Kendrick Perkins is among those who believe the Boston Celtics need to upgrade before the NBA trade deadline -- specifically in the frontcourt -- and make that happen by dealing Gordon Hayward.
As you might suspect, Gordon Hayward disagrees.
The Celtics forward told Brian Robb of the Boston Sports Journal that the team hasn't discussed the possibility of a trade with him and his representatives ahead of the Feb. 6 deadline.
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When asked if he believes Boston should make a deal before next Thursday, Hayward demurred.
"That’s up to (Celtics president of basketball operations) Danny (Ainge), (head coach) Brad (Stevens) and other guys in the front office to decide," Hayward told Robb. "I believe we have enough as we are but I’ve been in the game long enough to know that all of that can change in an instant."
The Celtics are in the thick of the Eastern Conference playoff race at 31-15. They're currently 1.5 games behind the Toronto Raptors for the No. 2 seed despite rarely playing at full strength, as Hayward, Kemba Walker, Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown have all missed time due to injury.
That's the optimist's view. The critic's view is that Boston still isn't on par with the loaded Milwaukee Bucks and can't solve the Philadelphia 76ers, who have beaten the C's three times already this season.
Is this current roster good enough to make a championship run? Hayward and the Celtics apparently believe so.
Boston Celtics
"I think we are going for it all right now," Hayward told Robb. “I don’t know what else we could do that would signal that. As a player, all I’ve been told is that we are going for it right now. That’s what I believe too as a player."
We wouldn't expect Hayward to say anything different, but his confidence reflects the Celtics' reported reluctance to trade any of their "core" players during the season.
Hayward has helped his own cause of late with three consecutive games of 20-plus points, his longest streak since joining the C's.
We'll find out over the next seven days whether Boston's front office agrees with Hayward that this current squad is talented enough to get out of the East.
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