Celtics Should Focus on Frontcourt Over Salary Cap at Deadline amid NBA Trade Rumors
The Boston Celtics surely won't be the NBA's most active team leading up to Thursday's 3 p.m. ET trade deadline.
However, they can't just sit out trade season, either.
While they're still the on-paper favorites to win the championship, they aren't as dominant and face more direct competition than last season. And remember, they were already established as the Association's top team at that trade deadline, and they still brokered multiple trades that brought in Jaden Springer and Xavier Tillman.
The Celtics should be involved with something, and experts think they will be. Mass Live's Brian Robb put the chances of a Boston trade at "95 percent."
The worry, though, is with the type of trade the Celtics might make.
Robb wrote that the "obvious" move would be dealing Jaden Springer for luxury tax savings. Adam Himmelsbach of the Boston Globe labeled Springer their "most logical trade candidate" for the same reasons, noting that Springer's $4 million salary actually costs the club "about $15 million" based on luxury-tax penalties.
That is, admittedly, a hefty sum for a part-time player, but Springer's defensive activity has been helpful to have in this top-heavy wing rotation. The Celtics are set at full strength with Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown and Sam Hauser handling the wing minutes come playoff time, but they have zero safety net behind that trio.
Springer has shown as much promise in the group of deep reserves behind them. Shedding him strictly for financial reasons feels like a waste for a team with such a realistic shot at winning another ring.
Especially when there are real needs on this roster. They may not be enormous, but they are present nonetheless.
The wing rotation falls off a cliff behind Hauser. Springer and Jordan Walsh aren't the least bit threatening on offense, and Baylor Scheierman can't find his touch at this level. Any halfway consistent two-way wing would be a big upgrade on this group.
The center spot always feels a bit fragile with Al Horford sitting a few months shy of his 39th birthday and Kristaps Porziņģis being no stranger to the injury bug. Luke Kornet and Neemias Queta have been mostly fine in reserve roles, but there would be concerns if either was forced into bigger duties. Tillman is out of the rotation after seeing his shooting rates plummet.
That's surely why the Celtics are among the many teams to have "expressed interest" in Philadelphia 76ers combo big Guerschon Yabusele, per HoopsHype's Michael Scotto. Yabusele, for those who may have forgotten, spent his first two NBA seasons in Boston before heading back overseas to continue his basketball career.
A backup big could help this team. So could a reserve wing with some kind of utility at both ends. These are small, support roles that shouldn't cost a fortune to fill.
That's where Boston's attention should lie over the next day-plus. Granted, it's easy to say when it's #NotMyMoney, but the idea of a contender cutting costs at the expense of talent is tough to stomach. Especially when there are scenarios in which that talent could contribute to a championship run.
A quiet deadline wouldn't necessarily be a bad one in Boston, but a financially-focused one would be a bummer.
