Previewing the Celtics' future options and potential trade deadline moves

Previewing the Celtics' future options and potential trade deadline moves

HOOPS HYPE - BOSTON CELTICS

by Mika Honkasalo

Relative to most teams trying to make the push to become title contenders and eventually win the NBA championship, the Celtics currently find themselves with at least a few distinct advantages.

First, Brad Stevens has proven to be one of the best coaches in the NBA already. It was a home run for the Celtics, who managed to pick out a college coach who was an instant star in the league – quite a feat considering the, at best, shaky track record of other teams doing the same.

Second, the Celtics have collected a war chest of assets in the form of future draft picks. In the 2016 draft, they’ll have first-rounders from the Nets and Mavericks, and in all likelihood five additional second-rounders. And further into the future, they’ll have three extra first-round picks plus a host of second-rounders.

Third, the Celtics have some of their key players on incredible long-term contracts, particularly considering how the salary cap is projected to jump from $70 million to a projected near $90 million figure in 2016-17 to perhaps even close to $110 million the next year (depending on how teams spend during next summer). Isaiah Thomas is in the second season of a four-year, $27 million deal where his annual salary actually goes down by 4.5 percent per season, and Jae Crowder just inked a five-year deal with an average annual salary of $7 million per season – a contract that is laughably favorable for the Celtics considering the average starter’s salary is going to be around $15 million under the new salary cap.

Next summer, the Celtics can get up to around $50 million in cap space, two max slots, if they want to by renouncing their cap holds on their outgoing free agents Jared Sullinger, Evan Turner, Tyler Zeller and David Lee, and declining the non-guaranteed options on Amir Johnson and Jonas Jerebko. With just a few tinkering moves around the edges, the Celtics can fit someone like Al Horford under a max contract, and retain the flexibility to make further moves to improve the team.

On the flipside, winning a championship in the NBA is hard, and the Celtics are the type of organization that won’t just be satisfied with multiple 50-win seasons and second-round exits. The play for them is to go for upside and moves that can eventually push them over the edge and back into the Finals with a chance to win. In that equation, Boston is missing the most important part.



Superstars

In the macro sense, there are only around 12 players in the NBA that make a difference, and if you don’t have at least one of those players – though preferably you’d have two – it’s almost impossible to win the NBA championship. At any given time, there are a maximum of five or six teams in the NBA with a realistic shot at the title.

Take the four serious contenders we have now:

* The Cavaliers have LeBron James, a player who’s going down in the history books as one of the two or three best ever. Additionally, they have Kevin Love and Kyrie Irving, two of the 25 best players in the league.

* The Warriors are led by Stephen Curry, a player whose skill set runs counter to the way NBA defenses are built to such a degree that you could literally pick out any four players in the NBA, put them on the court with Curry and you’ll have a Top 5 offense. Draymond Green is another Top 10 player and a player who in many ways will define the pace-and-space era the NBA is in.

* The Spurs are the Spurs, just with the slight addition of LaMarcus Aldridge, who just made his fifth consecutive All-Star game. Fun fact, there have been 96 players who have made six or more All-Star games and 65 of them are in the Hall of Fame. Out of the 31 who aren’t, 22 aren’t eligible yet. Aldridge is likely to be in that group.

* And of course the Oklahoma City Thunder, who have two of the best four players in the NBA. And among this group, they probably have the lowest odds of winning the whole thing.



Becoming one of those teams is insanely difficult, no matter how many draft picks Billy King and the Brooklyn Nets decide to shower at you. In the NBA you can do everything right and fail. In fact, you’re more likely to do so than succeed, if your bar for success is competing for a championship. A number of factors have to go your way, and every team that becomes great has luck along the way.

The most difficult to understand, yet by far the most influential of those factors, is timing. Complexities in the salary cap that make maneuvering difficult, the unexpected decline and improvement (or in some cases, unexpectedly neither happening) of players, salary structures and contract end dates, the position and incentives of other teams to make moves, draft pick credits and debits, what particular players want and a hundred other variables make being a GM in the NBA an incredibly difficult job – no matter what the average fan may think.

All of it is chaos and utter madness. Every situation is unique, different and presents a host of problems no team has ever run into, or will ever run into again. There are no sure-fire options, just different gambles the Celtics can take.

If the goal is to land a superstar, and then pair him up with another one – or add so much above-average talent and complementary talent around said star – the Celtics have a few different avenues available for them.



Free agency

The simplest way to get stars is to sign them in unrestricted free agency, and over the next two seasons here are the best players available…

Summer of 2016: Horford, Nicolas Batum, Ryan Anderson, Dwight Howard (early termination option), Mike Conley, Hassan Whiteside, Kevin Durant, Rajon Rondo and DeMar DeRozan.

Summer of 2017: Gordon Hayward, Kyle Lowry, Russell Westbrook, Serge Ibaka, Greg Monroe (player option), Blake Griffin and Chris Paul (both with early termination options), Curry, Danilo Gallinari and Paul Millsap (player option).

Which of the 2016 free agents can the Celtics get who would turn them into a title threat? If the answer is none, how do they convince a player who wants to win an NBA title to trust them that they’ll hit a home run the next season? Players don’t care if the Celtics have good draft picks who may or may not eventually be useful, and by the time they are many of the free agents on the list will be past their primes. Over the next two summers, there’ll be so much cap space around the league, every top free agent will have multiple suitors and teams throwing money in their faces.

This is why it’s folly to count on free agency as a strategy. The chance of hitting big is relatively small, and you can’t build with signing free agents as your primary strategy. This isn’t to say the Celtics can’t be major players, and they should do everything they can to pursue players who fit their goals and timetable. Just saying that free agency can only be a part of the Celtics strategy, but certainly not the focal point of it.



Trades

With the trade deadline coming up on February 19, the Celtics were bound to rise up as a name in multiple trade scenarios and rumors. They have all the right pieces to make a James Harden-type trade, should the right star become available.

The Celtics have been linked to DeMarcus Cousins, but at this time it doesn’t look the Kings are even close to thinking about moving Cousins. Paul George would have been interesting had the Pacers been bad this season and were looking to jumpstart their rebuild – a la the Jazz trading Deron Williams for Derrick Favors and picks, or the Magic getting Nikola Vucevic and other assets for Dwight Howard. The Rockets would trade Howard in a heartbeat if the trade was right, but Howard is going to hit unrestricted free agency this summer, and how interested can the Celtics be in trading for a 30-year old with a checkered injury history who can leave in a few months?

Most recently, ESPN’s Zach Lowe brought up the idea of a Griffin trade to the Celtics. On paper this makes some sense, since the Clippers have done well without Griffin in the lineup and have a dearth of depth at practically every position – in addition to not owning their 2017 first-round pick and three other second-rounders. The Celtics consolidating multiple assets into one mega-asset makes a ton of sense, and make no doubt about it, if they can get Griffin for practically any package they can create, they should pull the trigger on the trade immediately.



Getting Griffin is exactly why you have so many assets to begin with. A potential opportunity to trade for a player who is an offense unto himself and among the Top 10 players in the league is a no-brainer. To be clear, however, Celtics fans should know that to get Griffin it would take a monster package, and there’s no way the Clippers should agree to a deal that doesn’t include at least two players from the Crowder, Kelly Olynyk, Sullinger, Thomas, Marcus Smart and Avery Bradley crowd. And it’s not going to be the two any Celtic fan reading that list is going to want it to be. In addition, they would have to give up this season’s Brooklyn pick and at least one other likely lottery pick – potentially even more.

The Clippers need to get a king’s ransom for Griffin in order to pull the trigger on any deal. Both to stay competitive now, giving Chris Paul at least some hope of competing for a title in the prime of his career, and to gain multiple chances at future blue-chip prospects in the process.

As is the case in many such exciting mega trade scenarios, the most probable answer is that nothing will happen. And if it does, the Celtics would still have to be very concerned about keeping Griffin, who becomes an unrestricted free agent in a year and a half. Typically, teams are able to have a huge advantage on other teams by being able to sign their free agents by going over the cap by owning their bird rights, and only a few teams ever have max cap room in the NBA, and those teams are typically young and bad, meaning no superstar is going to sign with them. That advantage that is seriously compromised when almost every team can offer Griffin a max salary when he hits free agency during the summer of 2017.

Other less flashy names would include Hayward and Gallinari, both of whom would be solid options for the Celtics given the right deal. But neither the Jazz or Nuggets are in a particular hurry to get rid of them.

Drafting

Currently, the draft is the best chance for the Celtics to snatch up a star. Most notably with the next three Nets picks, all of which have a great chance of landing in the Top 5. Drafting a great young player also brings the advantage of being able to keep that player at least nine years, first through their cheap rookie deal and then by offering a five-year extension, something no other team can do (though a potential new CBA may throw some interesting wrench into that too).


* For the technical folks, polynomial regression model built off career average statistics from multiple NBA drafts. Stats from basketball-reference.com.

The draft and the war chest of picks present a few different avenues and conundrums to navigate. There’s no way the Celtics can use all their picks, and in the upcoming draft they are slated to have eight. We already saw the position this puts the Celtics’ management in, as they reportedly tried to trade four picks for Charlotte’s ninth pick in the 2015 draft to take Justise Winslow.

Now, everyone knows what the Celtics are willing to do to turn multiple assets into one better one. And the better one doesn’t necessarily have to be that much better. Expect to see similar attempts next summer. The Celtics have to trade some of their picks, or risk losing those players since they have no available roster spots. The frontline rotation is already beyond crowded. Of course, the rest of the league knows this, and know they can extract a hefty bounty if they have what the Celtics want.

Also, if it looks like the players they draft over the next two to three years are the way to go, that’ll move the process back a few years and the Celtics will be looking at perhaps over five seasons until they are in the mix. While the process looks and is very promising, it may take a while to succeed and fans can get impatient.



What championship teams look like

None of this is to be negative, and most teams not in the championship/50-win mix would give anything to be in the position the Celtics are right now. The team has set up themselves for success, and the next few seasons will determine if and how that success plays out.

Every team that makes it to the Finals gets a ton of breaks. The Warriors signed Curry to a $44 million deal, which is less than half of what he should be making. Curry’s favorable deal allowed the Warriors to sign players like Andre Iguodala and Andrew Bogut. Green was drafted in the second round. The Warriors tanked shamelessly, losing 22 of their last 27 during the 2011-12 season and ended up with Harrison Barnes with the 7th pick – a pick that had a high chance of conveying to the Jazz in any case.

The Spurs reloaded by trading George Hill for Kawhi Leonard, who is one of the seven best players in the NBA. The LeBron-era Heat were built on taking pay cuts and luring veterans below market-value, most notably from their three stars. The Lakers got Pau Gasol for practically nothing (at the time). The Thunder went on an all-time and unreplicable success binge of draft picks, nailing on Durant, Westbrook, James Harden and Ibaka.

When you go through the Celtics roster, it’s interesting to wonder who is going to be a part of the next great Celtics team? Whether it be through trades and free agency, or by building again through the draft, it’s very difficult to answer that question. From Amir Johnson to Jonas Jerebko, who are closing in on 30 years of age, to Marcus Smart in his early twenties, to players like Bradley, Olynyk, Sullinger and Evan Turner in-between, the Celtics have multiple players each in different phases of their respective careers.

It’s an interesting time for the Celtics, and the recency of their upcoming draft picks and young several players who are up for extensions, some significant moves are incoming. In a maze of uncertainty, we’ll see if they choose the right ones.

Mika Honkasalo is an NBA writer, geek, chart maker and most of all fan. He studies computer science and works in software development and business analytics. His writing can be found at Nylon Calculus and Vantage Sports, and you can find him on Twitter @mhonkasalo.

Business, Featured, Top, Boston Celtics

112288

good piece with some meat in it.

I think it is a sobering look at what we need to get to become World Champs again!


112288

112288,

I think that we are two players away from being able to seriously compete for banner #18. Two quality players is certainly not impossible at all with Ainge's positioning with so many draft picks, several good young players at good salaries, an exceptional coaching staff and plenty of cap room next summer.

Of course, these two players need to be high quality players-one a center who can score some, rebound, defend the paint and hopefully shoot at  least a mid range jumper with some regularity.  The other is a more consistent shooting wing type of player who can hit at least above 38% from the three point line.

There are several players already on the roster who are/will be able to contribute to the next championship as long as we do not have to wait longer than three years to make a competitive run.  Some of the current guys may have to change roles on the team in the year we become really competitive, but there are some good players on our team right now.  Adding to my thoughts about quality on the current roster, there may even be this 'second star' type shooter already on our roster.

I would really like to see  if Ainge can get one of these two missing pieces at this year's trade deadline because I think that it will be much easier to find the second missing piece once one of them is already with the team.  This is why I am all for trading for Cousins right now if he becomes available to fill the center spot figuring that a shooting forward or guard will be easier to find once the center is already wearing green.  It is also why I would rather trade the Nets pick this year and almost whatever else it may take to get a Cousins type player rather than wait and hope to get lucky enough to draft Simmons.

Simmons may eventually become a truly great player, but not for at least a few years.  Looking at his developmental time frame from draft pick to 'star' player he will not likely draw the 'second' star player to Boston until the 2019-2020 season IF we get lucky enough to draft him in June and IF he does become the 'star" that he may be capable of becoming.  Cousins is already already a 'star', could ensure a great finish to this season (threaten Cleveland and perhaps even beating them in the East) and draw this second star as soon as this coming summer.

Some of the Cs picks (likely 8 in June) HAVE to be moved at the trade deadline to increase the value of the total number.  If Ainge still has all 8 picks on draft day i would anticipate their total value diminishing by about 33%, and if this turns out to be the case much of what it took to get them was wasted to at least some degree.  Of course, if he still has all eight to include the number one pick (from the Nets) it will not matter much to anyone.

wide,

I agree 100% with your assessment here.

our two biggest needs as you've said is an upgrade at center and at the 2 guard spot.
or
replacements for Amir and Bradley. I had hoped that Bradley would step up this year as a consistent outside scorer, but it looks like it's not going to happen.

I have Thomas,Bradley, Smart, Crowder, Kelly and the Nets 2016 pick as keepers right now. UNLESS we can get a true elite player

I'll will list the "elite" players here, that I feel could fill one of our two areas of need. I am not saying I would personally WANT some on this list.

J. Butler- not available
J. Harden- not available
K. Durant- not available, Free agent next year
L. James- Not available
A. Davis- Not available
P. George- not available
A. Wiggins- Not available
M. Gasol- not available
B. Griffin- possible trade target
C. Anthony- Possible trade target
R. Westbrook- not available
D. Cousins- not available?
S. Curry- not available
A. Drummond- not available

any of the above players are what I call elite NBA players and would be worth trading one or more of the assets I listed above for IMO. (though I would want no part of some players like C. Anthony myself).
Almost NONE of these players are really available and if one comes on the trade market you have to take a look at least.

the next group of NBA players I call All-star type players. These guys are a step below the elite players to me. I would not trade any of the assets I listed above for any of them, except possibly Bradley.

I will include players here who have either been talked about in trades this year or are UFA next year:

D. DeRozen- UFA next year
K. Middleton- Possible trade
G. Hayward- possible trade
D. Galinari- possible trade
R. Gay- Possible trade
B. Lopez- Possible trade
K. Love- Possible trade
P. Gasol- UFA Next year
D. Howard- Possible trade
R. Anderson- Possible trade
A. Horford- UFA next year

Again I am NOT saying I would like all the players listed, just those are ones that fit my idea of all-star type players, who could fit a need we have.

the key of course is what is the cost IF any become available.

kdp59 wrote:wide,

I agree 100% with your assessment here.

our two biggest needs as you've said is an upgrade at center and at the 2 guard spot.
or
replacements for Amir and Bradley. I had hoped that Bradley would step up this year as a consistent outside scorer, but it looks like it's not going to happen.

I have Thomas,Bradley, Smart, Crowder, Kelly and the Nets 2016 pick as keepers right now. UNLESS we can get a true elite player

I'll will list the "elite" players here, that I feel could fill one of our two areas of need. I am not saying I would personally WANT some on this list.

J. Butler- not available
J. Harden- not available
K. Durant- not available, Free agent next year
L. James- Not available
A. Davis- Not available
P. George- not available
A. Wiggins- Not available
M. Gasol- not available
B. Griffin- possible trade target
C. Anthony- Possible trade target
R. Westbrook- not available
D. Cousins- not available?
S. Curry- not available
A. Drummond- not available

any of the above players are what I call elite NBA players and would  be worth trading one or more of the assets I listed above for IMO. (though I would want no part of some players like C. Anthony myself).
Almost NONE of these players are really available and if one comes on the trade market you have to take a look at least.

the next group of NBA players I call All-star type players. These guys are a step below the elite players to me. I would not trade any of the assets I listed above for any of them, except possibly Bradley.

I will include players here who have either been talked about in trades this year or are UFA next year:

D. DeRozen- UFA next year
K. Middleton- Possible trade
G. Hayward- possible trade
D. Galinari- possible trade
R. Gay- Possible trade
B. Lopez- Possible trade
K. Love- Possible trade
P. Gasol- UFA Next year
D. Howard- Possible trade
R. Anderson-  Possible trade
A. Horford- UFA next year

Again I am NOT saying I would like all the players listed, just those are ones that fit my idea of all-star type players, who could fit a need we have.

the key of course is what is the cost IF any become available.

kdp59
Nice job of compiling your list of players that could look good in a Celtic uniform. I'm sure that the list would vary from poster to poster but that's to be expected. You seem to get a great deal of pleasure commenting on the trade scene so I've come up with some points that I believe are necessary to jump start trade talk between 2 teams. In this case I want you to be the General manager of the teams that your list of players were on and to list the REASONS FOR THEM to make a trade with the CELTICS, and the players - draft picks that they should trade for.
My thoughts on a few reasons for a team to make a trade. I'm sure there are others.
* Financial downsizing
* Team has peaked - Star(s) getting up their in years. Time to look to the future. (The move that sent Garnett and Pierce to the Nets)
* Surplus of value at a given position. Trade surplus to up grade at another position.
* Player incompatibility.
We all know why the Celtics are interested in dealing now we need to know which teams might feel that the Celtics can offer equal value in return that would satisfy their needs.

swish

Swish,

i will give you my short version to answer that.

I will leave the Elite players ouit of it, since I doubt any of them are really on the block , at least mid-season.

for the all-star types:

DeRozen- UFA next year and Toronto may want something before he leaves. Some rumors have him hot to go back to LA. If I am Toronto I want a player like Turner and a first round draft pick to even talk.

Middleton- Milwaukee has gone backwards this year. They may feel the "Greek freak' is best at SF and that he and Middleton cannot co-exist long term. To keep me on the phone if i am the Bucks GM , would require A. Bradley and a first rounder.

Hayward- Utah has three players that are really SF's right now on the roster. They need a SG. In steps a Hayward for Bradley deal, if I am Utahs GM I want a first and maybe a second to get it done.

Gailinari- reportely on the block by multiple sources now. If I am Denvers GM, I ask for two first rounders and a couple of flexible contracts back. Say Jerebko and Turner, Dallas first and a high second or another first (think Minnesota's ).

R. Gay- another guy who's name is out there. Kings may feel he has peaked and they have no intention of letting Cousins go. I would want cap clearing and draft picks in return. So a Lee and a first may get me talking, but I would want Turner, Jerebko and a first next year to make me think about it seriously.

B. Lopez- Probably is NOT being traded no matter what rumors are out there. But IF I am the Nets new GM and I could get back my draft pick THIS year.....i would do it. We would have to send Lee and spare parts to make it happen salary wise. I didn't say if i were Danny I would consider it though.

K. Love- lets say , Loveand Lebron hate each other and the King told me (as GM) he has to go. In that case, Lee and Sully and Crowder are what i ask for along with at least one first. Danny laughs at me as he hangs up the phone.

P. Gasol- not being traded now, with their injuries and I do think they feel they can re-sgin him. So if I am the bulls GM danny would have to WOW me with an offer that would include that nets pick. not likely for a rental on a guy who is 35YO for half a year.

D. Howard- Houston is at least taking phone calls. If i as GM feel the teams needs ot shake things up or I feel that Howard is moving on after the season. IF I really think he is gone next year no matter what, I take ANY decent offer for him. Lee, Zeller and Jerebko with the Dallas first might sway me.

R. Anderson- I think Kellys recent play has taken this soon to be UFA off the table for me.

A. Horford- as Hawks GM I already know he will not re-sign here, so I want something before he leaves. Amir Johnson , a first and a second may make me think about moving him.


I think that lays out my thoughts on most of them and why teams MAY be willing to trade. I will note that I am a Celtics fans, so what in my mind I consider a fair offer for a player, may be seen thru Green sunglasses!

KDP,

Very nice addition to this thread that is getting better and better every day.

If I were our GM, I would pretty quickly pass on Anderson, Howard, Gasol, Love and DeRozen unless their teams were going to almost give them away. Getting any of these guys who can become free agents next summer may not be worth shaking up our current roster at this time. To do such a deal, our team would have to really believe that a championship was for the taking THIS year. I doubt that any of these guy would come in such a deal (think, basic 'give away' or salary relief) as Anderson is the only guy who currently plays for a team that is at least not thinking of making the playoffs this season.

Gallinari, Gay and Haywood could fill our need for a more consistent shooting wing type player and I guess that Middleton could as well. Lopez is an injury risk, but could help us at the center spot.

The only guy who is going to be a free agent in the summer that I may think about trading for from your list would be Horford, and I really have no great reason for thinking this way except that I really like him as a player. For some crazy reason, I think that he may resign with Boston more than any of the other guys might. Again, no real concrete reason why I am thinking this way.

I have no problem trading any of the guys you mentioned or the draft picks you mentioned either, but I would like to see David Lee (and maybe even James Young) added into some part of some of the deals you mentioned. If a center is to be obtained I would have no problem seeing Sullinger in such a trade.

Wide,

remember Swish asked me to put on the GM hat for the OTHER team there.

we agree mostly on which players makes sense in a y trade here and which ones don't.

but I gotta say, through al the trade rumors of all the different players, I sitll end up coming back to:

Cousins and Collison from the Kings

for

Lee, Sully, Rozier and three first rounders


as the best option to move us into championship contention now and in the future.


I am even OK with the picks being the Nets lottery pick this year along with Minnesoats and the lesser of the nets and our own 2018 first to get that deal done.

I just don't think Cousins is really on the table at all anymore.

wideclyde

Well done clyde

Whether posters agree with you or not is irrelevant. Many people fail to look at a potential deal from the other sides point of view. As a Celtic fan I would expect to see some bias in view point but certainly close enough to make a trade negotiable. Well thought out. Good sound reasoning.

swish

kdp59 wrote:Swish,

i will give you my short version to answer that.

I will leave the Elite players ouit of it, since I doubt any of them are really on the block , at least mid-season.

for the all-star types:

DeRozen- UFA next year and Toronto may want something before he leaves. Some rumors have him hot to go back to LA. If I am Toronto I want a player like Turner and a first round draft pick to even talk.

Middleton- Milwaukee has gone backwards this year. They may feel the "Greek freak' is best at SF and that he and Middleton cannot co-exist long term. To keep me on the phone if i am the Bucks GM , would require A. Bradley and a first rounder.

Hayward- Utah has three players that are really SF's right now on the roster. They need a SG. In steps a Hayward for Bradley deal, if I am Utahs GM I want a first and maybe a second to get it done.

Gailinari- reportely on the block by multiple sources now. If I am Denvers GM, I ask for two first rounders and a couple of flexible contracts back. Say Jerebko and Turner, Dallas first and a high second or another first (think Minnesota's ).

R. Gay- another guy who's name is out there. Kings may feel he has peaked and they have no intention of letting Cousins go. I would want cap clearing and draft picks in return. So a Lee and a first may get me talking, but I would want Turner, Jerebko and a first next year to make me think about it seriously.

B. Lopez- Probably is NOT being traded no matter what rumors are out there. But IF I am the Nets new GM and I could get back my draft pick THIS year.....i would do it. We would have to send Lee and spare parts to make it happen salary wise. I didn't say if i were Danny I would consider it though.

K. Love-  lets say , Loveand Lebron hate each other and the King told me (as GM) he has to go. In that case, Lee and Sully  and Crowder are what i ask for along with at least one first. Danny laughs at me as he hangs up the phone.

P. Gasol- not being traded now, with their injuries and I do think they feel they can re-sgin him. So if I am the bulls GM danny would have to WOW me with an offer that would include that nets pick. not likely for a rental on a guy  who is 35YO for half a year.

D. Howard- Houston is at least taking phone calls. If i  as GM feel the teams needs ot shake things up or  I feel that Howard is moving on after the season. IF I really think he is gone next year no matter what, I take ANY decent offer for him. Lee, Zeller and Jerebko with the Dallas first might sway me.

R. Anderson- I think Kellys recent play has taken  this soon to be UFA  off the table for me.

A. Horford- as Hawks GM I already know he will not re-sign here, so I want something before he leaves. Amir Johnson , a first and a second may make me think about moving him.


I think that lays out my thoughts on most of them and why teams MAY be willing to trade. I will note that I am a Celtics fans, so what in my mind I consider a fair offer for a player, may be seen thru Green sunglasses!

kdp59

Caught your post after responding to clyde. Like clyde you supported your opinion with some sound reasoning. I always enjoy post that take into consideration the other side of the story.

swish

kdp59 and clyde

The Sac Kings have been on a rebuild for at least 10 years. Do they want to start all over again by trading away their foundation.

swish

Swish,

I have suggested that due to the poor results (no more than 29 wins in any one season) during their 10 year re-build that they should at least look at starting over. For many reasons their rebuild has not happened during Cousins' stay.

Of course, "starting over" is never an easy thing to commit to for any franchise. The fan base usually is pretty unhappy which, of course, puts the team's administration/ownership in a very nervous position that many fear. But, I guess that the Sacremento fan base is already frustrated.

Ainge has done a remarkable job with re-building the Cs to the point that they have a likable, entertaining and competitive team so soon after trading Pierce and Garnett to start the rebuild. As a Cs fan, I would have been very impatient with anything less and certainly not very happy if this was year number 10 like the Kings. The giant mess left by Petino was tough enough for me.

swish wrote:kdp59 and clyde

The Sac Kings have been on a rebuild for at least 10 years. Do they want to start all over again by trading away their foundation.

 swish

like I said I do NOT think the Kings will trade Cousins at this time (perhaps never).

no matter how much I might want them too......LOL.

As you can probably gather from my other posts I attach very little significance to this teams won - lost record other than to applaud Stevens for his coaching ability. My focus is on the young players on the team and what skills I hope they will bring to future teams. Getting those 2 elite players, that I think that they will need to be a genuine contender, is the part that, in my opinion, presents the greatest obstacle. I think that it may take longer than many are hoping for.

swish