The Boston Celtics are playing some of their best basketball of the 2021-22 season with the February 10 NBA trade deadline not too far away.
The C's have won four of their last five games and, despite entering Tuesday as the 10th place team in the Eastern Conference standings, they sit just four games behind the Cleveland Cavaliers in the No. 4 seed.
With a soft upcoming schedule that includes many beatable opponents over the next few weeks, the C's could realistically be a top-six team in the East when the All-Star break hits in mid-February.
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Celtics Talk Podcast: What are Brad Stevens' trade deadline plans? And a chat with Payton Pritchard | Listen & subscribe | Watch on YouTube
What is the Celtics' mindset with the trade deadline approaching? Here's what league insider Adrian Wojnarowski said Sunday afternoon on ESPN's "NBA Today".
“Listen, it’s to build around Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum, not to break those two up," Wojnarowski explained. "I think the hard part for Boston is what are the other tradable assets that they’re willing to move on from. They don’t want to trade Robert Williams, their young center. That’s a player that they really see, I think at the center -- figuratively -- of what they’re doing moving forward.
Boston Celtics
“I think Marcus Smart, some of the young players on the roster, second- and third-year guards/forwards, I think they’re seeing what the value (is) for those players out there, and Josh Richardson. Dennis Schroder -- that’s a player I think if they can keep building up his value, he’s on a one-year deal, $6 million contract. I think those are all players available in the marketplace.
“Can that get them involved in a Ben Simmons (deal)? No, it can’t. But I think they still want to find another playmaker/wing player to complement the two All-Star forwards.”
Here's the full segment with Wojnarowski:
Trading Brown or Tatum in the near future would be a mistake. It doesn't make much sense to give up on young, All-Star forwards under contract for several more years, especially when they're in the early prime of their careers.
Forsberg: Exploring the middle-of-the-road path for C's
The goal absolutely should be surrounding this duo with better talent and depth, and based on Woj's comments above, it sounds like the Celtics are intent on doing that.
This team definitely needs another playmaker to facilitate the offense, preferably a pass-first point guard who's not a liability on defense. Another wing who can defend the opponents' top perimeter players would be a nice upgrade as well.
If the Celtics can add one of those two types of players before the trade deadline, they could be a tough out in the first round of the playoffs.