The 3 p.m. trade deadline came and went without any action for the Celtics on Thursday afternoon, a source confirmed to BostonSportsJournal.com. Boston stood pat at the trade deadline when it comes to additions for the fourth straight season, leaning instead on a roster that's been meshing well but plagued with injuries. The possibility remains in play that the team adds help via the buyout market but they will need to waive a player from the 15-man roster to open up the roster spot.
Across the Eastern Conference, there wasn’t a lot of movement following a busy night for the Sixers and Heat on Wednesday. The Bucks, Raptors and Pacers all stood pat while James Ennis was dumped by the Sixers to help open up a spot for Glenn Robinson III and Alec Burks who were acquired yesterday from Golden State.
The Heat provided the biggest makeover to their roster, finalizing a trade that brought aboard Jae Crowder, Andre Iguodala and Solomon Hill in exchange for Dion Waiters, Justise Winslow and James Johnson. It’s debatable how much of an upgrade Crowder/Hill will be on Waiters/Johnson but Miami did manage to clear up some salary cap room for next season by dumping their contracts along with Winslow for a veteran piece in Iguodala.
There were plenty of bigger deals across the Western Conference including a blockbuster by the Warriors and Wolves with Andrew Wiggins and D’Angelo Russell. The Clippers used a first-round pick and Moe Harkless to land former Celtics Isaiah Thomas and Marcus Morris as well.
The most confusing one of the bunch? The Cavs taking on Andre Drummond and his $28 million salary for next season for essentially nothing.
Even though there was no deal, there is no clarity yet about the C’s standing pat in this roster. With lots of players on expiring deals (playing for bad deals) set to be buyout in the coming days, I’d expect the C’s to be busy lobbying for some of the better pieces on the market with some realistic playing time that can be earned off the bench. We will go over those possibilities in the coming hours here at BSJ.
