Celtics’ Top Trade Priorities Entering 2022

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The Boston Celtics feel like they should be better than this.

Whether that’s because of the organization’s storied history, its recent runs to three Eastern Conference Finals in four years or the presence of in-prime stars Jayson Tatum or Jaylen Brown, the Celtics simply seem capable of doing more.

Yet after Wednesday night’s loss to the Kawhi Leonard-less, Paul George-less Los Angeles Clippers, the Celtics are three games under .500 since the start of the 2021-22 NBA season.

Something’s gotta give, or, more likely, something needs to change, which makes Boston a fascinating team to track during trade season. The Celtics could (and maybe should) swing for the fences, or they could make moves around the margin and hope it’s enough to make their whole closer to the sum of its parts.

Either way, Boston should be open for business with the following three items on top of its wishlist.

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Because Boston is falling short of expectations, this team is no stranger to the rumor mill. The situation is dire—or at least potentially dire—enough to start speculation on the nuclear option of breaking apart the Brown-Tatum tandem.

Now, maybe people know something we don’t, but splitting a pair of 25-and-under stars doesn’t seem like the smartest way of doing business. Fortunately, the Celtics apparently agree.

“There’s been a lot of talk in recent days about the Celtics and whether it is ‘working,’ leading to the idea that Jaylen Brown could be moved,” Matt Moore of the Action Network reported. “Instead, two sources indicated that in recent talks the Celtics are focused on trying to add a third star to play with Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum.”

The Celtics would have to pay a premium to snag a third star, and even that’s assuming one becomes available between now and the Feb. 10 trade deadline. But the upside of a Big Three could be worth the cost of emptying the asset collection. Adding an elite player to the mix could be the piece that completes this puzzle.

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Rick Scuteri/Associated Press

The Celtics aren’t a great shooting team—not from the field (23rd in percentage), and not from three-point range (24th).

Anyone who has followed a second of modern basketball knows that’s a tough weakness to overcome. While good shooting doesn’t guarantee great success, bad shooting almost always makes it impossible.

Boston is probably banking on some internal improvement in the department. Tatum is among the many Celtics who are better shooters than they have shown this year. Having said that, the need is great enough to think an external addition or two might be required to dramatically change things.

The good news for president of basketball operations Brad Stevens and his staff is that the cost of shooting is as high as they want it to be. If Boston thinks a specialist could to the trick, then it might find one in the bargain bin. But if the Celtics start looking for a multi-dimensional player who can space the floor, the cost could increase exponentially.

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Jon Durr/Associated Press

Boston’s worst offensive possessions aren’t easy on the eyes.

Sure, that’s true of every team, but Celtics fans know what we mean. They have seen enough stagnant, ball-pounding possessions to recognize bad Boston basketball when they see it.

The Celtics need a floor general who can put his teammates in the right position and get them the basketball once they get there. That’s simply not the description of Marcus Smart or Dennis Schroder. The former is a relentless defender with obvious offensive limitations, and the latter functions more like an undersized scoring guard.

You name the ball-moving metric, and the Celtics probably have a poor ranking. They are 23rd in assists per outing and 22nd in assist percentage, per NBA.com. It’s hard to overcome those numbers, and Boston’s 22nd-ranked offense isn’t pulling it off.