A guide for Celtics fans ahead of the trade deadline

The Boston Celtics have stumbled over the past two months, yet the top is still well within reach. After going 13-10 since December 7th, they’re still within 4.5 games of the Cavs, who hold the best record in the East. They’re only 1 additional game behind the Thunder, who now have the best record across the league. We’re over half way through the season, but there’s still plenty of basketball to be played.

You would think that each team’s tier assignments would be more or less set at this point in the season, but with the trade deadline looming, things may be as volatile as ever. Here’s a look at where things stand as of today.

*Records and standings as of January 27, 2024*

Top Threats:

Oklahoma City Thunder – 1st in West (37-8, 1-0 vs Cs): OKC’s excellence has continued, even as they remain short-handed. They’re certainly the favorites to come out of the West, and may even be the overall favorites. They hold the best record in the league, while potentially being able to bring their 7’1” unicorn back into the mix within the next month. If Nikola Jokic didn’t exist, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander might have had a firm grip on that MVP trophy. He’s truly reached super-stardom, and OKC has built a very well-rounded roster around him. I don’t expect them to be active at the trade deadline, but they do have an abundance of picks, as well as a number of young players who may command larger contracts in the near future. Maybe Sam Presti leverages those to solidify this team as title favorites. Regardless, they’re at worst top-2.

New York Knicks – 3rd in East (36-16 || 0-1 vs Cs): The Knicks have continued to cook. Jalen Brunson and Karl Anthony-Towns were both named All-Star starters, and deservedly so. They’re currently leading New York to the #2 ranked offensive rating. Mikal Bridges, OG Anunoby, and Josh Hart have been complimenting them perfectly, while also heading the team’s defensive efforts. Mitchell Robinson should be making his season debut within the next month, which will provide some much-needed relief to this team as they try to get to the playoffs rested and healthy. They don’t have to make any moves at the deadline – they’re comfortably towards the top of the contender conversations.

Denver Nuggets – 4th in West (28-17 || 0-1 vs Cs): After a slow start to the season, the Nuggets have started to put the pieces together. It helps knowing that they’ll always have the best player on the floor. Nikola Jokic is having another unreal season, and I wholeheartedly expect him to bring home another MVP trophy. Jamal Murray has looked much better over the past month than he did earlier in the season. Aaron Gordon missed significant time, but he’s also back in the lineup for them now. Denver is building momentum, and could very well make a push back to the finals. I wouldn’t expect them to be especially active on the trade market, but I also wouldn’t be surprised if they tried to make some minor trades to shore up their bench.

Other Potential Challengers:

Cleveland Cavaliers – 1st in East (36-9 || 1-1 vs Cs): Cleveland has hit their first rough patch of the season, slowing down their historic win-pace. They’re on a three-game losing streak, and have a record of 4-5 in their last nine games. Part of that may be them coming back down to reality, while part of it can be attributed to absences from guys like Evan Mobley, Caris Levert, Isaac Okoro, and Dean Wade. They still stand 4.5 games above the Celtics for the top seed in the East, but they now fall 1 game behind OKC for the best overall record. They’re elite, but have shown signs of weakness. We’ll have to see how they respond to this skid, but for now they are still firmly considered contenders.

Dallas Mavericks – 9th in West (24-22 || 0-1 vs Cs): Luka Doncic has missed over half the season, yet the Mavericks are still above .500. Their offseason moves all seem to have been hits, and Kyrie has been playing at a very high level again. Despite their record, it’s hard not to say they look better than last year. Luka is expected to return before the All-Star break, so it’ll be hard to pass a legitimate judgement on this team until after then. As for deadline moves, they were rumored to be shopping Daniel Gafford, but with Derrick Lively sidelined for an extended period of time their plans might have shifted. Given their success last year, they could easily be considered the favorites to come out of the West this year without having to make any new moves.

Houston Rockets – 2nd in West (30-14 || 0-1 vs Cs): Houston, you have surprised me. I did not expect this team to steadily stay as good as they have been all season. They overcame their offensive struggles at the beginning of the year by anchoring themselves on defense, and now their offense is catching up. Their roster is very well rounded, but I strongly believe their biggest X-Factor has been Amen Thompson. He may not be a great shooter, but outside of that it feels like there’s nothing he can’t do at a high level. He’s an exceptional defender, slasher, and rebounder, and in my opinion needs a lot more love in the Most Improved conversation. Houston definitely doesn’t have to make any moves to remain in contention, so I expect them to have a quiet deadline.

Milwaukee Bucks – 4th in East (25-18 || 0-3 vs Cs): Milwaukee has been steadily trending up. Giannis and Dame have been playing like the stars they are, and guys like Gary Trent Jr., A.J. Green, and Taurean Prince have all been giving the Bucks a nice lift. The Bucks are likely in the contender conversation, but only on the fringes. They’ve been rumored to have interest in acquiring Jimmy Butler, and have also reportedly been shopping Khris Middleton, Bobby Portis, and Pat Connaughton to clear up salary while chasing a third star to play along Giannis and Dame. I expect them to be active at the deadline, and if they are, they might just be swinging for the fences again.

Memphis Grizzlies – 3rd in West (31-15 || 1-0 vs Cs): The Grizzlies may just be the deepest team in the league. It feels like they legitimately have 15 solid rotation guys on their roster. A clean injury report still eludes them, but they’ve stacked up the wins, positioning themselves nicely to get a top seed in the West. They may be in the most unique spot where it feels like they have to make a move, not because they’re not good enough, but because they have too many good players who can’t all play every game. I’d be surprised if they didn’t make an effort to consolidate some of their talent and up their star power, sending out multiple guys to bring in someone like Cameron Johnson, who they’ve been linked to for some time now. Regardless, Memphis is in a great spot to compete.

Los Angeles Lakers – 5th in West (25-18 || 1-0 vs Cs): The Lakers are almost at full strength, recently welcoming Jarred Vanderbilt back from his extended absence. With his return to the lineup, Los Angeles’s defense just got more dynamic. It’s been one of their biggest weaknesses this year, but if Vando is able to consistently make the impact they expect him to, it could really turn things around for the Lakers. They’re still sure to be involved in the trade market at the request of Anthony Davis and LeBron. Expect names like Rui Hachimura, Christian Wood, and Jalen Hood-Schifino to be tossed around in rumors as LA tries to strengthen their roster.

Sneaky Teams to Watch:

Los Angeles Clippers – 6th in West (26-19 || 0-2 vs Cs): I’ll give it to the Clippers – I didn’t expect them to be where they are at this point in the season. They’ve hung their hats on the defensive end, and that’s bound to get better with Kawhi Leonard back in the lineup. He’s been on a minutes restriction, and is likely to avoid back-to-backs potentially for the rest of his career, but that doesn’t matter to LAC as long as he’s healthy. At this point, they just need to give him and the team more time to find their rhythm together. I can easily see them staying pat at the deadline, letting this team ride the season out.

Indiana Pacers – 5th in East (25-20 || 2-1 vs Cs): The Pacers are slowly getting back to the team we saw last year. Tyrese Haliburton’s shooting has considerably improved from the start of the season, and they’ve been getting solid contributions across the board. Honestly, I don’t think they have the star power to be considered a contender just yet, but they’re knocking on the door. They might not even have to make a big move to get there, instead simply allowing their guys continue to grow in their roles. They need to tighten things up on defense, but they’re getting their pace back up, and their offense is starting to look deadly again.

Minnesota Timberwolves – 7th in West (24-21 || 0-2 vs Cs): If you’re comparing this season to last season, the Timberwolves have undoubtedly been a disappointment – yet, you still can’t count them out. Anthony Edwards has some maturing to do. He’s still very good at putting the ball in the basket. When the Wolves are clicking, they can really get things going. They still have a few months to figure out how to do that consistently. Rob Dillingham has finally been getting considerable playing time, and is making the most of it. Donte DiVincenzo was finding his shot before being sidelined with a toe injury, too. If Minnesota is looking to make a move, it’ll likely be something minor to improve their depth, but they’re not in a bad spot right now.

Orlando Magic – 7th in East (24-23 || 1-1 vs Cs): After an electric start to the season, Orlando was hit with a slew of injuries which made the waters murky. Lucky for them, they haven’t been beating opposing teams on star power, rather by outworking them. Despite struggling on offense for much of the season, the Magic have an extremely physical, top-ranked defense which keeps them in games. With Franz Wagner and Paolo Banchero back now, they have a good chance to start trending back up. I’m not sure if they’ll be buyers just yet, but they could try to up their offensive firepower if the right deals come around.

Phoenix Suns – 8th in West (23-21): Phoenix is on the brink of implosion, but they may be able to salvage things before it reaches the breaking point. They have very openly and actively trying to bring in Jimmy Butler from the Heat. The issue is that would require moving Bradley Beal, who inexplicably has a no-trade clause. Not many teams want his contract, including Miami, and he’s not willing to waive his NTC to most teams anyways. It seems to have hurt the relationship between Beal and the Suns, and to make matters worse, Jusuf Nurkic seems to have a strained relationship with the team too. Given the unpleasant environment, Phoenix’s season may hinge on their ability to get this Jimmy deal done, though there’s no guarantee that would be a solution either.

Atlanta Hawks – 9th in East (22-23 || 2-1 vs Cs): Atlanta has the potential to make things interesting if they can manage a playoff spot. They’ve already shown that they can challenge and beat some of the top teams. Jalen Johnson, when healthy, is a rising star. Trae Young is one of the most overlooked players when we talk about stars as well. Add in the tenacity of Dyson Daniels, and the increased reliability of Onyeka Okongwu and De’Andre Hunter, and you have something to work with. I expect Atlanta to be buyers this year, testing the value of Bogdan Bogdanovic and Clint Capela to see if they can manage to become a more well-rounded team. They may not be a top team, but they’re not a team I would overlook either.

Wouldn’t Worry:

Sacramento Kings – 10th in West (23-22 || 1-0 vs Cs): After signing him to a three-year extension over the offseason, Sacramento didn’t like what they saw from their head coach, Mike Brown, and decided to cut ties. They promoted Doug Christie to interim head coach, and since taking over, Sacramento has turned their season around. In that time, they’re 10-4, and now hold the final play-in spot. I expect them to make an effort to improve their bench, however I don’t know how much success they’ll have with that. They still have a bit of ground to cover before they can contend, but things aren’t nearly as grim as they were in December.

Detroit Pistons – 6th in East (23-22 || 0-3 vs Cs): I love what Detroit is doing this year. For all you baseball fans reading this, it’s slightly reminiscent of a Moneyball season. Detroit has the lowest salary in the league, partly because they drafted most of their guys, and partly because they took a chance on a few guys who didn’t have very team-friendly contracts just a season ago, each one of them panning out in some capacity. The biggest difference has been the availability and ascension of Cade Cunningham, someone who I believe should be a lock for the East’s All-Star team this year. With Detroit currently in the playoff picture, I would be surprised if they didn’t become buyers, assuming that the right players are made available. They’re still a bit away from being contenders, but this is a huge step forward from where they were last year, and is definitely something they can build on.

Miami Heat – 8th in East (22-22 || 0-1 vs Cs): Things are getting ugly in Miami. Tyler Herro has been having a stellar season, and Miami’s first-round pick, Kel’el Ware seems to be breaking out. Unfortunately, those efforts are being over shadowed by Jimmy Butler’s intent on imploding the team before jumping ship. It doesn’t help that Bam Adebayo and Terry Rozier have been having underwhelming seasons. I’d be extremely surprised if Jimmy is still on the roster post-deadline. Pat Riley wants to get win-now players back in return, but until that happens, Miami just doesn’t have a whole lot of firepower, and the vibes are horrendous. If they manage to get the deal done, they could still make something of this season, though.

Golden State Warriors – 11th in West (22-23 || 1-1 vs Cs): We may actually be seeing the official end of the Warriors dynasty this year. Steph Curry is still incredible, but not as dominant anymore. His supporting cast isn’t giving him much support either. He seems to be very clear about his desire for the team to make some moves, but ownership is going to have to decide whether they want to sacrifice their young players and picks for another shot at extending Steph’s career with them. I don’t think they become sellers until next season at the earliest, but I’m willing to bet teams have been inquiring about Steph and Draymond’s availability. We’ll have to wait to see if they can manage to move the needle, but as things stand, the Warriors probably don’t have the juice this year.

Philadelphia 76ers – 11th in East (17-27 || 1-0 vs Cs): Let’s be real, we might not have known it was going to be this bad, but we all saw something like this coming. Joel Embiid and Paul George have never been known for their availability. Tyrese Maxey is a stud, though, and it’s been nice to see ex-Celtic Guerschon Yabusele make the most of his opportunities on this team. Philly is in limbo this season, and could legitimately miss the playoffs. They owe their pick to OKC (of course), but it is top-6 protected, so if they decide to call this season, they’re going to have to commit hard to losing so they can retain that pick. Otherwise, I think they make an effort to bolster up their roster and see if they can salvage it somehow. If healthy, they may have enough talent to compete, but that’s a HUGE if with this team.

San Antonio Spurs – 12th in West (20-23): This Spurs team might not make the play-in, but they’re building something special here. If you haven’t bought in to the Wemby hype yet, what are you doing? Bringing in Chris Paul and drafting Stephon Castle has only unlocked him further, and we can’t discount the steps forward that Devin Vassell, Jeremy Sochan, Keldon Johnson, and Julian Champagnie have also taken. I personally think that San Antonio should let this season play out and allow their young players to grow. I wouldn’t be surprised if they became buyers to make a playoff push with the right market, though.

Pritchard Takeover Nights:

New Orleans Pelicans – 14th in West (12-34 || 0-1 vs Cs): It’s been a season from hell for New Orleans. The lone bright spot has been Yves Missi, who they selected with the 21st pick in this past draft. They own their own pick this year, and at this rate, they may want to do everything they can to increase its stock. There were rumors early on that they wanted to move Brandon Ingram by the trade deadline. At this point, the only three guys I would say should be untouchable for them (unless they get a very good offer, obviously) are Yves, Herb Jones, and Trey Murphy. New Orleans has been seeing slightly shorter injury reports, which has somewhat convinced them to keep trying, but I think it’s time to pull the plug on this season.

Portland Trail Blazers – 13th in West (17-29): Portland has possibly been the most intriguing bad team this year, and they’ve been doing it under the radar. Until facing off against the top-seeded Thunder yesterday, they were on a 4-game win streak. They have a number of young guys who have been showing their upside – Anfernee Simons, Deni Avdija, Shaedon Sharpe, Scoot Henderson, Toumani Camara, Donovan Clingan, and Dalano Banton leading that charge. I wouldn’t expect them to be buyers yet, but they do have a solid core to develop and build around now. Guys like Jerami Grant, Deandre Ayton, and Robert Williams could bring Portland a decent return if they decided they wanted to open up their rotations while bringing in future assets, but I don’t think the Blazers would be upset if they stuck around either. They seem to be on the rise, although they aren’t anywhere near contention with this current roster construction.

Toronto Raptors – 13th in East (13-32 || 1-2 vs Cs): The Raptors have a decent idea about their franchise cornerstones right now, but they’re still a team that’s far from being built for success. RJ Barrett, Scottie Barnes, and Gradey Dick are leading the pack, but they don’t have any real chemistry yet. Between Jakob Poeltl, Ochai Agbaji, Davion Mitchell, Chris Boucher, and Immanuel Quickley they have an interesting supporting cast, but nothing eye popping, especially when Quickley has barely been available this season. It’s been reported that Toronto wants to be involved as a facilitating team in any Jimmy Butler trade. They also have been actively shopping Bruce Brown, and may find other teams interested in Kelly Olynyk as well. I expect them to be active in the market, but I don’t see them doing anything significant enough to bump up their rank in the tier list. If anything, they might be sellers taking on bad contracts in exchange for picks.

Chicago Bulls – 10th in East (19-27 || 1-2 vs Cs): There’s not a whole lot going on in Chicago. They have a number of decent players, but they never seem to be able to string together consecutive good games. The Bulls are trending down, and are expected to become sellers so they can commit to a better future. Names like Zach Lavine, Nikola Vucevic, Torey Craig, Lonzo Ball, and Talen Horton-Tucker have all been thrown around in trade rumors. It’s to be seen whether the Bulls find a deal to their liking by the deadline, though. They have a history of holding out for too long, which is part of the reason they’re in this spot.

Charlotte Hornets – 12th in East (12-30 || 0-2 vs Cs): Prior to the start of the season, I thought this might be the year where the Hornets finally start heading in the right direction. I was wrong. LaMelo Ball has great numbers on paper, and is easily one of the top guards in the East. It’s hard to see that value when you consider Charlotte’s lack of success and look at the volume he shoots with. They have something to build around between him, Brandon Miller, and Mark Williams, but the three have a hard time staying healthy. The Hornets don’t have much more to sell at this point, but I wouldn’t be surprised to see them take on a bad contract or two to facilitate other teams’ trades.

Brooklyn Nets – 14th in East (14-32 || 0-2 vs Cs): Brooklyn has been very active in trade talks throughout the season. They already shipped out Dennis Schroeder to Golden State and Dorian Finney Smith to Los Angeles. Teams have also steadily been trying to pry away Cameron Johnson, and guys like Cam Thomas, Nic Claxton, and Day’Ron Sharpe have also had their names thrown around as potential trade targets. As of now, D’Angelo Russell seems to be the one leading this team, which might have been saying something back in 2019, but doesn’t amount to much these days. They’ll be staying out of contention for the foreseeable future.

Utah Jazz – 14th in West (10-33): Utah currently holds the second worst record in the NBA. There’s really not much to it. They’re likely going to be sellers at the deadline, with teams expected to make calls about Collin Sexton, Walker Kessler, John Collins, and Jordan Clarkson. Lauri Markkanen inked a long-term deal prior to the start of the season, so he’s sticking around for no. Depending on who and what Utah has past the trade deadline, we should get a better idea of what kind of timeline they’re on. They are firmly at the bottom of the West this year, though.

Washington Wizards – 15th in East (6-38 || 0-3 vs Cs): The Wizards are currently on pace to have the 7th worst win percentage in league history. That should tell you enough. They have some fun young players who could be on the rise like Bilal Coulibaly, and rookies Alex Sarr and Bub Carrington. That’s about it. Expect them to try to sell players like Jordan Poole, Kyle Kuzma, Malcom Brogdon, and Jonas Valanciunas at the deadline, and don’t be surprised if they take on a few other bad contracts in return. They’re not winning anything anytime soon.