Should the Celtics trade Isaiah? A roundtable discussion

http://www.celticsblog.com/2016/6/3/11827234/doubting-thomas-could-the-celtics-trade-it4

Absolutely you trade IT if it improves the team. The way that would work best if he is part of a deal for a veteran player of better ability. IT became an all star this year but that doesn't mean he will be a perennial. He has the talent/upside and that very friendly contract. The only real thing that the C's are missing are a couple more higher end contracts like Amir's 12mil to make everything balance out in the 1-3 possible trades that Danny will make. Danny has the ability to combine up and coming high calibre players like IT, Marcus, Avery, Kelly and Sully with draft picks galore to find the right matches for this coming season. He has a cadre of other quality players like Crowder and Jerebko to help make the numbers work. If Danny doesn't pull off the big trade the C's are still in good shape with a lot of talented young players on team friendly contracts plus some good draft picks. How many others, besides myself, were shocked by the KG and RA deals that brought #17? We may have a line on what Danny will do but we may not. He could shock us all over again. For now it's still 17 going on 18. But it won't be long till we play for that banner. I truly believe that Durant has a list and part of that list is a solid ownership/management team. It won't be much different for any other high quality free agent. Danny and Brad are locked in long term Check that one off the list.

anyone can be traded for the right deal.

Thomas is probably the least likely to be moved though.

Danny seems to really like him.

Pursuant to this line of thought:


http://www.masslive.com/celtics/index.ssf/2016/06/2016_nba_mock_draft_kris_dunn.html




2016 NBA Mock Draft: Kris Dunn to Boston Celtics in latest projections by ESPN's Chad Ford










Jay King | mjking@masslive.com By Jay King | mjking@masslive.com


on June 03, 2016 at 4:35 PM




ESPN's Chad Ford believes the Boston Celtics could be "narrowing down" their options for the No. 3 pick to a trio of candidates: Kris Dunn, Jamal Murray and Marquese Chriss.

Keep in mind that all draft chatter at this stage is subject to change. Because teams posture, mislead and still have three weeks to shift their draft boards, projections on June 3 can be mightily inaccurate. That's no shot at Ford, who does fine work. It's just the nature of the beast. As recently as Thursday, Celtics head coach Brad Stevens told 98.5 The Sports Hub he's "just scratching the surface" while learning about draft prospects. The team has plenty of evaluation left to accomplish before draft night arrives, possibly including another workout with a highly-regarded prospect Ford left out:

Follow
Adam Himmelsbach @AdamHimmelsbach
Hearing that Dragan Bender will probably work out for just 3 NBA teams when he gets to the U.S. Celtics still likely to be one of them.
7:50 AM - 3 Jun 2016
 44 44 Retweets   61 61 likes


With that said, Ford wrote that he believes (for now, at least) the Celtics will pick Dunn. Because adding another poor-shooting guard wouldn't be ideal for Boston, the ESPN draft expert actually pointed out the possibility of trading All-Star playmaker Isaiah Thomas:

Dunn seems like less of a fit until you realize that he would be the best pure point guard on the roster -- right away.
Marcus Smart can play off the ball. Isaiah Thomas, an All-Star, can be dealt. Having an elite distributor, especially one that defends like Dunn does, would be very appealing.

It's too early to know for sure which way the Celtics will go on draft night, but if the draft were today, I think Dunn would get the nod.

Would it be nice to have a bigger, athletic point guard with elite defensive potential? Sure. But not at the expense of Thomas, an All-Star who (sorry, Chad) is better at point guarding than Dunn will be for years, at least. According to ESPN's real plus-minus statistic, Thomas was the NBA's 17th-best offensive player. Basketball Reference ranked the lefty 11th in offensive win shares and 10th in offensive box plus/minus. Rookies just don't walk into the NBA with that kind of production.

Instead of overreacting to Ford's throwaway line about a possible trade, though, it might be wiser to focus on the landscape of possible No. 3 picks. Ford's story indirectly points out an issue for the Celtics: several candidates at that spot would either fit awkwardly on the roster or need years to develop -- an issue considering Boston's a 48-win team looking to take the next step.

"I think that's definitely fair (to say)," draft guru Kevin O'Connor recently told me on the Rainin' Js podcast. "Go down the list really. Whether it's Kris Dunn or Buddy Hield or Jamal Murray -- first of all, the Celtics have a ton of guards already. But then there's the fact that some of these guys in the range, Jaylen Brown, (Timothe) Luwawu, they're either unproven shooters or they might not be good shooters, period. And then you've got a guy like Jakob Poeltl -- I don't think of him as a No. 3 option, but some people do -- you look at him and it's like, well, is he really an upgrade over Tyler Zeller? There's guys in that range where it's like, OK, they're nice but maybe you'd be better off swinging for the fences for a guy like Dragan Bender or even a Marquese Chriss type of player. Because that's what you're looking for is the transcendent-level player, not another role player."



bob
MY NOTE:  Well, it certainly would be a slap in the face if IT was traded just a month after he repped us at the lottery, especially when his replacement was the player drafted with the pick he wore his green tie for, wouldn't it?  

I thought Kris Dunn wasn't going to work out for Boston or Phoenix because he only wanted to play somewhere there was less competition for the starting slot?  Chad Ford thinks Danny will draft a kid who won't even work out for us because he doesn't feel he should have to earn his minutes?  How is that consistent with liking players with a chip on their shoulder and feel like there is something they need to prove?  Something doesn't smell right here.

I agree with Kevin O'Connor's assessment and am baffled by Ford's logic.  O'Connor said if you're not going for a sure thing then you should swing for the fences with a #3.  The closest players I see to being "a sure thing", after you get past Simmons and Ingram, would be Hield and Brown, but both of them have flaws too.  At 6'4", Buddy Hield is not big for his position and he is not particularly athletic.  Brown has freakish athleticism but is raw offensively.  The safest bet is Buddy, who will probably give you solid performance within his limitations but isn't going to be a game changer.  The throw of the dice bet is Bender.  The rest of the usual suspects, for a #3, is meh in my opinion.  Moving on to Ford's thoughts that

"Because adding another poor-shooting guard wouldn't be ideal for Boston, the ESPN draft expert actually pointed out the possibility of trading All-Star playmaker Isaiah Thomas:

Dunn seems like less of a fit until you realize that he would be the best pure point guard on the roster -- right away.
Marcus Smart can play off the ball. Isaiah Thomas, an All-Star, can be dealt. Having an elite distributor, especially one that defends like Dunn does, would be very appealing."

Huh?  Wuh?  Drafting a poor-shooting guard wouldn't be ideal so he'd be in favor of trading our #1 scorer so he can put Dunn in his place and then elevate non-shooting Marcus Smart to starter?  Oh yeah, that would produce marvelous results with our back court offense. What about All-NBA Defense First Teamer Avery Bradley, who is not only a better shooter than Smart now, he's might be a better shooter than Marcus Smart might ever be (that should tell you something about what I think of Smart's offense)?


.

just another reason why trading the pick makes more sense.....assuming you can find a partner.