After the Philadelphia 76ers made a big splash ahead of the 2019 NBA Trade Deadline, the Boston Celtics are facing more pressure.
The Boston Celtics are currently 35-19, good for third in the Eastern Conference — a much better turnaround from their original 10-10 start to the season.
The team has been consistent lately, winning 10 of its last 11 games. What’s even more impressive is they’re doing this while dealing with injuries, missing key players out of their lineup such as Kyrie Irving and Marcus Morris.
This is not the first time the Celtics have dealt with injuries and found ways to win games; just look at last year’s run in the playoffs. Still, it feels as if Boston needs one more piece (or two) to put them over the edge.
That became even more evident after the Philadelphia 76ers made a blockbuster trade early Wednesday morning.
Sources: Clippers and Sixers have agreed to trade Tobias Harris, Boban Marjanovic, Mike Scott for Landry Shamet, Wilson Chandler, Mike Muscala, 2020 first-rounder, 2021 unprotected 1st via Miami and two second rounders.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) February 6, 2019
This move was big for the Sixers because they now have assembled a Big 4 with Ben Simmons, Jimmy Butler, Tobias Harris and Joel Embiid. Despite Butler and Harris not making the All-Star game this season, they are still All-Star caliber players.
The Sixers’ biggest issue was finding help off the bench, and this move makes that weakness cloudier, but they have one of the best starting lineups in the league. The NBA Trade Deadline is almost here, as Feb. 7 marks the final day teams can make that final push towards the playoffs.
This move puts the Celtics in a precarious position, because they may feel pressure to make a move. As of now, they’re a game ahead of the fifth-place Sixers in the standings. On paper, Philadelphia looks like a better team, but it’ll be interesting to see how everyone meshes together.
Boston doesn’t have the time to play the waiting game on whether this roster change will potentially make the Sixers stronger. With the trade deadline being less than 36 hours away, the Celtics would need to scour the market for potential deals if they wanted to make any kind of roster change.
One problem the team may encounter is determining what assets it can give up if it would like to make a splash in trading for Anthony Davis this offseason (they cannot deal for AD before the deadline due to the Rose Rule). Boston can’t afford to deal its assets if it would like to make that blockbuster move come July.
The Celtics making a move may hinge on the idea waiting out the Davis market. If he does get traded, they could try and find a way to acquire a big-name player such as Bradley Beal at the last second. The Washington Wizards continue to deal with bad news and it’s time for the team to look at blowing it up.
That name is just one potential option, since he and the Wizards have been involved in numerous trade rumors. It seems unlikely to materialize, but the other idea the Celtics could look into is trading Terry Rozier.
Rozier has struggled to find his role this season after playing such a big part in the team’s success last year. He might attract some interest on the market, but what teams are willing to give up for the Louisville point guard is still unknown. He’s set to become a restricted free agent this summer and Boston could look to deal him in an effort to not lose him for nothing.
The only issue is he may be more important to the Celtics than a potential player or asset they receive back in any trade. Boston is in an interesting spot right now, sitting third in the Eastern Conference, but the team has been scratching and clawing to get to the top of the standings.
If the Celtics want to win the conference and make it to the NBA Finals, they may want to look at making a trade, but that all still depends on what happens with Davis ahead of the deadline. Over the past few weeks, Boston has looked like the team the NBA thought it would see before the season began. The Celtics must keep that level of play up if they save their assets for AD but still want to stay afloat in this new-look Eastern Conference.