Danny Ainge and the Boston Celtics have just over a month to decide whether to use their $ 28.5 million exception ahead of the NBA’s negotiation deadline.
From Harrison Barnes of the Sacramento Kings to JJ Redick of the New Orleans Pelicans, a handful of players have been mentioned in recent weeks as potential Celtics players. But are they really on Boston’s radar? Are the C’s positioned to close a big deal next month?
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Kevin O’Connor of The Ringer joined the Early Edition on Tuesday to discuss.
“We will see the opportunities that will come up the next month before the deadline. But it was weird, honestly, on Saturday night. As if out of nowhere I had two different people texting me ‘Hey, the Celtics are up to something’ and then I I check with other people that I trust a lot and everyone was saying it looks like they’re up to something, they’re on the lookout for a player out there. But it’s still not clear who, ”said O’Connor.
“I mean, you look around the league, Danny Ainge himself recently said about looking for a bigger player who can kick. Maybe a guy like Thaddeus Young could play you a small ball five, a PJ Tucker from the Rockets, a versatile ha good players to have around and, for Boston, they have enough resources and enough choices in the first round, if they decide if the price is fair – I think Boston will be able to act if the price is fair. “
The C’s (12-10) haven’t played exactly their best basketball in recent times, and qualifying could be a real factor in the Eastern Conference at the time of the playoffs. Does this mean that we should expect Ainge to make a deal sooner or later?
“I think a lot of everything has to do with time and now, that’s why it was so weird on Saturday night that it was released, just like the Derrick Rose-to-the-Knicks exchange time, not much talk now that it looks legitimate or anything that could turn into something, “said O’Connor.
“With Boston, if something comes up that is worth doing now that can help them, I don’t see why they would wait. But in the end, I don’t think that some of these guys like a PJ Tucker would be available even closer to the deadline. Because now Houston is still in it, they’re still competing and the same is true for so many teams across the league, which is kind of a by-product of the play-in tournament, the fact that there are only more places for the playoffs, so you have more teams that have more to play for longer.
The NBA’s 2021 trading deadline was set for March 25 at 3 pm ET.