NBA teams in the middle of a championship window will often add wily veterans with title experience to the roster, and the Boston Celtics have no reason to be different.
It's a wise strategy for a contender because while older vets add knowledge and good energy to a locker room, they're also highly motivated to win another ring before their career has come to a close.
The Celtics know all about that phenomenon, as they've watched Al Horford play the best basketball of his career into his late thirties.
What's scary about Boston's current team is that -- outside of Horford (38 years old) and Jrue Holiday (34) -- almost none of the Celtics core is in their thirties. To be technically correct here, Derrick White turned 30 in July, but Kristaps Porzingis, Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, Payton Pritchard, Sam Hauser, and Neemias Queta are all sub-30.
As such, the Celtics could afford to add another veteran presence to their locker room, and they might do just that by trading for Utah Jazz point guard Patty Mills (36), who won an NBA title with the San Antonio Spurs in 2014.
Bleacher Report's Greg Swartz suggested the Mills-to-Boston idea on Monday.
"Mills brings 98 games of playoff experience to the defending champions," Swartz said.
Even if Mills never checked into a playoff game for the Celtics, he'd provide valuable insight to Boston's youngish roster, and he'd be beyond excited to add a second ring to his resumé before he retires.
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