Celtics May Be Quiet At Deadline, But Their Competition Isn't Staying Put
By Matthew Geagan, CBS Boston
BOSTON (CBS) -- It's expected to be another quiet trade deadline day for the Boston Celtics. At 35-15 for the season and in third place in the Eastern Conference, the team doesn't really need to make any big moves at the moment.
But Boston's main competition in the second tier of the East have been wheeling and dealing in the hours leading up to the 3 p.m. deadline Thursday afternoon. Both the Miami Heat and Philadelphia 76ers have been active, and both made trades to improve their squads Wednesday evening.
The Heat won the Andre Iguodala sweepstakes, sending a package centered around Justise Winslow to Memphis for the former Finals MVP. They also received veterans Jae Crowder and Solomon Hill in the deal, giving Miami some ridiculous depth with its wing players. That trio of veterans should greatly help the Heat down the stretch, with Miami trailing Boston by one game in the East standings.
The 76ers, meanwhile, are a gigantic mess. But they also made a trade that should help their bench the rest of the way, acquiring guard Alec Burks and wing Glen Robinson III from Golden State for a trio of second-round picks. That move won't fix the issues in the Philly locker room, but it's an extremely low-risk deal that should help their bench woes. And with Philly slipping to sixth in the Eastern Conference following an 11-13 stretch, they needed something to shake things up a bit.
Burks would have been a solid pickup for the Celtics, averaging a career-high 16.1 points off 37.5 percent shooting from three-point range. Robinson also would have been a welcome addition to the Boston bench, hitting 40 percent of his triples this season.
The Celtics were reportedly in on both players, according to Keith Smith. But with a full roster, they would have had to send players back to Golden State, and the Warriors did not want to take back any salary in the move. The Celtics balked at waiving anyone to bring in Burks and/or Robinson, and both players are now in Philadelphia.
Boston's roster crunch could work against them throughout the day on Thursday. In the last few days, the Celtics have been rumored to be interested in trading for Washington sharpshooter Davis Bertans and Detroit veteran Markieff Morris. The Celtics also reached out to Detroit about 6-foot-10 power forward Christian Wood, but the Pistons weren't interested in dealing the 24-year-old, according to James Edwards of The Athletic.
Despite their struggles, the Sixers have proven to be a tough matchup for the Celtics this season, taking three of their four matchups. That showdown could get a little tougher given Philadelphia's pre-deadline moves, should the C's and 76ers meet in the playoffs.
