Bill Simmons, Zach Lowe Bearish on Celtics Trade Deadline Plan

Boston Celtics President of Basketball Operations Brad Stevens has not made any declarations about what the front office will do to tinker with the roster ahead of the February 5 NBA trade deadline in a few weeks.

The only thing Stevens has commented on was not applying for a disabled player exception in Jayson Tatum's absence due to an Achilles tendon tear this season, claiming that it was a "conscious decision for a lot of reasons."

Is he not adding a DPE because he wants to only subtract money from the books, and not add? Or was it a, "conscious decision for a lot of reasons" because he expects to make a splash to win now with Tatum back by March that would require extra spots?

Bill Simmons and Zach Lowe Sound Bearish on Celtics Making Big Splash

Bill Simmons doesn't sound convinced the team will do anything major in the next month and a half. Zach Low sounded even less convinced that Stevens had an ace up his sleeve on the trade market this trade season.

“They’re missing that one guy… I don’t know what they do,” Simmons said on Wednesday’s episode of “The Bill Simmons Podcast.” “They could try to get under that last tax and really reset the rest of the decade, or they could look around the rest of the East and say f*** it.”

“I don’t think they’re gonna do anything super aggressive regardless of where they are,” Lowe said. “It’s more like, will they sell to cut their tax bill?”

Celtics fans who thought there'd be a more conscious effort to win, given the early results, must hold out hope the winning continues. If it's sustainable, Stevens is more likely to try and improve the roster. The only time he's ever done that was last year, so as not to break up a literal championship roster. It was only after Tatum's injury that Stevens acted.

If the winning is not sustainable, and losses occur more frequently, there'd likely only be salary-clearing moves that'll move the needle toward the NBA Draft lottery.