As the NBA’s February 8 trade deadline approaches, the Boston Celtics are sitting atop the league with a 26-7 record.
The concern of depth hasn’t presented itself as drastically as some anticipated before the season began, but as is always the case for title contenders heading towards the trade deadline, monitoring the market will be crucial.
Of the Celtics’ potential needs, the center position jumps out at first glance. Behind Kristaps Porzingis and Al Horford, there is a steep drop-off to Luke Kornet and two-way big man Neemias Queta.
However, adding an upgrade at the 5 is much easier said than done.
“First of all, adding a rotation center, that would have to be one hell of a player, right?,” President of Basketball Operations Brad Stevens said at Celtics practice on Thursday afternoon. “When you think about [it], we’ve got really good players. I think what we’re looking for and what we most likely [will do], especially with where we are from a tool standpoint, there’s really not a ton [of big things] we can do without touching our main guys, right?”
Boston’s primary tool heading into this year’s trade deadline is the Traded Player Exception they received in the Grant Williams trade over the summer, which comes out to roughly $6.2 million.
Not only would it be difficult to add a quality player at that salary, but finding a team willing to trade a player on a deal like that makes things even more complicated.
Stevens noted at practice that guys making less than that amount are either on minimum contracts, small contracts, or rookie-scale deals that “teams aren’t exactly excited to move on from yet.”
And perhaps more importantly, he’s been happy with the play Boston has gotten from their current center rotation.
“We’ve obviously [gotten] good play, great play out of Kristaps. I think Al has been good. I think Luke and Neemy, when called upon, have both added great value. And so, you know, if we end up adding somebody, you know, I don’t know that it will be a game-changer in the way that you said it from the rotation standpoint.”
Porzingis and Horford have always been filed away as big-impact players, but Kornet and Queta came into the year as question marks. However, their effective play this year isn’t a surprise to Stevens.
“No, they haven’t [surprised me],” Stevens said. “They’re good players. And when you’re surrounded by good players, especially our guards and wings that we have, the job’s a little easier. You get to the rim, they’re either gonna throw it up to you or they’re gonna throw it out to the other guy for a wide-open three because your guy is on you. They’ve done a good job of fulfilling their roles.”
Leave a Reply