Five Reasons Philadelphia 76ers Trade Celtics At NBA Trade Deadline

NBA Rumors have run amok recently. Here are five reasons why the Boston Celtics will trade with the Philadelphia 76ers by NBA trade deadline

The Boston Celtics and Philadelphia 76ers are one of the NBA’s oldest and most heated rivalries. That “heat” has cooled off in recent years, as either or both teams have not hotly contested the NBA Playoffs.

However, that is beginning to change.  The Boston Celtics sit as the second seed in the NBA Eastern Conference, and are playing some good basketball right now. Offensively, the Celtics are among the top ten in the league, currently scoring an average of 108.4 points per game, good for sixth.  Defensively, the team is in the middle of the pack, surrendering 105.6 points per game and only good enough for 15th in the NBA. It’s the perfect scenario for something to happen at NBA Trade deadline.

Short Window of Opportunity

While many see the Boston Celtics as a perennial powerhouse, that is not necessarily the case at all.  The team only has six players contracted through the end of 2018.  It’s 2017 now.  The window to “win it all” is very short in the NBA.  If the Celtics do not penetrate into the NBA Championship this season, fans and players may grow restless.

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Boston is in “Win Now” mode. But so far, the team has only loosely been associated in NBA Rumors, typically with the marquis names.  But Danny Ainge is shrewd, and has not been blind to moves made by the Cleveland Cavaliers nor the Toronto Raptors. Wisely, he now knows the moves of other teams, and can counter punch accordingly. Look for that to happen soon. The serious NBA Trade talks never make the public forum.

The All Star Break placed all 30 NBA team in the same city simultaneously. NBA Executives scout players together, and in doing so, have plenty of opportunity to discuss trade options with potential trade partners.  In fact, that is the likely scenario that found former Philadelphia 76ers executive Sam Hinkie discussing a possible trade of a center to the Boston Celtics last season.

Reason I: Trading Center To Boston Groundwork Laid Last Season

The Boston Celtics and the Philadelphia 76ers have flirted with an NBA trade since the 2016 NBA trade deadline.

The Philadelphia 76ers and the Boston Celtics were oh so close to dealing before the trade deadline in 2016.  But it was the arrival of Jerry and soon to arrive Bryan Colangelo that put the kibosh to that deal.  As a result, Ainge was frustrated and lowered interest in the Philadelphia 76ers centers.

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Celtics Need More

Right now, the Celtics are purring.  But that was not the case when Al Horford was out of the lineup. The Celtics are all too aware of the need to have a significant front court presence to succeed in post season play.   And post season is another level of competition. The Celtics have inundated the roster with young players.  There is simply no room on this roster for the four or five additional players set to arrive in the 2017 NBA Draft.

But the Celtics could harness the power of youth and upside in the front court.  Al Horford is playing in his tenth NBA season.  He has limited time to mentor, and eventually hand off the reigns to a young player.  Either Philadelphia 76ers center would be ideal to assume the post game.

Reason II: Nerlens Noel Fixes Boston Celtics Run In Playoffs This Season

The Boston Celtics have made it to the NBA playoffs, but were turned away in the quarterfinals in the past two years.  This season, the team is entering the playoffs with the center who helped deny them last year.

But the Atlanta Hawks are still winning.  In fact, the Hawks loaded up with wiley veteran Dwight Howard. The Toronto Raptors are winning, and they just loaded up on Serge Ibaka. Even the Cleveland Cavaliers, the defending NBA Champions, are winning and loading up on talent, Kyle Korver was the latest but the Cavaliers are still shopping.

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Boston is a good team, as much as it pains me to say it.  But they are not honed and hardened for a deep playoff run yet.  They have holes that can be exploited.  In fact, they struggle this season against good teams.   Those are the same teams they will face in the playoffs.

The Moment Is Now

Ignore the long term.  The moment for the Celtics is now.  Nerlens Noel is a huge fix to the Celtics. The Celtics need his defense in the paint to get past the good teams.  If the Celtics can defend the interior, that gives fast hand players like Marcus Smart, Avery Bradley, or Isaiah Thomas a chance to get busy and cause turnovers.

What would it cost the Celtics?  Well, at this point in the season, it would likely not be that Nets first round pick.  Since Boston has the Nets pick firmly in hand, and is in a “win now” mode, I would venture that they would be willing to part with small forward Jaylen Brown, and two of the three second round picks in the 2017 NBA Draft.

So what would that look like?

Reason III: Boston Celtics have not been lucky in NBA Draft recently

Despite having eight picks in the 2016 NBA Draft, the Boston Celtics had not uncovered any franchise players in the NBA Draft last year. In fact, the Celtics have selected 20 times in the past five year, at an average of 4 selections per year, and are still in the hunt.

Hoops Habit

The Celtics have uncovered some very good players.  But none rival the franchise changing abilities of a Joel Embiid. Danny Ainge keeps trying, and if he lands the top pick in the 2017 NBA Draft, I believe he may finally get his hands on one in the form of Markelle Fultz.

Markelle Fultz is human though. He will need three years to achieve his potential in the NBA.  Joel Embiid, due to his two years of surgery and rehab, has been the exceptional rookie this year.  His counterpart, Dario Saric, has been honing his craft in the Euroleague.

Eight Picks, So What?

The 2016 NBA Draft had the Boston Celtics picking eight times. Right now, eight draft picks would be hugely beneficial for a team like the Brooklyn Nets or Sacramento Kings.  Boston is competing for championships now.  The team cannot dedicate the energy from coaches and trainers to develop eight, six or even four players.

Plenty of options makes a team sloppy in the draft.  Teams that have many picks go for the higher upside higher risk players for one reason – they only need one good player to make it a success.  The Celtics have four more such opportunities in the 2017 NBA Draft.  But the only pick that matters to the Celtics is the pick from the Brooklyn Nets. All other picks are discretionary currency, to be used in trades.

Reason IV: Toronto and Cleveland Made Moves

As stated earlier, both the Toronto Raptors and Cleveland Cavaliers made moves to improve their respective teams. Boston has not, yet.

Don’t confuse the rhetoric of Boston in hot pursuit of the Chicago Bulls Jimmy Butler fool you. Danny Ainge, much like former 76ers executive Sam Hinkie, only lets the word out when he wants it public.  The Philadelphia 76ers and Boston Celtics deal at last year’s trade deadline fell through when Jerry Colangelo vetoed the matter.  Elder Colangelo did not want the team roster “fixed” before his son could arrive and fix it.

Hoops Habit

So much for rebalancing the 76ers roster.

Penalty Box Expired

But it’s been a year, and the leaked details of the trade have done their damage.  Bryan Colangelo appears inept, and Ainge appears to be the wise sage GM who wanted to make a deal but was shunted at the last minute by the coup in Philly.

Ainge wants a 76ers center.  The 76ers have three, and whether its offense or defense, the 76ers can fill the order with a young high ceiling player.  But which one?

Jahlil Okafor is offense, and his physical presence in the paint is completely undervalued in the public forum. He can dominate today’s NBA game as much as Moses Malone dominated in yesterday’s version of the game.  Yes, Jahlil Okafor needs some work to develop defensive strategies, but in Boston he gets that focus. Would he be enough of a presence in the paint to make an impact?

Okafor Is More

Yes. The Celtics already have Al Horford to carry to load in this year’s post-season.  Okafor would run in with the bench rotations.  But Jahlil Okafor would bring plenty of offense, and he is still capable of rebounding and blocking.  In fact, his 1.08 blocks and 4.8 rebounds in 23 minutes are actually at or better than Horfords 1.53 blocks and 6.6 rebounds in 33 minutes.

Horford scores 14.6 points in 33 minutes. Okaofr scores 11.4 in 23 minutes.

Upgrade.

But what of Nerlens Noel? Noel is in his final season under his current contract.

Reason V: Nerlens Noel would re-sign with Boston

The hurdle with any team’s interest in pursuing Nerlens Noel is the ability to re-sign him to an affordable long term deal. He has never shied away from letting Boston know he would love to play for the Celtics:

And right now, Boston’s team is ideally suited for the Nerlens Wall.  Boston is set up in a small ball lineup, and Danny Ainge is shrewd enough to know the fit is ideal. Noel may not possess the physicality of Okafor, he makes up for in agility and finesse.  Noel does not bring huge scoring skills to the table. Fortunately, for the Celtics, he doesn’t need to.

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Shut Down Center

Noel does give the Celtics the ability to shut down the opponent scoring in the paint.  He forces teams to focus more on the perimeter.  While that has not always benefited the 76ers, the Celtics are structured to capitalize on it.

So what is the cost of an NBA championship?  For a sure thing, the sky is the limit.  But how certain is an NBA Championship with Noel? Hmm.   It’s a tough call.  I do not see the current Boston Celtics roster getting there.  Before competing teams improved, Boston could not defeat them. Now, the Celtics are further behind.

Next: Trade Rumors: Will Jahlil Okafor Get Dealt?

Nerlens Noel or Jahlil Okafor can place the Boston Celtics over the top today.  And with the gift of the Brooklyn Nets picks, the Celtics can afford to take a chance now.   The window is closing on Danny Ainge, deal or no deal.  It’s time to make a move Danny.  Now.