Celtics Trade Rumors: Danny Ainge, Boston Celtics Have Huge Trade Assets This Year

Celtics trade rumors hold a lot of excitement for Boston fans this season. The newest Boston Celtics trade rumors will impact how the team looks in the 2016 NBA Playoffs and don’t revolve around the team “rebuilding” any longer. While the team still has some work to do to be considered among the elite franchises again, the Celtics have a chance to pull off several deals before the NBA trade deadline. A report from Yahoo! Sports took a look at all the assets that Celtics team president Danny Ainge has to work with.

In addition to having a lot of young players on the current roster, Ainge also has control of all future draft picks for the Boston Celtics. The team also worked hard to attain a lot of additional picks when it broke up the championship team from a few years ago. Some of those assets include the 2016 first-round pick of the Brooklyn Nets, the 2016 first-round pick of the Dallas Mavericks, and three second-round picks in the 2016 NBA Draft. That is in addition to their two picks, bringing the total to seven potential selections that the Celtics could have in 2016.

The Celtics also control the 2016 first-round pick of the Minnesota Timberwolves, but it is lottery protected. If the Wolves miss the playoffs, the team retains its pick, and the Celtics get the second-round selection from Minnesota. That increases the total to eight selections the Celtics will have in the 2016 NBA Draft. The assets don’t end there though. The Celtics also control the 2018 first-round pick of the Brooklyn Nets and the 2019 first-round pick of the Memphis Grizzlies. All of the picks can be traded as the Celtics and Ainge see fit.

Despite the bevy of Boston Celtics trade rumors, including Ainge dealing David Lee and trying to acquire Dwight Howard from the Houston Rockets, the team is under no pressure to make any deals before the NBA trade deadline. In the updated NBA standings, the Celtics hold the fourth playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. Provided there isn’t a second half meltdown by the team, the Celtics could be hosting a first-round series in the 2016 NBA Playoffs. At 28-22 so far, the team could also move into that third seed with a hot streak.

The Celtics are currently over the NBA salary cap, with obligations of just about $78 million for the 2015-16 NBA season. This means that any trade with a team at or above the cap will have to match salaries that are getting exchanged. For instance, in a deal for David Lee and his nearly $15.5 million salary, the Celtics would have to take back salaries close to that number. The only exception is a trade with a franchise far enough under the cap to just absorb that number without going over the cap. The Portland Trail Blazers could be once such team.

As previously reported by The Inquisitr, Danny Ainge is ready to make deals before the NBA trade deadline. Ainge has already been in contact with a number of organizations, though he hasn’t publicly stated what the team is looking for in a deal. It has been hypothesized that the Celtics would like to acquire top-shelf talent if any deal is going to include one of those future first-round picks. Players fitting that description include DeMarcus Cousins and Rudy Gay of the Sacramento Kings, should that team decide to finally break down its current roster.

The NBA trade deadline is on February 18, giving team about two more weeks to make deals. A high number of transactions take place during or around All-Star Weekend, which plays out from February 12-14 this year. There are going to be many more Boston Celtics trade rumors before the deadline hits, but fans can probably rest easy that Danny Ainge isn’t just going to give away the assets he has spent several NBA seasons collecting.

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