The Boston Celtics Were Smart To Not Make Any Moves

There were numerous trade rumors going around linked with the Boston Celtics, but in the end, the team made the right call by not making any moves.

The forgettable 2016 NBA Trade Deadline has come and gone. There were a plethora of trade rumors going around heading into the deadline surrounding players like Dwight Howard, Kevin Love, Al Horford and Blake Griffin, but none were traded.

The Boston Celtics made it known that they were trying to land players like Horford, Love and even Howard heading into the deadline, but they obviously did not find a fair deal involving those players.

The Celtics are known around the league as a team that has no true superstar, which is why they are always linked with trade rumors involving superstars and because they have many assets and draft picks on their team. General manager Danny Ainge obviously did not think any of the deals made sense for players like Horford and Howard, so the Celtics made no moves at the deadline other than working on buying out veteran forward David Lee.

Many Boston fans are certainly a little upset because the team was again linked with many trade rumors involving superstar players but the same core roster is still intact. Ainge did not try to force any trades for the sake of making a move, which is good for the team. Boston made the right move by not trying to break up the team for a superstar, especially since players like Horford and Howard would be rentals anyway as free agents at the end of this season.

The Celtics made no trades at the deadline after being linked with so many trade rumors in the past couple weeks, but it was still a smart move to play it safe even though the team still has no superstar.

Why Was It Smart To Stay Put?

The Celtics still own the highly-desired 2016 first round Brooklyn Nets pick and the team still has its core players, which is great news. Boston is currently in third place in the Eastern Conference at 32-23 and they have achieved this record with the current roster they have right now.

They are looking like a playoff team that can win at least one round and maybe fight for a spot in the Eastern Conference Finals. At the beginning of the season, not many people thought the Celtics would be third in the Eastern Conference heading into the All-Star Break, but due to how well the team has been playing and the falling out of some other teams in the East, Boston is starting to look like one of the better teams.

Making a trade for a player like Al Horford would have been perfect for the team, especially if they could have held onto the 2016 Brooklyn pick and some of their best players, but signing a rental like Horford or even Howard would not have been worth it. Neither Howard or Horford would push the Celtics past the Cleveland Cavaliers in the East, even if the team did not give up any core players.

Teams would have had to give up a lot to get Horford and Howard on their teams, and Boston certainly could have gotten a deal done if they really wanted to because of the assets and draft picks they have, but giving up those assets and picks just so they could maybe win a game or two against Cleveland in the Eastern Conference Finals would not have been worth it at all.

Overall

The team that the Celtics have right now can make an appearance in the Eastern Conference Finals or at least win one playoff series. They still have all of their assets, core players, and draft picks, so if the team wanted to make a move the time to do it would be during free agency over the summer.

This is when the team could sign a superstar long-term and with the salary cap rising for 2016-17 season, Boston should be poised to make a big move.

More hoops habit: 2016 NBA Trade Deadline: Grades For All 30 Teams

Let’s see how this Boston team fares for the rest of the season without making any moves. Keep an eye on Brooklyn Nets because obviously the more games they lose, the better the Celtics’ pick gets. Playing it safe was overall the right move by Danny Ainge.