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Not long ago, the Boston Celtics were trudging along in the midst of another disappointing season and appeared in need of a major shakeup. There was plenty of speculation about the future of the Jayson Tatum-Jaylen Brown duo, with other rumors suggesting the Celtics could finally unload Marcus Smart in a deal.
But now with a healthier roster, Boston has turned things around in a big way and looks like a possible contender in the Eastern Conference. Instead of being a seller ahead of Thursday's trade deadline, the Celtics are now in line to be a buyer, according to Sports Illustrated's Chris Mannix.
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There's obviously zero chance the Tatum-Brown duo is getting split up. It's hard to see guys like Marcus Smart or Robert Williams going anywhere either. Al Horford was mentioned in trade rumors before, but he's a key veteran starter who likely isn't getting traded unless it's for a clear upgrade.
Dennis Schroder and Josh Richardson are two names who have been involved in plenty of trade rumors, and Mannix says Boston is still looking at Schroder trades. Teams like the Milwaukee Bucks, Cleveland Cavaliers, Chicago Bulls and Dallas Mavericks have all been mentioned as possible suitors. However, the Celtics don't want to just dump Schroder, with Mannix stating they need at least a rotation player in return.
The same could probably be said of Richardson. There have been rumblings of a trade involving Malik Beasley, though nothing has come to fruition yet.
Boston needs to upgrade its bench and have a lot of unproven young players to dangle in trades. There have also been reports about the Celtics looking to duck the luxury tax ahead of the deadline, but it's unclear if this is still a priority as they shift into buyer mode. They're now 31-25 and have won six games in a row.
