Was Snub Of Celtics' Picks The Proper Play?

Was snub of Celtics' picks the proper play?



Ira Winderman: Was snub of Celtics' picks the proper play?

Ira Winderman
SOUTH FLORIDA SUN-SENTINEL
iwinderman​@sun-sentinel.com




The Celtics pushed many of their draft chips to the middle of the table. The Heat didn't blink. (Stephan Savoia / AP)



When do you blink? When does the bidding reach a point where you reconsider your prized possession? When does quantity trump quality?

Based on the fact that Justise Winslow will be competing for the Miami Heat and Frank Kaminsky for the Charlotte Hornets at this week's Orlando summer league, we have yet to receive our answer.

In both cases, the teams were offered what appeared to be an unfathomable amount of draft choices by the Boston Celtics to move off their choice in the first round of the NBA draft.

What has been reported and confirmed is the package included four first-round picks and a pair of second-round picks. What the Hornets and Heat declined to delineate was precisely what picks.

Whether it was to get the Hornets' No. 9 pick or the Heat's No. 10 pick, the objective was Winslow, the forward from Duke whose slide on draft night has been well chronicled.

So, for the moment, we'll put aside the Hornets and Kaminsky and move to the team that had to be preempted and the player who was targeted.


But not all picks are equal.

Beyond that, the Heat rarely get to such rarified lottery air, because they rarely, during the Riley era, have offered anything as rancid as this past season.

So start here: Forget about the second-round picks. In NBA currency, they are spare change. Any NBA asset that can be obtained for cash is an asset of limited value.

Then consider the offer of the four first-round picks (the Heat declined comment on the specifics of the four picks offered, as did Hornets General Manager Rich Cho

So start here: The Celtics held two first-round picks in this year's draft, with both in play until those selections were executed.

At No. 16 they chose Louisville point guard Terry Rozier, in what some viewed as a reach. At No. 28, with a pick acquired from the Los Angeles Clippers, they selected Georgia State shooting guard R.J. Hunter.


So you first have to answer the question of whether you would trade Winslow for Rozier and Hunter. Then you certainly could move on and insert into those slots players that might have been more palatable to the Heat, perhaps Wisconsin forward Sam Dekker (who went at No. 18) and UCLA power forward Kevon Looney (who went No. 30).

So would you make that deal for Winslow?

Yes, two other first-round picks also would have been included in the proposal for Winslow. But, again, it's all about quality of picks.

Here's what Boston otherwise has at their first-round disposal in upcoming drafts:

2016: Celtics' own; Nets; Dallas Mavericks (protected through first seven picks); Minnesota Timberwolves (protected through first 12 picks).

2017: Celtics' own (which can be swapped for Brooklyn Nets' first-round pick); that Mavericks pick with the same protection if not previously acquired.

2018: Celtics' own; Nets; that Mavericks pick with the same protection if not previously acquired; Memphis Grizzlies (protected though first 12 picks).

2019: Celtics' own; that Mavericks pick with the same protection if not previously acquired; Grizzlies (protected though first eight picks if not previous acquired).

As with any trade, there would have been room for negotiation, but because of so much of the protection on other picks, it comes down to where you envision the Celtics and Nets going forward. And that's in the Eastern Conference, where any team can be a playoff team.

Beyond that, with the Mavericks' acquisition of DeAndre Jordan, those Dallas picks hardly look as appetizing in retrospect.

Certainly, with the Heat still on the hook for one future first-round pick to the Philadelphia 76ers and two others to the Phoenix Suns, it would have been an avenue to restock for future drafts.

But it's the draft. And it's Pat Riley. Oil and water.

There are, of course, no sure things in the draft, with at least three years usually required to judge value.

In Winslow, the Heat believe they already have found value. Based on his draft-night efforts, Celtics President Danny Ainge apparently agrees.

But now we also have a unique baseline to analyze that Winslow value, should any player this year drafted No. 16 or later, or any at No. 28 or later, turn into values themselves.

Draft night created renewed hope for the Heat. It also opened years of potential second-guessing.



bob
MY NOTE:  Business usually boils down to trying to convince someone to take something you have too much of in exchange for something they have you want/need more than they do.  We have too many draft picks and a team that's pretty young already.  We can afford to make big offers with them.  The fact that this writer is talking about the mind-blowing magnitude of Danny's offer is evidence that we have a lot of picks to offer and Miami doesn't have that many.  With an aging DWade, a 31 year old Bosh, a 30 year Luol Deng and a 36 year old Birdman a LARGE infusion of youth might be what they need, certainly more than we need it.  Saying "they really wanted Winslow, just look at what they offered for him, so he must be great" is flawed logic.  If Danny was willing to trade Smart for Winslow, that might say something but draft picks?  We have more draft picks than we know what to do with and maybe that's the reason why the deal was so sweet. He says it's about the quality of the picks. If any of the picks Danny offered were the Brooklyn ones, then Pat Riley screwed up. Interesting, though, that Pat Riley doesn't like the annual NBA crap shoot. Hmmm. Maybe he knows something a lot of fans don't?

One thing he says that I do agree with, and that's his last sentence.  Replace the word "Heat" with "Celtics" and you've got every Celtics sports board in existence...


.

It seems that, more and more, a lot of hope is being placed on the Nets' picks to produce good draft positions in the future.  Not so much when it comes to the other Celtics' draft picks.  Frankly, I'm not counting on the picks other than those of the Nets in being more than incidental padding in trade deals.  Moreover, I'm hoping that Danny will not be prone to hoarding the Nets' picks if the right center becomes available.

1. Get a good center, presumably via trade, using the Nets' picks if appropriate.

2. Monkey around with other positions via more minor trades, "dressing up" Celtics' offering with other trade picks of questionable value.

3. Rather than unbalancing the roster in an attempt to get "stars," focus on developing your own elite players within a cohesive system that will expedite their process. 

It's as simple as 1-2-3.

Sam

My youngest daughter's boyfriend seems to be excited about Frank Kaminsky, the Hornet's pick. He seemed to think FK (bird in hand) is worth more than future late 1st round picks (2 in the bush).

gyso