To get to championship level, Celts may need to give up coveted picks
BOSTON — Celtics management is nearing a crossroads, where they may have to part with some formerly coveted players or delve into the luxury tax to upgrade their roster because as team president of basketball operations Danny Ainge acknowledged this season, it is not a championship-caliber team.
It won’t be easy. The Celtics do have a $28.5 million trade exception that will be a tricky coupon to use because the trade market could develop later than usual because of the two extra playoff spots in each conference. Also, the Celtics will have to use draft pick compensation to make a deal. Potential trade partners know the Celtics want an impact player and will demand multiple picks.
The Celtics’ issue over the years is their desire to grasp too tightly to their plethora of draft picks, and it hasn’t resulted in acquiring that impact, All-Star-caliber veteran as management believed.
So the club used those picks, with Ainge and his staff having an uneven and erratic record with those selections. The hope was the Celtics would land a gem. Ainge scored massively with Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown, each drafted third overall in back-to-back years, but what has hurt the organization is lack of production from other recent firstround picks.
The Celtics did not help themselves with last year’s draft — in which they had three first-round picks. While Grant Williams, taken 22nd overall, has turned into a solid rotational player, the Celtics still have no idea about 14th overall pick Romeo Langford, who has missed most of the past two seasons with injuries.
Meanwhile, the Celtics could have taken defensive ace, swingman Matisse Thybulle, but instead traded his rights to the Philadelphia 76ers in exchange for the 33rd pick, which the Celtics used to take Carsen Edwards. Edwards has not lived up to expectations but has showed flashes of being a rotational player when given the opportunity.
So the Celtics have essentially only received contributions from Williams despite having three of the first 33 picks. That can be damaging to a team’s depth.
The Celtics scored with this year’s 26th pick, Payton Pritchard, who has immediately turned into the team’s backup point guard and most reliable reserve. Aaron Nesmith, tabbed to be an NBA-ready shooter when drafted out of Vanderbilt, has been slow to adjust but has potential.
Yet, Ainge gave away the 30th overall pick, which Memphis used to select TCU senior Desmond Bane, who is averaging 10.3 points and shooting 48.3 percent from the 3-point line. Because the Celtics didn’t want to make a roster deletion to make room for another guaranteed first-round contract, it took back two future second-round picks in return. That hurts depth.
The organization’s problem is they were perhaps too loyal and dedicated to draft picks and signees, refusing to make roster moves to clear space. Teams such as the Brooklyn Nets and Los Angeles Lakers are constantly searching for roster upgrades while the Celtics have stuck with this roster — besides Thompson, Teague, and the draft picks — since last season. Ainge did not make a deadline trade last spring.
That complacency along with injuries, COVID-19 issues, and some inconsistent play is why the Celtics are here, one game above .500 nearly halfway into the season. Things could change but it’s probably going to require Ainge to take some calculated risks, perhaps part ways with members of the current squad and hope that the impact player the team has been seeking to replace Gordon Hayward can be obtained in the next five weeks.
But the Celtics didn’t get here quickly. A series of questionable drafts, lack of roster moves, and passing on capable free agents, such as Bryn Forbes, who is shooting 46.9 percent from the 3-point line for the Milwaukee Bucks and earning $2.3 million this season, has cost them dearly so far.