Are the Boston Celtics aligning themselves for a big trade?

The Boston Celtics have had an interesting offseason, to say the least.

The running joke revolving around the Boston Celtics over the past decade-plus was that this team was always the one that “nearly” pulled the trigger on the big trade. However, that was when Danny Ainge was calling the shots. He’s not longer doing so.

As his replacement, Brad Stevens has been everything but gunshy. In just a few weeks on the job, Stevens has already pulled the trigger on trading Kemba Walker, acquiring Josh Richardson via trade, and signed one of the best free agents (Dennis Schroder) to an absurdly cheap, and practically risk-free, contract.

But he hasn’t stopped there.

More from Sir Charles In Charge

In addition to making some smart trades and signings, he’s also made some great decisions on extensions. The Celtics reached agreements on contract extensions with Marcus Smart and Robert Williams, two of the team’s important young pieces of their puzzle.

Quietly, though, you have to imagine that those extensions don’t just lock in those players for the next few seasons. They also give the Celtics some flexibility that they could potentially need when it comes to navigating through the trade market.

To have those two valuable assets locked up to extensions matters when a trade opportunity presents itself in the future for the Celtics. And that’s exactly what Boston could be setting themselves up with heading into the 2021-22 season and then, ultimately, into next offseason.

What do the Boston Celtics have in mind?

The Celtics were relatively quiet this offseason and didn’t make any huge, rash moves. They maintained their flexibility – even with the extensions – as they wait for another star to potentially hit the open market.

One potential name to keep an eye on is Bradley Beal. His situation is still very much unresolved – at least until he signs another contract extension with the Washington Wizards or indicates he wants out – and until that corrects itself, he’s certainly a potential target. Especially for a team such as the Celtics.

The Celtics are the one team that have the ammunition to outbid nearly every other team in their pursuit of Beal and they’ve continued to laid the foundation for that this offseason with nearly every move they’ve made thus far.

Next. NBA Rumors: A Christmas Day return for Klay Thompson?. dark

Boston didn’t go for gold this offseason and I find that very peculiar. Perhaps they have something bigger on their minds heading into the next few months. Either way, I can’t help but think that Boston did a lot of “getting their ducks in a row” this offseason in regards to a potential future move.

Home/Boston Celtics