You’re likely to hear plenty of predictions between now and the Feb. 8 NBA trade deadline, most of which will go wrong.
Here’s one that will surely be spot-on: The Boston Celtics won’t make any dramatic deals.
They made their splashes over the offseason, when they added both Kristaps Porziņģis and Jrue Holiday. Plus, they had one of the league’s best rosters even before those additions, so the need for substantial tweaks is nonexistent.
Boston could still poke around the margins for ways to upgrade its bench, but as it does, it should avoid the following three potential targets.
Davion Mitchell is a prime candidate for a scenery change. The No. 9 pick of the 2021 draft was a high-mileage rotation regular for the Kings as a rookie, but he’s seen his role get repeatedly sliced ever since.
The third-year guard isn’t even getting nightly minutes anymore, as Sacramento has seemingly concluded that his dogged on-ball defense isn’t enough to outweigh his limitations as a scorer and shooter.
Theoretically, Boston could take a flier in an attempt to give its backup backcourt more bite on the defensive end.
In reality, though, he needs developmental minutes that the Celtics simply can’t afford to give. And given how many other stoppers they have on the roster, they would rarely—if ever—find themselves in a position of needing Mitchell’s defense more than Payton Pritchard’s offense.
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