When people mention the Eastern Conference in the National Basketball Association, the first team that comes to mind is the Cleveland Cavaliers. That is why the Boston Celtics have passed on a deal that involves Carmelo Anthony in an attempt to land either Paul George or Jimmy Butler and to possibly surpass the defending champs.
The Celtics have a plethora of picks and players to make a blockbuster deal happen that would include either George or Butler. Boston holds the rights of the Brooklyn Nets' 2017 first round draft pick and they can offer players in their rosters that would be of value to other teams.
According to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports, instead of entertaining the Anthony trade, the Celtics are focused on acquiring "younger and more well-rounded stars" in Butler and George. However, even if Indiana Pacers president Larry Bird has close ties to the Celtics, he has been vocal that Indiana has no plans of letting go of their star forward.
In Butler's case, there is still uncertainty whether the Chicago Bulls want him for the long term after being at tension with the Bulls' front office a few days ago. Chicago, which signed Butler to a five-year, $95 million contract in July 2015, still has not released a statement whether they want to keep their biggest star but 'Jimmy Buckets' said he loves playing for the Bulls, Bleacher Report reported.
George is averaging 22.5 points, 6.2 rebounds and 3.4 assists in his seventh year in the league while Butler, who was named in the Eastern Conference All-Star squad, is averaging 24.6 points, 6.5 rebounds and 4.8 assists.
The NBA trade deadline is on Feb. 23 and teams around the Association only have more than week to make moves. In the case of Celtics, they are taking things slow to land a star that would change the course in the East, and possibly get them over the Cavaliers.