The Boston Celtics have cooled off a bit since their extremely hot start to the 2022-23 season, but they still remain the team to beat in the Eastern Conference for the time being. Heading into the 2023 NBA Trade Deadline, they don't necessarily have to make a trade, but they have a few areas on their roster that could use some reinforcements.
The C's have one of the deepest backcourts in the NBA, as it's gotten to the point where Payton Pritchard, who is a very talented offensive guard, is barely playing over ten minutes per game. The frontcourt has depth as well, but adding another wing player behind Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown, or a better third center than Luke Kornet, would make a lot of sense.
Boston has been involved in several rumors ahead of the deadline, and it will be interesting to see whether they stand pat or if they decide to pull off a trade to add onto their current roster. With the deadline less than 48 hours away now, let's take a look at one last minute trade the Celtics should pull off in an effort to aid their championship hopes this season.
Celtics last minute trade: Acquire Kelly Olynyk
First, a bit of a disclaimer. We have all seen the recent comments Pritchard made in which he seems to be hinting that he wants a bigger role somewhere else if the Celtics aren't going to give it to him, and trade speculation obviously ran rampant. While trading him may become a popular outlet to consider, Boston needs Pritchard as an insurance policy behind injury prone guards in Marcus Smart and Malcolm Brogdon. Trading him simply does not make sense right now.
Trading away any key member of their rotation doesn't really make sense for the Celtics. This is a group that, aside from Brogdon, has been playing basketball together for about a year now. They have some bad habits they fall into from time to time, but from top to bottom, this group is clearly extremely comfortable playing together. Breaking up that core group at the deadline seems unwise.
Adding another familiar face to the group, though, makes a lot of sense. Enter Kelly Olynyk, who initially began his career with Boston before bouncing around the league. Olynyk has spent the season with the Utah Jazz, and he would immediately fill a couple of different needs for the C's if he were to be picked up at the deadline.
Olynyk is having one of the best seasons of his career for the Jazz (11.5 PPG, 5 RPG, 3.3 APG, 48.8 FG%, 39.6 3P%) and will likely be moved ahead of the deadline as they continue their rebuild. The Celtics need another big man, and adding another floor spacer for their offense will only make them more dangerous than they currently are.
Entering the season, it was clear that Boston needed a third center behind Robert Williams III and Al Horford. Grant Williams is rarely being used as an undersized center this season, and Noah Vonleh was dumped to the San Antonio Spurs after having a small role early in the season. That has left Kornet, who really cannot be counted on as a championship team's third center.
Olynyk is everything this team needs. He can come off the bench and spell either Williams or Horford some rest, as he can technically operate as both a center and power forward, and keeping this dominant duo fresh for the playoffs is going to be extremely important.
It's also clear that Olynyk's game perfectly compliments Williams' and Horford. Playing alongside Williams, Olynyk can simply space the floor, where he is shooting a strong 39.6 percent from behind the arc. With Horford, both of these guys are versatile enough to get buckets in the paint and at the three. It would put opposing defenses in an interesting spot when they would both be on the court at the same time.
Defensively, Olynyk isn't necessarily anything special, although he is another guy who can chip in on the glass, which is another thing Boston could use even if it's not exactly a pressing need. When you add in the fact that Olynyk has ties in Boston, it makes perfect sense for the C's to explore making this move.
Making a flashier move for a guy like Jakob Poeltl sounds nice, but considering his pending free agent status, and the fact that he would have to play behind Williams and Horford, it just doesn't make a ton of sense. Olynyk fits the role, and has familiarity with this team. He was exasperating during his first stint with the team, but Olynyk may be just what this team needs to reach their championship aspirations this season.
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