Avery Bradley and Kelly Olynyk (Photo : NBAE via Getty Images)
The NBA trade rumors always acknowledge that the Boston Celtics have the most trade assets and primed to make a blockbuster trade.
However, all the anticipation has failed to come to fruition for the second season in a row, and with two weeks to the trade deadline, the Celtics still might end up empty handed when it comes to acquiring a superstar.
Could it be that their assets are actually overrated? That was a question that was explored on Fox Sports.
Andrew Lynch made a daring appeal: "Can we stop pretending the Boston Celtics will rule the NBA trade market over the next couple of weeks?"
That has often been the assumption and the Celtics have been paired with any superstar on the NBA trade rumor mill. Lynch argued: "While there are undoubtedly some stellar pieces rattling around the Celtics' cabinets these days - particularly the draft picks from the Brooklyn Nets - the reality of the situation is Boston has nothing to pair with that lottery-based potential."
Lynch made a ranking of the Boston Celtics assets to prove his point. The Brooklyn Nets 2017 pick swap is still at the top. Because it's a loaded draft and the Brooklyn Nets' are the league's worst team, it has a good chance of landing in the top.
But after that, the next valuable asset they have is the 2018 unprotected Brooklyn Nets' pick. Since the Nets do not have their draft pick (they will have Boston's pick late in the first round) it's unlikely they would drastically improve (although nothing is certain-free agency could shock).
The most valuable active player the Celtics have is Avery Bradley who "isn't really saying much. He provides solid value as a 3-point shooter and a defender, but he's also 26 years old and probably won't get much better than he already is."
The rest of the list has rookie Jaylen Brown, Jae Crowder, Marcus Smart and Kelly Olynyk, not really players to get excited about.
A recent report by Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical has the Celtics being linked to names like Paul George or Jimmy Butler. Would the Celtics force a team to give up their superstar with these assets? They might need to look elsewhere, or tone down their expectations.
Why has Danny Ainge failed to make a blockbuster trade? It could be that he's shooting too high but he doesn't really have the artillery to back it up.
