Boston Celtics president of basketball operations Brad Stevens. David Butler II-USA TODAY Sports

Celtics expected to be 'aggressive' before the trade deadline

By Adam Taylor | Last updated 12/18/23

The Boston Celtics sit at the top of the Eastern Conference with a 20-5 record. They have found a reliable nine-man rotation in recent weeks, making them one of the most feared teams in the NBA. However, as with all contending teams, Boston is expected to seek out potential roster upgrades before the Fe. 8 trade deadline.

During a recent episode of FanDuel TV's "Run It Back," NBA insider Shams Charania shared the latest intel regarding Boston's plans for the coming months.

"The Celtics will be active in the trade market to pursue bench help," Charania said. "They wanna see what's out there. They do have assets...Their first six are as elite as it comes. If you can get seven and eight to get to a high level. Come playoff times, the rotations do shrink. When you think about six or seven, that's probably going to be how deep they'll go. Maybe eight. But, they're gonna be aggressive in seeing what could be out there for bench help."

"[The Boston Celtics] are going to be aggressive in just seeing what could be out there for bench help."@ShamsCharania on the Boston Celtics.

: https://t.co/wdT8I0ST8g pic.twitter.com/xY7M5LBmtl
— Run It Back (@RunItBackFDTV) December 18, 2023

The Celtics have been using a deeper rotation over the past week due to injuries. Lamar Stevens and Neemias Queta have both impressed in bigger roles.

Nevertheless, the backend of Boston's bench has been a concern since the start of the season. The Celtics could be short in the backup guard and backup center positions, depending on how they currently view Payton Pritchard and Luke Kornet.

Boston currently has a $6.2M trade exception from the sign-and-trade deal to send Grant Williams to the Dallas Mavericks. They could look to use that asset to acquire someone off waivers or to absorb a role player's salary without the need for salary matching.

However, Brad Stevens could just as easily dangle some of his end-of-bench talent along with some draft picks to get an upgrade at a position of need. Or, the Celtics could do both.

Being among the best teams in the league and still having tradeable assets, the Celtics have multiple options at their disposal. How or whether they choose to make use of those options is something that will remain to be seen.

After all, the rotation they have now is working, and sometimes, it's better not to tinker with a winning formula.

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