Danny Ainge expects: "trade talks to heat up in mid-december"


On his weekly radio appearance on Toucher and Rich, Celtics President of Basketball Operations Danny Ainge said that he has been actively engaged in trade talks with various teams. However, Ainge noted that these discussions at this point in the season are relatively exploratory, but can ultimately lead to something that develops down the line. Via A.Sherrod Blakely, CSNNE.com:

“There’s a lot of talk that leads nowhere and groundwork that leads to something,” Ainge said in his weekly conversation with 98.5 The Sports Hub’s Toucher & Rich show. “Teams are still trying to feel what their team is, what direction they’re headed, what the mix is, the fit.”

At this point, teams are just under a quarter of the way into the season - the Celtics have played 18 of their 82 games. You can start to see what your team does well, and on the contrary the warts will start to become apparent. Boston, as well as a handful of other teams I'm sure, may have a muddier vision of how good their team actually is due to early injuries. Although, there's certainly one area we can all agree they need addressed:


When the other team is grabbing a rebound between two of your guys - WHILE LAYING ON THE FLOOR - it's safe to say you have a problem.

Ainge went on to say that usually the middle of December is when teams will start to have an idea of where their team is at, and talks turn more serious:

“[Now] It’s not the time of year where there’s a lot of activity for a lot of different reasons,” Ainge said. “From the middle of December through the middle of February, it’s really heated up and we anticipate our phones will be ringing.”

Aside from the teams assessing their own players, as well as potential targets around the NBA, December 15th happens to be the date that players who were signed to new contracts in the offseason can be traded. Then all of the guys who got signed to one year deals on teams who thought hoped they would be good can be sold in the inevitable fire sale - sup Dallas.

It might not be trade season quite yet, but we're getting warmer.


Photo Credit - John Wilcox/Boston Herald

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