While the Boston Celtics have put on a united front, people have to be starting to worry in Beantown. The Celtics are currently in a free fall down the standings, as they are now in a three-way tie for eighth place with the Miami Heat and New York Knicks in the Eastern Conference. They will be a team to watch in NBA trade rumors as the deadline approaches.
Boston is riding a three-game losing streak, dropping their record to 15-17 on the season. Since returning from their COVD-19 pause, the Celtics are an abysmal 8-14. A big reason for that has been the injuries they are dealing with.
Arguably their top four players, All-Stars Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown, Kemba Walker and Marcus Smart have played only 28 minutes together this season, per StatMuse.
Everyone knew this was going to be a difficult season given the current state of things with the pandemic and condensed schedule. When you are missing important pieces of your rotation, there is going to be some rough patches.
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Thus far, Danny Ainge, the team’s President of Operations and general manager, has shouldered the blame as he put the roster together. He has also admitted that this isn’t a team good enough to win the Eastern Conference as currently constructed. One way to amend that is by adding some new players to the roster around Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown.
An NBA agent believes that DeMarcus Cousins will land in Boston to help their frontcourt. Cousins was recently released in a mutual parting from the Houston Rockets. Ainge has also hinted that the team has been working the phones trying to make trades.
Coming close to trades is something Ainge has been very good at. If you look back in recent years, when there was a big named player who asked for a trade, the Boston Celtics were almost always mentioned. They had an abundance of assets, courtesy of the Brooklyn Nets. Yet, that big-time star never landed in Boston.
That has to be something Celtics fans are tired of hearing. They won’t want to hear that Ainge has been close, they want him to get the job done and finish a deal.
This current Celtics roster, even when healthy, will not challenge the teams atop the Eastern Conference, let alone Western Conference teams in a potential NBA Finals matchup. If that is to change, Ainge has to put his money where his mouth is and upgrade the roster he takes responsibility for putting together. This will be something to watch in NBA trade rumors.
