After making it to the Eastern Conference Finals last season, ultimately coming up short of making the NBA Finals, the Boston Celtics indeed this season with almost the same team minus Gordon Hayward and Enes Kanter. However, they did add Tristan Thompson and rookie guard Payton Pritchard to help bolster their depth and bench. 

To keep things short, the Celtics are pretty much the same team and unless that changes, this team is not going to make the NBA Finals. Jaylen Brown is making his first All-Star game appearance this year and Jayson Tatum will be making his second straight appearance, but these two along with Kemba is not enough in the East anymore. 

The Philadelphia 76ers, Brooklyn Nets and Milwaukee Bucks all have All-Star caliber trios and stand in the way of the Boston Celtics having a chance to make the NBA Finals. Tatum, Brown and Walker are all fantastic players, but this Celtics team does not have any other reliable players on their roster besides these three guys. 

Their bench is one of the worst in the league in terms of offensive production, their frontcourt is a mess and their offense is very stagnant at times when all three superstar players are not on the court together. As a result, unless the Celtics make a big move ahead of the trade deadline, they could once again make it to the Eastern Conference Finals and come up short of making the NBA Finals. 

RELATED: NBA Trade Rumors: 5 intriguing players who could be moved at NBA trade deadline

This is why the Celtics need to do everything they can to trade for Nikola Vucevic and should be willing to give up as many draft picks as possible to bring him to Boston. He is the missing piece in their championship puzzle and by acquiring him, the Celtics could very much make a case that they are the team to beat in the East. 

Let’s take a look at what a trade scenario by Bleacher Report’s Grant Hughes involving Nikola Vucevic could look like, especially since a third team would be getting involved in this trade scenario.