Celtics Stand Pat At Trade Deadline
By Michael Hurley, CBS Boston
BOSTON (CBS) -- Draft picks, assets, big names -- everything was on the table for the Boston Celtics on Thursday. And yet ... nothing.
The Celtics ended up making no moves before the 3 p.m. trade deadline, either electing to hang out to their current players and multitude of draft picks or being unable to find a partner willing to deal.
According to Cavaliers writer Jason Lloyd, the Celtics never made a serious offer to Cleveland for Kevin Love.
Blake Griffin's name had also been bandied about in rumors, but Doc Rivers stated Wednesday that the Clippers would not be trading him.
Dwight Howard was expected to be moved, too, but apparently no teams made serious runs at the big man.
Al Horford was also rumored to be available, and numerous reports linked the Celtics to him, though nothing materialized there.
The Celtics currently sit in third place in the Eastern Conference, 4.5 games behind second-place Toronto and 7.5 games behind Cleveland. They entered the All-Star break on a hot streak, winning 10 of their last 12 games. They next take the court Friday night in Utah.
Celtics president of basketball operations Danny Ainge has stated on Toucher & Rich in recent weeks that the Celtics as currently constituted are not a championship team. But it will now need to be the roster that finishes the season for the Celtics.
"I don't think that we're on the same level as Cleveland, San Antonio and Golden State," Ainge said last week. "I do believe the extraordinary is possible, and we're trying to find a way to improve our team without mortgaging the future or taking unnecessary risks."
It was a generally quiet day around the league, relatively speaking. Markieff Morris was traded from Phoenix to Washington, Channing Frye got sent to Cleveland, and Randy Foye was traded to Oklahoma City. But for the most part, there was no blockbuster to be had in the NBA prior to the deadline.
As it stands now, the Celtics own eight picks in the 2016 draft, most notably the coveted Brooklyn first-rounder.
The Celtics currently sit in third place in the Eastern Conference, 4.5 games behind second-place Toronto and 7.5 games behind Cleveland. They entered the All-Star break on a hot streak, winning 10 of their last 12 games. They next take the court Friday night in Utah.
