in an efficient manner that benefits that team.

Whenever Porzingis needs a night off, Al Horford and Neemias Queta have proven to be capable of stepping in. When Tatum and Brown trounce opponents through the first three quarters, the C’s have shown they can reward JT and JB with some nifty fourth-quarter rest.

The depth factor has followed the lineup’s lead in meshing well together phenomenally and continues to take strides. Queta has grown from a no-name G-League big into a legit candidate as Boston’s backup center. Payton Pritchard is averaging a career-high in shot attempts (6.5), rebounds (3.3) and assists (three), being Boston’s go-to floor general for the reserves. And Sam Hauser is firing off a career-best 5.6 3-point attempts, connecting on 41.6%.

This Celtics team, better than any other under the Brown-Tatum tandem, has made its team-first priority abundantly clear routinely.

It’s come to the point where the Celtics have rewarded the front office for their offseason work by making its deadline approach a tad bit easier.

Again, aside from the Grant Williams traded player exception of $6.2 million, Boston’s financial flexibility is slim. The team locked Porzingis to a $60 million extension and has yet to extend Holiday or White while Tatum becomes an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season.

That doesn’t leave a whole lot of wiggle room, but what it does create is the opportunity for the dark horses to prove themselves before the playoffs roll around and the stakes rise rapidly.

So far, the Celtics have posed no reasons to fix what isn’t broken.