Richard Hamilton, Troy Murphy on Celtics Radar?

Richard Hamilton, Troy Murphy on Celtics radar

Jay King | February 16, 2011 at 8:04 am

If Richard Hamilton and/or Troy Murphy get bought out this season, the Boston Celtics are expected to show interest. (Yahoo! Sports)

The Hornets will likely be in pursuit of New Jersey Nets forward Troy Murphy once the Nets reach a buyout agreement with him after the trade deadline. Nets coach Avery Johnson made clear he didn’t want Murphy after the three-team trade that brought him from the Indiana Pacers. Trade talks have gone nowhere for Murphy, who has an expiring contract. Nets GM Billy King will ultimately work a buyout to free Murphy to sign elsewhere.

In addition to the Hornets, several other teams are expected to show interest in Murphy, including the Boston Celtics, Miami Heat, Orlando Magic and Dallas Mavericks, sources said. …

Richard Hamilton will have to be willing to give back a significant portion of the two years, $25 million owed him to get a buyout on his contract. Sources said the Celtics still remain intrigued with Hamilton as a scorer off the bench.

Based on everything I’ve read, Hamilton has maintained that he won’t accept a small buyout. He wants to receive a large portion of the remaining two years and $25 million he is owed, which could complicate matters when it comes to a buyout. That said, if Hamilton wants to leave Detroit, a buyout could become his only option. There aren’t too many teams desperate to trade for a 33-year old (his birthday was actually on Valentine’s Day) shooting guard with many miles on his legs and many, many dollars remaining on his contract.

Moving on to Troy Murphy: umm, Troy Murphy? Even when he was posting double-doubles left and right, I always wondered whether Murphy was actually helping his team or hurting it. “Defense” isn’t exactly in his vocabulary, although “nearly 7-foot gunner with three-point range” is. Maybe signing Murphy would work out for the Celtics; beggars can’t be choosers, and if all the C’s big men stay injured the C’s will be beggars. But in Ireland, Troy Murphy actually means “Mikki Moore with shooting range.” Okay, so maybe the Mikki Moore comparison isn’t fair (or at all close). But if the C’s are looking for a quick fix to their currently thin frontcourt, Murphy’s not the answer.

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I watched Troy Murphy for years with the GSW and I like him. He has range, he's a banger (albeit a bit slow of foot) and a rugged rebounder (rebounding, currently, isn't our forte). He is NOT Mikki Moore with range, IMO. Mikki, bless his soul, was 7'0" going on 6'2". Troy will stick his nose in for a rebound, like Luke does. Consider the inside/outside threat we'd have with Murphy and Davis on the floor together.

I'd love Rip too. Everything you said, about him wanting a big buyout etc, might make him unavailable and/or unaffordable, but could you imagine Rip Hamilton backing up Ray Allen? OMG.

bob


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Hi,
I thought DA is looking for 3? I'm not sure if either of them fit this position.

AK

sinus007 wrote:Hi,
I thought DA is looking for 3? I'm not sure if either of them fit this position.

Neither one is a great fit at the 3 spot. Murphy is a 4, plain and simple (6'11, 245). Hamilton can theoretically play either 2 or 3, but at 6'6 185 lb, he's more of a 2. I suppose he could fill in as a backup 3.

For both, their current contracts are huge, so the only way it works is if their current team buys them out and the Celts then sign them for whatever minimum amount they can pay after doing whatever they have to do to open a roster spot. I'd consider Hamilton the more likely one to be bought out.

Murphy had back and foot issues to start the season and apparently said something bad about Avery Johnson's mother because he's been in the doghouse the entire season (he's played only 18 games on a bad team after averaging 14.6 pts and 10 rebounds the prior season). The Nets just acquired Murphy, so I doubt they want to buy him out just to help someone else. He has an expiring contract, which I would think is valuable either to them or as a trading chip. Does buying him out and letting someone else pick him up give them all the benefits of an expiring contract (not on their payroll next year) plus lower their obligation to him? I'm not sure how that works, and I don't understand much about how the Nets have used Murphy.

no thanks. would rather stick with wafer and bradley, and see who else is out there in march if it comes to that.