The Boston Celtics are looking at their options. Right now, team president Danny Ainge believes the team is good enough for the playoffs, but not ready to win a series. Their roster of role players is going a good job of disrupting the peace and order in the Eastern Conference, but they are not yet contenders. However, a trade or two could push them over the edge as the Celtics continue to get linked to potential deals heading into the deadline.
So far, the Celtics pursuit of Blake Griffin and Al Horford has been shut down simply because the price tags are too high. That has the Celtics potentially re-adjusting their targets. According to Chris Mannix of Yahoo Sports, the Celtics would be wise to take a look at Markieff Morris. The forward might just need a change of scenery to get back to his 15.3 points per game he averaged last year. He is a great player to acquire and Mannix believes the Suns will sell low on him out of desperation. It is no secret the two sides are not on good terms and Morris is ready to leave Phoenix. Mannix reports the Suns have no intention of bringing Morris back next season and would like draft picks and a young player in return. The Celtics can put that deal together easily.
Boston is in the best position to make a trade simply because of how many draft picks they have stored up along with roster assets. According to ESPN's Marc Stein, if someone is getting Dwight Howard at the deadline, it should be Boston because they can match the needs of Houston. However, Howard's contract is hard to match and that is where something might snag for the Celtics. The same can be said for Brook Lopez, another player getting linked to Boston.
According to the New York Post, the Nets are willing to break apart their roster with Lopez and Thaddeus Young getting all of the attention at the deadline. The Celtics could look at Lopez as an option, but again they might have trouble making the contracts match up in a trade.
The Celtics might have a lot of picks to work with in order to get a deal done, but that does not mean they are willing to offer them all up in a trade. According to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports, the Celtics do not want to deal the first-round pick they have from the Brooklyn Nets. Even if Boston could get Kevin Love or Horford, they will likely not sacrifice their best asset right now.
