Robb: It's time for Danny Ainge to deliver necessary upgrades at trade deadline

On trade deadline eve, not much could be going better for the Boston Celtics on the court. Despite a mix of minor injuries to key rotation players over the past three weeks, the C’s have turned back into looking like an Eastern Conference contender in that span, winning five straight and eight of nine overall. Jayson Tatum and Kemba Walker may be the only official All-Stars on the roster but Gordon Hayward and Jaylen Brown are contributing at that level on a regular basis over the past month, carrying a team full of useful role players with flaws and rookies around them along with Marcus Smart and Daniel Theis (both key starting-level talent for this team).

The chemistry looks great and there shouldn’t be any tinkering with the top six key players on the roster, something that isn’t expected on Thursday before 3 p.m. However, the upside that this team has shown right now over the majority of the season now has been eye-opening. They are 35-15 through 50 games with the second-best point differential in the NBA. They have the third-best net rating in the NBA against top-10 teams. Despite not playing at full strength for more than 15 games all year long, they have the statistical profile of a true contender.

This is the best team of the Brad Stevens era but it also has some noticeable holes. There is no reliable seventh or eight-man that the head coach can trust for big minutes in a playoff series. Enes Kanter, Grant Williams, and Brad Wanamaker look great on a Wednesday night in the regular season against the Magic but asking them to chip in and make big shots or defend the perimeter against the experienced bench of the Bucks or Raptors is a whole different kind of challenge. They may or may not be up to that task and surely will get opportunities in the right matchups when the postseason does arrive. Expecting them or other deep bench pieces to contribute at the level needed for the C’s to win a seven-game is a different story altogether in the Eastern Conference.

READ: 15 realistic trade targets for Celtics on deadline day

Ainge has had his reasons to stand pat at recent trade deadlines. Last season, there was too much talent on the roster already that didn’t fit (addition by subtraction would have been helpful). Two years ago, a devastating injury to Hayward on opening night dashed any true title hopes. Before that? The Celtics were hoarding cap space and draft picks to make a big splash.

Now? The Celtics are really good and have a core that isn’t going anywhere. Jaylen Brown, Marcus Smart and Kemba Walker are already locked up on long-term deals. Jayson Tatum will be in short order. Gordon Hayward’s future is murky but it’s hard to see Ainge letting him walk away this offseason even if he opts out. There is no clear All-Star that the team will be targeting this summer with draft picks and young talent via trade as an upgrade. Their contending core could very well be together right now as the top pieces on the roster are ready to win in the present.

It’s not going to be easy in the Eastern Conference though. The Bucks are on pace to win 70 games. The Heat added some serious firepower on Wednesday night with Andre Iguodala and potentially Danilo Gallinari per multiple reports in a three-team swap that was still be constructed on Thursday morning. The Sixers struck early as well, adding a pair of shooting upgrades to their bench in Alec Burks and Glenn Robinson for three low second-round picks.

While guys like Burks or Robinson probably won’t push the needle much in any playoff series, having adequate depth to win games amid injuries and rest over the final two months of the regular season is going to be critical. The race for the No. 2 seed in the East will be the difference between battling a sub .500 squad and a 50-win team highly capable of an upset (likely Indiana or Philadelphia).

The Celtics have excess draft picks and too much youth already so the time is now for Danny Ainge and the front office to get a bit aggressive with his collection of draft picks and rookies at the end of the bench. The success of this team has made the biggest priority the present for this group and that means adding some reliable veteran shooting to a roster that has some holes in that department.

“I think the only way we’d make a move is to improve," Stevens said. "So, that’s why I feel good about -- I think we’ve got a good team, we’ve got a good group of guys. Our front office is good at what they do. If they decide to make a move, it’ll be to improve us and to add to the depth of a good team.”

The type of piece will be important. Someone who fits the system and buys into what the Celtics are doing by catering to their starters will be essential to maintaining the momentum that is going. There are enough guys not playing consistently at the bottom of the roster (Vincent Poirier, Carsen Edwards) where Ainge can feel confident about adding without subtracting anything that matters.

“We’ve talked about the continuity thing,” Stevens said of a possible deal. “I’m not as worried about the continuity thing as much as just the fit with the team. So if we were to add somebody it’s more about fit. We very rarely have continuity in the NBA. I mean, five of my seven years here we’ve changed over half our team before the season starts. So you get used to that pretty quick. But from a standpoint of being able to play with each other, accentuate each other’s positives, play with a role, all that stuff, you have to consider all those things depending on ultimately if you choose to add somebody or not.”

Ainge cost himself a better chance at the NBA Finals once by standing pat in 2018 at the trade deadline while injuries ravaged the depth chart heading into the postseason, forcing Stevens to play a seven-man rotation for much of the Eastern Conference Finals. That type of mistake shouldn’t be made again now for a team with even more promise than that group and also limited depth beyond the top six. Adding in the now would also send a nice message to the present group: We are here to win now.

“We are still going to be confident,” Jayson Tatum told BSJ about the prospect of a deal. “I feel like if they did do something, I just think it would be to enhance us. I don't think they don't feel like we can't compete right now.”

The future is clearly bright for this group but the chance at a title may not get better than this season with no super team formed in either conference. The Celtics look like they are a level below the Bucks, Clippers and Lakers of the world but the difference isn’t drastic. And there’s no guarantee that will continue in the coming years.

“The NBA is a business,” Tatum said. “I just like to stay in the moment. We got a whole different team this year than last year. You never know with trades and stuff like that, you never know where I might be next year. We would all love to be here and hopefully we can keep it together. I just like to try to enjoy what we have now and take it one day at a time and not look at the future because you never know.”

Tatum continued: “It feels good. The vibe is good. We are winning for the most part. Guys are healthy and trying to be. We've been playing well so it's a good place to be right now.”

With the knowledge that the Celtics can make an addition or two without taking away from that positive vibe (by trading picks), the time is now for the C’s to join the trading party for the first time in four seasons. There’s no excuse to stand pat this time around. Barring a sure thing or two waiting for him on the buyout market, the C's should have a busy Thursday.