The Boston Celtics are limping into the NBA trade deadline and are faced with an important decision to make. Do they make a move with the intention of turning this season around, or do they shift their focus to the future?
Plenty of names have been thrown around in Celtics trade rumors recently including Orlando Magic forward Aaron Gordon, whom Boston supposedly is a "frontrunner" to land. Other names include John Collins of the Atlanta Hawks and Harrison Barnes of the Sacramento Kings.
A history of Ainge's notable in-season trades with Celtics
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But would those deals really improve the 21-22 Celtics' odds of making an NBA title run this year? As of now, oddsmakers aren't crazy about Boston's chances -- odds provided by our partner, PointsBet Sportsbook.
Check out the updated 2021 NBA championship odds below:
| Nets | +250 |
| Lakers | +350 |
| Clippers | +500 |
| Bucks | +750 |
| Jazz | +800 |
| 76ers | +1400 |
| Nuggets | +2500 |
| Heat | +3000 |
| Suns | +3000 |
| Celtics | +3300 |
PointsBet is our Official Sports Betting Partner and we may receive compensation if you place a bet on PointsBet for the first time after clicking our links.
Boston Celtics
On a new Celtics Talk Podcast, Chris Forsberg and Amina Smith discussed whether a trade deadline deal would fix this team and put it back on the winning path.
"To be honest, I don't think that's gonna be an entirely huge thing when you talk about adding a player at this point in the season. Because, just like we mentioned before, I feel like it's a bigger issue," Smith said. "I don't feel like it's something you can plug and play, bringing in somebody and then they're in contention for an NBA title. We already know what it's looking like in the East right now.
"Right now, it's just kind of like if you bring a player in, I don't think that's going to be something that's going to turn the entire ship around. It should be more looked at as a long-term solution. So maybe it's not this season, maybe it's next season. Maybe we add somebody and then we see how they jell."
Celtics Talk Podcast: Sorting through Celtics trade rumors, would Aaron Gordon help the Celtics? | Listen & subscribe | Watch on YouTube
Smith noted the Celtics' young stars Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum are still trying to find their roles as leaders, and that adding another player to the mix wouldn't resolve the underlying issue.
"You talk about Jaylen and Jayson Tatum, they're trying to figure out how to lead this team, and I think that's part of it too is that now that they are the leaders, they have to step up and really kind of get into that role," Smith added. "They're trying to adjust to that as well. So adding one more player at least in my opinion, I don't feel like that's going to be a complete game-changer at this point in the season."
Also in the new episode: Getting to know Amina Smith. What’s the biggest issue with the Celtics right now? And is trading Marcus Smart really an option?
Check out the latest episode of the Celtics Talk Podcast on your favorite podcast app or watch it on YouTube below.