NBA rumors: 5 teams that should be buying at the NBA trade deadline

1. Boston Celtics

The Boston Celtics may have won five of their last six games heading into Tuesday’s primetime matchup with the Utah Jazz, but GM Danny Ainge said it best: This isn’t a championship-caliber roster as currently constructed.

Kemba Walker’s struggles and Marcus Smart’s injury-related absence have been a part of that, but with an NBA-record $28.5 million trade exception to work with, it’d be a major disappointment if Boston didn’t make a move at the trade deadline. Whether that’s Harrison Barnes or Nikola Vucevic or someone else, the Celtics need to make an upgrade of some sort if competing for a title this year is the goal.

We’ve all heard about the stars that Ainge “almost” traded for, with James Harden being the latest name added to the list. What we need to see now is the trade Ainge did make, and it all starts with that massive trade exception to give a team that’s barely over .500 a legitimate boost.