NBA Trade Rumors: 4 deadline deals that could help the Boston Celtics get right
By Ian Levy
The Boston Celtics have been in an ugly slide with their championship hopes fading. An NBA Trade Deadline deal could be just the thing to right their ship.
It’s been a tough stretch for the Boston Celtics lately. Since Jan. 27, they’ve lost seven of 18 games, getting outscored by an average of 2.0 points per 100 possessions. They’ve struggled with injuries and, while Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum are enjoying typically fantastic individual seasons, the rest of their depth has struggled.
Kemba Walker, in particular, has had a rough go. He’s looked like his old self at times but struggled to string together solid performances — Boston’s last two wins were the first time he’s scored 20 in back-to-back games all season.
The Celtics could use a trade before the deadline, both to add depth for a playoff run and to shake up the current, muddled regular-season momentum that has them floundering. The tough thing is that they don’t have a tough of trade assets and are unlikely to want to send out a first-round pick, especially to improve their odds in a season where they’re unlikely champions in any scenario. Bigs and point guards more seem like obvious targets but wing depth, particularly bigger wings who can defend 3s and 4s and take some of the defensive weight off Jayson Tatum, are just as important.
What deals could the Boston Celtics realistically put together for the NBA Trade Deadline?
Al-Farouq Aminu wouldn’t be the most exciting deadline pick-up. He’s 30 and has played just eight games since returning from a meniscus tear suffered last year. He’s also a shaky outside shooter, hitting just 33.5 percent from beyond the arc in his career. But he’s a strong and versatile defender with experience defending 3s and 4s. And, most importantly, he’s extremely gettable. The Magic are in the midst of bottoming out and he has no role in their long-term plans. The Celtics could probably land him without sending out any picks, just using a few mildly intriguing young players like Langford and Edwards.