“We will be back” or phrases similar to the quoted text was a popular line bandied around by Boston Celtics players, relatives of players, fans and some in the team’s top hierarchy. Considering the team’s youthfulness, it is very possible they run it back and get to the NBA Finals next season.

The team is very young; so young the only player on the roster beyond age 30 is Al Horford with its main pieces-Jaylen Brown, Jayson Tatum and Marcus Smart- all 28 years old and younger; Smart is the oldest at 28.

This means as Tatum and Brown continue to grow into their prime years, Boston can turn its aspirations into reality. Aside the team’s youthfulness, these Celtics are talented, athletic and versatile as Tatum, Brown and Smart play as many as three positions while Robert Williams can play center and power forward just as Derrick White can play point guard and shooting guard. Grant Williams is the team’s younger less offensive orchestrating version of Draymond Green but a better shooter.

Boston’s youthfulness even on the sidelines hurt the team in the Finals against the grizzled Golden State Warriors and cost them a title. The Warriors knew how to pace themselves, striking when Boston was vulnerable especially in clutch situations. For the record, Boston was one of the worst teams in clutch situations - the final three minutes in games - in the NBA last season, and it showed in the latter half of the Finals. Injuries and a heavy workload bothered Boston Celtics in the finals as Golden State dispatched Luka Doncic and Dallas Mavericks in five games winning the best of seven games series 4-1.

In the Eastern Conference, Boston had to labour to overcome the Miami Heat in seven games (4-3) to make it to the NBA Finals. The Warriors had a two game rest period on the Celtics and had less injury worries to deal with than Boston. Aside from a brief scare in Game 3 on Steph Curry, Warriors had less to worry about with injuries unlike the Celtics who had to manage Robert Williams' persistent bothersome knee. That hurt Boston a lot as Williams is crucial to the heavy switching and rotating defensive schemes while operating as a lob threat.

The prudent decision heading into the immediate future is to keep the core together but going down this road shrinks Boston’s chances of making it back to the NBA Finals. The present Boston setup is reminiscent of that young massively talented Oklahoma City Thunder group that battled LeBron James and Miami Heat in the Finals.

Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook, Serge Ibaka and James Harden were primed to take over the league as a team and not individuals, as they did later on in their careers. However, that didn’t materialize as OKC Thunder never made it back to the NBA Finals and that core got disbanded; same could happen to Boston’s core unless a top trade is made. Same can be said of the Orlando Magic’s young core of Penny Hardaway and Shaquille O’Neal who made it to the 1995 NBA Finals and never got back.

It sounds crazy to push for Boston to make a trade considering Philadelphia Sixers, Miami Heat and Brooklyn Nets are handicapped by forces ranging from old age (Miami and James Harden) to disgruntled star player (Kyrie Irving). As handicapped as those teams are, they still have enough wiggle room to break out of those forces via a trade.

Miami can package Duncan Robinso, Tyler Herro, Caleb Martin and a future draft pick to Portland Trailblazers for Damian Lillard or Washington Wizards for Bradley Beal. Milwaukee can do same by trading Jrue Holiday and Brook Lopez’s expiring contract for Dame. For all his improvement on the offensive side, Marcus Smart isn’t the answer at Point Guard for Boston’s title winning questions. His value isn’t high enough to make a trade for a top Guard like Lillard without including Jaylen Brown; Jayson Tatum is the foundational piece and untouchable.

Boston is stuck between a hard place and a rock here, as they can't win it all with their roster as presently constructed, unless they make a top trade. But any trade for a top player will cost them two members of its trio core. After years of being conservative and having a strong run of success punctuated by two Eastern Conference Finals appearances, it is time for Boston to go for the jugular. Three seasons back, Toronto Raptors was in the same spot Boston is in at the moment; consistently making a deep run in the playoffs only to fall short because the team had hit its title ceiling.

Conversely, by trading foundational piece DeMar DeRozan, Jakob Poeltl and a 2019 first round pick to San Antonio Spurs for the disgruntled Kawhi Leonard and Danny Green, Toronto’s title ceiling inched up just enough to get past the hobbled Golden State Warriors. Though Durant was hurt as was Klay Thompson in that series, Toronto won the title and that’s all that counts.

The time is right for Boston to swing for the fences and though it is sure to cost them two valuable pieces, it gets them closer to win the most valuable piece of all in the sport.