NBA trade season: Breaking down the Atlantic Division landscape

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The holidays are upon us, which for some people means the creation of long lists of wishes, scheduled for the North Pole to a certain chubby fellow wearing red and white.

As it so happens, NBA general managers are not so different. They constantly review their own roster constructions, second-guessing the structure of the squads they put together, wishing endlessly for upgrades in their chase for that elusive championship.

(Or course, some general managers wish for more ping-pong balls, but the ultimate goal remains the same.)

These wishes can come true, however, albeit not through the magical workings of Santa, but rather through months and months of relentless, non-stop negotiations, all of which culminate before the Feb. 6 trade deadline.

Given that the NBA schedule is closing in on 30 games played for each team, it’s fair to conclude that most organizations are well aware of where they are, competitively speaking.

As such, we will take a look at which teams are in need of making a move, and how they should approach the trade deadline, with free agents who signed during the offseason becoming eligible to be traded on Sunday.

The Atlantic Division is up first.

The Knicks and Celtics won’t pass up a deal to improve, but making a move won’t be financially easy. (Staff Photo By Stuart Cahill/Boston Herald via Getty Images)

Boston Celtics

Status: Contenders

Approach: Buyers

The Celtics are unquestionably not looking for ping-pong balls, as they’re hoping to repeat as champions.

If a roster upgrade presents itself before the deadline, they’ll more than likely pounce on it, as long as the future financial commitment is reasonable and not too long. After all, the Celtics are over $7 million above the second apron this season and are scheduled to be almost $19 million over next year.

Boston doesn’t have a lot of holes, so the organization won’t go above and beyond to fix a problem that isn’t there. But if it could find a big man who will not only help this year but also help replace Al Horford down the line, it’ll assuredly be interested.

Worth noting, however, is salary matching will prove immensely difficult. Boston cannot…

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Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/nba-trade-season-breaking-down-the-atlantic-division-landscape-160228395.html

Author : Yahoo Sports

Publish date : 2024-12-13 16:02:00

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