The Boston Celtics had themselves a relatively quiet trade deadline this season, trading away forward Justin Jackson to the Oklahoma City Thunder in order to bolster their frontcourt rotation with veteran big man Mike Muscala.
The ball club had been rumored to be in pursuit of San Antonio Spurs center Jakob Poeltl and perhaps also looking to bolster their wing depth, while perhaps also rebalancing their roster in other ways as well. But none of those things ended up happening, the Muscala deal being the only move the Celtics’ front office would pull the trigger on before the Feb. 9 moratorium on moving players between teams this season.
Bleacher Report’s Zach Buckley thinks there are three things Boston might end up regretting not addressing at the deadline relative to all the above — let’s take a look at what he thinks the Celtics might want a mulligan for.
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Trading for Mike Muscala
“Mike Muscala was a sensible target for the Celtics,” writes Buckley. “He’ll be helpful to have for this stretch run. He can handle a handful of minutes every night, and he shouldn’t look over his skis if needed for a spot start.”
“Will he hold up in the playoffs, though, or can postseason coaches find ways to exploit him and Luke Kornet? Because if the latter happens, things could get dicey in a hurry if the oft-injured Robert Williams III gets injured again.”
Not adding a wing via trade
“The Celtics have two of the top wings in the league in Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown,” suggests the B/R expert. “They also have little else at the position.”
“The Celtics seemingly think they have enough options to cover those spots, but it was a bit surprising to see them leave those positions untouched.”
Not dealing with Payton Pritchard's lack of playing time
“Payton Pritchard wants to play,” suggests Buckley. “He doesn’t always get that chance in Boston, where he’s buried behind a slew of established pros.”
“If the Celtics don’t see Pritchard in their long-term plans, they should have cut him loose and sent him to some team with that kind of vision for him.”
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