Boston Celtics NBA Trade Deadline: Why standing pat was the right move

The February 7 3 PM ET trade deadline has come and gone and while many teams across the league were making moves in the hours before the deadline, the Boston Celtics were not one of them.

Rumors had been swirling about the Boston Celtics but only in relation to their involvement in an Anthony Davis trade, one that wouldn’t be possible unless the Celtics were willing to deal star point guard Kyrie Irving in return.

The good news is that New Orleans Pelicans did not make a trade with the Los Angeles Lakers either and that Boston will still remain their most tempting suitor in this coming NBA offseason.

While some fans may be disappointed in the Celtics lack of movement before the trade deadline, it wasn’t surprising that they stood still and decided to move forward with this team as currently constructed. Something those disappointed fans should have known would be the case after today.

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“Trader” Danny Ainge is a hell of a GM, and part of what makes him so good is he doesn’t make rash decisions or stupid decisions like making reckless deals before the deadline. He knows that the real prize will come this summer when he can offer the Pelicans a “godfather deal” that no other NBA team will be able to match.

I know it must have been tough for the Boston Celtics faithful to watch other teams like the Toronto Raptors, Philadelphia 76ers, and Milwaukee Bucks all make trades to improve their rosters in the last 24 hours.

Those trades while substantial, really only highlight one major factor that everyone is missing. None of those teams thought they were actually talented enough to compete with this Boston Celtics as currently constructed come the playoffs. They all felt a need to get better before the deadline to improve their chances.

All those franchises have watched this Celtics’ team win 5 games in a row and 10 out of their last 11. With that only loss coming to the Golden State Warriors. They have pulled themselves up into the third seed in the Eastern Conference and are only 3.5 games behind Toronto for the second seed.

No move the best move

This Celtics team is coming together at the right time and the rest of the conference seems to have taken notice.

There was no trade that the Celtics could have made today or in the past few weeks that would have drastically improved their chances at a trip to the NBA Finals or been done without sacrificing their chances at acquiring Anthony Davis this offseason.

Plus, as I just went over, this Celtics team looks to still be considered the best and most talented team in the Eastern Conference. It would be difficult for anyone to argue that any of the recent deals that were made are going to change that.

They by far have the most talented lineup 1-10 making them still the deepest team in the conference. And where does great depth matter? During the grueling grind that is the NBA Playoffs.

The Celtics only real concern of lack of size and rebounding at times will most likely be addressed in the coming days. Expect them to sign a big man off of waivers to stick at the end of the bench but who could become valuable when facing an opponent with a size differential down the line. It’s already rumored that they may be looking to sign veteran Enes Kanter who was bought out of his contract by the New York Knicks.

So, relax Boston Celtics faithful, Danny Ainge still has your best interest in mind. And don’t discount what some of these young and talented players like Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown and Marcus Smart may be looking to prove from here on out.

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They have been waived as potential trade bait for months on end now.

If they are the competitors we think they are, they are going to want to show the city of Boston that maybe it would be in their interest to keep them on the roster for years to come by bringing home another title to a city that craves them like their morning Dunkin Donuts coffee.

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