Celtics Takeaways from 2024 NBA Trade Deadline 1 Week Later

The Boston Celtics made two subtle additions at last week's NBA trade deadline.

When you're the best team in basketball—by record and efficiency—you don't need to do anything more dramatic than that.

They made three trades in total, but only two brought players back to Boston. The Celtics first acquired backup big man Xavier Tillman from the Memphis Grizzlies, then they picked up backcourt prospect Jaden Springer from the Philadelphia 76ers.

These weren't wave-making moves, but each could add value to this club.

Let's dive into three post-deadline takeaways about this team.

Jaden Springer Could Be a Steal

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PHILADELPHIA, PA - FEBRUARY 5: Jaden Springer #11 of the Philadelphia 76ers smiles during the game against the Dallas Mavericks on February 5, 2024 at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2024 NBAE (Photo by Jesse D. Garrabrant/NBAE via Getty Images)

At the 2021 draft, the Philadelphia 76ers had to spend a first-round pick on Jaden Springer. Less than two years later, the Celtics acquired him for only a second-round pick.

That's good business, and it will remain good business even if Springer never pans out. For almost nothing, Boston added a 21-year-old who has already flashed high-end defensive potential with an ability to make momentum-changing plays on that end.

"He's an athlete that can play athletically in the playoffs right now," Celtics president of basketball operations Brad Stevens told reporters. "But he also has a lot of growing to get better, and he's committed to that. He's got a long runway ahead. ... But he's a guy that we believe in."

If Springer hits, the Celtics could have a defensive complement to offense-first backup guard Payton Pritchard. If Springer never develops, Boston's cost for seeing if he could is minimal.

The NBA's Best Team Got Better

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BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS - NOVEMBER 13: Jayson Tatum #0 of the Boston Celtics reacts with Jaylen Brown #7 of the Boston Celtics before a game against the New York Knicks at TD Garden on November 13, 2023 in Boston, Massachusetts. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Maddie Malhotra/Getty Images)

The Celtics entered trade season as a power house and they left it exactly the same.

Star wings Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown comprise one of the Association's top tandems overall. Jrue Holiday and Derrick White form perhaps basketball's best defensive backcourt. Kristaps Porziņģis and Al Horford pack a powerful 1-2 punch at center.

Boston's foundation was already rock-solid, so the front office made the smart move of seeking out potential finishing touches.

If Springer forces his way onto the floor, he could help the Celtics force more turnovers and create more scoring chances out of them. Xavier Tillman is the perfect kind of insurance plan you want to have when your best bigs have Porziņģis' injury history or Horford's odometer reading.

The Eastern Conference Is Theirs for the Taking

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MILWAUKEE, WI - JANUARY 11: Jayson Tatum #0 of the Boston Celtics plays defense during the game against Giannis Antetokounmpo #34 of the Milwaukee Bucks on January 11, 2024 at the Fiserv Forum Center in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2024 NBAE (Photo by Gary Dineen/NBAE via Getty Images).

OK, this was probably true even before the deadline, but coming out of trade season, it feels like the Shamrocks are running unopposed for Eastern Conference supremacy.

For most of this season, the consensus was there were three inner-circle contenders in the East: the Celtics, Milwaukee Bucks and Philadelphia 76ers. Maybe that still winds up being the case, but for now at least, those others simply aren't in Boston's class.

The Bucks have yet to master the two-man game between Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard, and they've gone just 3-6 since handing the coaching reins over to Doc Rivers. The Sixers, meanwhile, are predictably spiraling since losing MVP big man Joel Embiid to a meniscus injury.

With all due respect to teams like the Cleveland Cavaliers and New York Knicks, they won't strike fear into the Celtics the way a clicking-on-all-cylinders Bucks team or a full-strength Sixers squad would.