One-on-One: Should the Celtics make a move by the deadline?

Each week, two Red’s Army writers will shadowbox in a written word showdown– taking opposite sides of a Celtics-related question. Jordan Higgs (@EreJordan) and Ben Mark (@bmark86)  are back to debate whether or not the Celtics should make a move by the deadline 

Ben: The Celtics should not make a move by the deadline

My take that the Celtics should stand pat at the trade deadline and roll into the 2017 playoffs as currently constituted comes from pessimism about the present and optimism about the future.

The 16-17 Celtics are a lot like I was in high school—pretty cool, pretty smart, a lot of life potential, but they weren’t going to get a date with any of the hottest girls at school. And here’s the thing, I could have tried harder—lifted a weight, or two, bought nicer clothes, and it still wouldn’t have gotten me any closer. The Celtics could “try harder” to reconstruct their roster on the fly with either small tweaks or by pushing in their chips and going all-in to dislodge a star, and it won’t get them a championship. Golden State and Cleveland are on a collision course to a third straight NBA Finals, might as well accept it. Let’s say Jimmy Butler becomes available, and for a price of Marcus Smart, Jae Crowder and the Nets’ picks you can acquire him. Is an IT, Butler, Bradley, Horford foursome beating the Cavs? Maybe. But it’s not favored in a seven game series with four games in Cleveland.

And that’s if a Butler becomes available. Right now, there’s no indication that a star level player worthy of a major asset dump is even on the market, so you’d be looking at cosmetic changes. Could those make the Celtics a favorite in a series in round two and get them a game or two in the Eastern Conference Finals? Sure. But it won’t get them the best looking girl in school. And if it’s not getting them there, it’s just not worth it right now.

The Celtics shouldn’t make a move because of a pessimistic view of their state in the current NBA, but also because of optimism for the future. The Celtics benefit from waiting to change the roster for a few reasons: One, they need to let this group show what it can do in the playoffs again, so that Danny Ainge can more easily make decisions on who will remain as part of its future core. If Avery Bradley can’t stay healthy when it matters, or if Isaiah Thomas gets bottled up in a four-game sweep against Cleveland, Ainge has another data point when deciding if they get max, or near-max extensions. If Jaylen Brown is getting playoff minutes, that can only help a young kid that represents a part of the Celtics’ future. Let’s not be delusional, year four of the post-big three Celtics were never supposed to contend for a championship. They are still way ahead of schedule and they have a top three draft pick coming in a strong draft with one more in 2018 on the way.

So, with optimism about what’s to come and a realistic pessimism about the Celtics chances to win a championship this year, I ask Celtics fans to take a deep breath and enjoy being the average kid in high school with some flaws, but also some potential. It’ll turn our alright in the end.

Jordan: The Celtics should make a move by the deadline

It’s time for Danny Ainge to make a move. We’re more than halfway through the season and the Celtics are good, but not great, nevermind a contender. There are only six trustworthy players in the rotation and three of them are guards.

I know people are optimistic after the win against Houston, but James Harden is the only creator and All-Star caliber player on that team. Toronto has two All-Star caliber players, Cleveland has three, and Golden State has four. It’s not that the Celtics need to have that two, three, four All-Stars to take the next step forward—they need to be able to guard them.

The Celtics have an abundance of guards and a real dearth of size and they need to use the former to solve the latter. I love Avery Bradley (and to a lesser extent Rozier, who can’t even get on the floor most nights) but both of them need to be on the block in order for the Celtics to solve their roster issues. I believe that Ainge is waiting for the deadline to make a move because priority one is to get another star, but if that doesn’t pan out the Celtics are in dire need of a big (and a wing for that matter) to round out the roster. I like Amir Johnson but he can’t move anymore and the Celtics need a rim-protecting rebounder to balance out Al Horford and Kelly Olynyk. And in a league where wings are more important than ever, Jae Crowder cannot be the Celtics only trustworthy option on the wing (and his defense has been hit or miss this season).

I understand the Celtics are biding their time but should their Jimmy Butler dreams not pan out, something still needs to be done at the deadline to balance out this guard-heavy roster.