Double-checking Ainge's 2014-15 Celtics trades

Double-checking Ainge's 2014-15 Celtics trades
March 6, 2015, 1:45 pm





Danny Ainge has made so many transactions this season that it's completely understandable if you've forgot a few who have come and gone - or didn't quite make it here before they went.

So let's take a quick look at some of the former Celtics from this season, for however long or short it may have been, and see how they're doing right now. And because we have this weird ranking infatuation for everything, I'll go ahead and rank how each player seems to be doing for their respective teams - though it's slim pickings.


1. Jeff Green to Memphis

Ah yes. Jeff Green. I was completely on board with the Celtics trading Jeff Green for a couple seasons now, as it was pretty obvious he just wasn't going to ever be the go-to guy they needed, and based on their rebuilding phase was just not needed.

Now he's in Memphis, and after the honeymoon period - and it was a great one, they went 15-3 in his first 18 games - it seems like a little frustration is setting in with Green and his inconsistency in Memphis. Sound familiar?!

But Memphis would do this three-team trade again, with them parting ways with Tayshaun Prince (RIP in Detroit), Quincy Pondexter, a protected first-round pick and a second-round pick.

The question in Memphis right now with the team hitting a little rut is whether or not Green should stay in the starting lineup over another former Celtic, Tony Allen. Green's numbers have taken a hit in Memphis - he's averaging 11.7 points in Memphis while taking four less shots per game but shooting 39-percent.

Celtics got a future first-round draft pick and turned Prince into Jonas Jerebko and Gigi Datome(!)


2. Rajon Rondo (and Dwight Powell) to Dallas

Things are going swimmingly in Dallas with Rondo leading the way. Lol jk.

Rondo is another guy I was completely on board with trading once Kevin Love didn't happen. And I was certainly not in the "pay Rondo" camp. I think it's safe to say the Celtics dodged a real bullet here. Can you imagine paying Rondo $20 million a year for the next five years? Talk about a disaster. Let Rondo be the Lakers' long-term problem.

Anyways . . . Record-wise, the Mavs are 17-11 with Rondo in games. But he's also missed eight games due to injury or, ya know, suspension, with the team going 4-4. So overall, the Mavericks are 21-15. Are they better with Rondo? I guess so - sometimes. But are they good enough? It doesn't seem like it.

We've seen that he can't get along with Rick Carlisle, and heard reports that they don't want to re-sign him next season. He's just not an easy guy to coach, plain and simple, due to his attitude and also due to the way he plays the game.

The Celtics snagged a first rounder in the deal as well as Jameer Nelson, Brandan Wright, and Jae Crowder. Crowder has turned into a nice player for the Celtics. Energy guy. Plays with heart. You need a guy like that.

Rondo is averaging 9.3 points, and 6.1 assists for the Mavs, and has improved his three-point shooting a bit, up to 39-percent. But by and large it hasn't been a match in Dallas.

Dwight Powell went through a seven-game stretch in late January where he was getting burn, but has been largely invisible since.


3. Brandan Wright to Phoenix

This was a weird little stint. It was thought that both Danny Ainge and Brad Stevens were high on Wright, but sure enough he was shipped back to the Western Conference after just eight appearances with the C's. I'm OK with it. Wright just seemed like a guy I would pull my hair out over.

In 22 games with the Suns, Wright is averaging 5.3 points and 3.6 rebounds over 17 minutes per game.

The Celtics could probably use Wright now that Jared Sullinger is out for the season, but they'll settle for what they got in the deal, which will likely be two second-round picks courtesy of the Minnesota Timberwolves. Then again those picks could very well be moved in another deal at some point.


4. Tayshaun Prince to Detroit

Poor Tayshaun. It sounds like he thought he was either going to be traded to a real contender, or bought out by the Celtics (the Clippers popped up as an interested team if bought out). But Danny Ainge had other plans, sending him back to Detroit for Jonas Jerebko and Gigi "Don't call me Gino" Datome.

Kind of an awkward homecoming for Prince, who didn't really want to be back there. But he's getting playing time and actually starting for Detroit through four games. He's averaging 5.8 points and 4.3 rebounds.

But Celtics fans have to like what they've seen out of Jerebko so far, and if there's a match, perhaps he's signed by the team over the offseason.


5. Jameer Nelson to Denver

Denver, the car fire that they've been all season, made a trade for Nelson in January perhaps to add some veteran leadership to a team that had none.

It was obviously too little too late. Brian Shaw has been fired, and everybody says the Nuggets quit on him.

The Nuggets are just 3-16 in games Nelson has played in, and 2-4 in games he's missed since the trade. He's averaging 7.3 points per game in 20.2 minutes off the bench. He has a player option for next season.

Oh, the Celtics got Nate Robinson in the deal but saved him the travel time by buying him out. Robinson is still without a team.


6. Marcus Thornton to Phoenix

Thank-you Phoe-nix! Thank-you Phoe-nix! I could talk all day about this trade. Marcus Thornton was sent to Phoenix to make the contracts work in a deal that sent Isaiah Thomas to Boston. The Celtics threw in the Cavs' 2016 first-rounder. Thomas is the most exciting athlete in Boston right now. And maybe ever.

Thornton has done next to nothing in Phoenix, making four appearances and averaging 6.3 minutes per game. I don't think Phoenix got enough back in the deal.


7. Austin Rivers to LA Clippers

OK, so technically Rivers never got to Boston and it was all but certain the C's were going to flip him to the Clippers shortly after they acquired him.

But it's just kind of funny to think about, so we'll go ahead and include it.

So how is Austin doing playing for his dad?

Well, we should preface this by saying he's never really played that good. So the fact he's averaging 6.6 points and 1.7 assists in 22 games for L.A. isn't much of a shock. The only shock is that he's still earning 19 minutes per game on a Clippers team with championship aspirations.

The Celtics got literally nothing in this deal. They just shed some salary, which makes them winners.


8. Vitor Faverani to . . . Vitor? Vitor?!

WHERE'S VITOR?!




bob
MY NOTE:  These are only the during-season trades and not ones that happened before the season started (e.g. Thornton and Zeller to Boston for Bogans and a heavily conditioned 2nd rounder, which means that Thornton plus the pick that came with him turned into Thomas.  That leaves Zeller and Thomas for Bogans and an unlikely-to-be-surrendered 2nd rounder) but it feels like there were more.  

Bogans + conditional 2nd rounder + expiring TPE (Pierce/KG trade) = Thornton, Zeller, Cav's 1st rounder (currently about #20)
Thornton + the 1st rounder = Thomas
Ergo; Bogans + unlikely 2nd rounder = Zeller + Thomas

He left out Shav.  Shav came to Boston as part of the Rivers trade.  We shed salary after we waived Douglas-Roberts AND got Shav too.  Not very good research by Toscano. We should be double-checking him...

In the end (or at least until players and picks are moved again or picks are used by us for us), it was Rondo, Powell and Green for Jerebko, Datome, Thomas, Crowder and two 1st rounders in (Dallas and Detroit.  The Detroit one might be a good one with SVG running the show there), one 1st rounder out (Cleveland's pick, which probably be towards the end of the 1st round) and two 2nd rounders (from Minny, so they might be close to the front of that round).  Thomas and Crowder are definite keepers, Jerebko might be.  That's not bad for two players, one of whom wants a max contract but isn't worth it (Rondo's very good, but he isn't a max contract) and another one that is also good but is averaging 10ppg in 30mpg over the past 10 games.

A fleecing?  No, but good trades.  We get something for Rondo instead of Rondo walking and we getting nothing and I like Jerebko.  My conflict is that Jerebko's contract might mean the end of Bass, but choosing someone whose value is comparable to Bass' (if that's how it ends up being) is a good decision to have to make.  He isn't Green, but half the time Green isn't Green either.  Where Danny made his big haul was in the off-season trade that got us Thornton and Zeller for effectively nothing.  That trade landed us a legit back up center (if he's nothing else) and then turned into Thomas in a less-lopsided trade, for someone who was never, ever going to wear green again.


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bob,

We should not forget the trade exceptions that have been part of what Ainge has also been storing up because one of them could bring in a young player with lots of talent this summer.

Not one of the guys Ainge has traded away this season will be missed in the end. In fact, many of them could already be considered 'addition by subtraction' moves as the team chemistry seems much better at this point than it did early in the season.

Since I basically couldn't care less about the economics of basketball, what I like most about Danny's additions and subtractions is that most of the additions have proven to be very good fits in terms of meeting needs and helping to amp up team chemistry and energy.  And most of the subtractions (at least the key ones) were proving not to be the fits the team needed.  That's called building a competitive team.

Sam