When the Boston Celtics traded away their 2 best players in the Rajon Rondo deal that sent him to the Dallas Mavericks and then sending Jeff Green away in a deal that returned Tayshaun Prince the forgone conclusion was that the Boston Celtics were tanking the season away and that would be it for Boston this season.
Now, a few short weeks after they sent away their best players, the Celtics find themselves only 2 games out of the final spot in the Eastern Conference playoffs.
We all know how up in the air anything in the East is, so while the opportunity is there, why not go after it? At least until the trade deadline when the C’s can decide if they are sellers for the remainder of the season.
That seems to be the mentality that Celtics head coach Brad Stevens has on his oldest veteran, Tayshaun Prince.
The following from Steve Bulpett of the Boston Herald:
There was strong word that if Prince wasn’t moved by the deadline that the Celtics would seek agreement with him on a buyout of this final year of his contract (he makes a bit more than $7.2 million).
But coach Brad Stevens has taken a strong liking to Prince, who had four points in 17 minutes in last night’s 100-99 win against the Nuggets. It’s fair to assume he may lobby to keep him on the squad the rest of the season if he is not traded. …
And there is also the need to develop the young players on hand, and the C’s believe it’s important to have that happen in an environment where the club is competitive. Stevens believes Prince can help in this regard, both with his talent and leadership.
“I think there’s no question about that, but also there’s the fact that he’s a veteran who knows how to,” the coach said. “The other thing is he just has such great poise and presence.
Prince staying with this young team could be a potentially good thing, especially if they continue to win and sneak into the playoffs. The fans would get behind a team that seems to be an island of misfit toys and scrappy individuals to fight in the playoffs. We all know how much the city of Boston loves their underdogs, point in case, any of the Boston Red Sox teams in the 2000’s.
I wouldn’t be surprised if it went either way for the Celtics, but their GM, Danny Ainge, always seems to have something up his sleeve when you least expect it. If there is no home for Prince come the trade deadline or the Celtics aren’t in the playoff picture, you could see Prince getting shipped off somewhere, maybe somewhere out west in California.
