Logical "potential corollary moves" for the Boston Celtics after acquiring David Lee

SB NATION

By Kevin O'Connor  @KevinOConnorNBA

What's next for the Celtics?

As the salary cap contortionists of the NBA, the Boston Celtics have the flexibility to execute their transactions in various ways this summer. In all likelihood they'll waive their cap holds and trade exceptions to sign Amir Johnson using cap space, but the Gerald Wallace for David Lee trade opens up the possibility of them retaining their exceptions to give them more trading versatility going forward this summer.

The Lee trade isn't even done yet, according to Steve Bulpett of the Boston Herald, who adds that the Celtics are "hard at work on potential corollary moves that will give more sense to all of this." In other words, as Danny Ainge reviews the roster as it presently stands, one thing becomes clear: it's too unbalanced.

Contortionists are able to pretzel into unorthodox positions, but balance is the secret to maintaining those funky poses. In order to maximize their potential, the Celtics must find balance, or they'll be at risk of toppling over due to their lack of depth at wing and forward.

Brad Stevens has said multiple times that he prefers a rotation with four big men. But he was put into a bind last season with the amount of depth, and after the acquisition of David Lee, Stevens is in the same spot. The Celtics could also be unable to frequently play small ball if Stevens is forced to use the five serviceable bigs all deserving of the 96 allocable minutes.

With that in mind, it's plausible that the Celtics are planning for their "corollary move" before the Lee-Wallace swap is finalized. Considering the surplus of bigs and guards on the roster, one could potentially be shipped out of Boston, along with a guard, for a position of need at wing or forward.

The Celtics have bolstered their team with their low-risk acquisitions, but they still lack a go-to scorer. Remember, Ainge said at the end of the season that he'd like to add a player with a knack for scoring in the fourth quarter, and they have yet to acquire one this summer.

Here are some players who fit that profile and could be available:

DeMar DeRozan, Wing, Toronto Raptors

2015 Salary: $10,050,000

DeRozan would give the Celtics an All-Star talent who can score outside of traditional sets in the fourth quarter. But, despite scoring over 20 points per game the past two seasons, DeRozan is inefficient, with a career 45.4 eFG%. He accumulates his numbers because of volume, not efficiency, which may work against what the Celtics are trying to build.

But there's no denying he has talent, and the Celtics may believe they can shape him into a better player in Stevens' system. He draws fouls at a high rate, excels in isolation, and could develop into a more productive outside shooter with some alterations to his mechanics. Plus, he has absolutely demolished the Celtics in their recent match-ups.

After signing DeMarre Carroll and Cory Joseph, the Raptors could be looking to move on. They were reportedly shopping DeRozan weeks ago, according to Ryan Wolstat of the Toronto Sun, since they don't want to sign him to a max contract next summer. The Raptors are in need of a power forward, which makes both Sullinger and Olynyk appealing, if paired with Avery Bradley, Evan Turner, or another piece.

Danilo Gallinari, Forward, Denver Nuggets

2015 Salary: $11,559,225

The popular trade target tossed around is Gallinari, as he should be. The Nuggets were shopping him and probably still are today. They are rebuilding and the injury prone Gallinari doesn't factor into their future, as he'll hit the free agent market next summer.

But the Celtics could view Gallinari as a low-risk/high-reward player because of his scoring ability. He's a solid three-point shooter, adding a much-needed stroke to a team starving for perimeter scoring. And he's capable of creating off the bounce, giving them a potential go-to threat other than Isaiah Thomas. At just 27-years-old next season, he could just be hitting his prime.

The Nuggets have plenty of talented bigs on their roster, but need to add all the talent they can get. Adding a big that can stretch the floor like Sullinger or Olynyk would benefit them. Depending on how the Celtics maneuver around the cap could force them to include different players to make the salaries work.

Secondary Targets

These players haven't been involved in rumors, but they make sense, on paper, as targets for the Celtics.

Kevin Martin, Wing, Minnesota Timberwolves

The Celtics were rumored to be talking trade for Anthony Bennett before the draft. The Wolves probably don't view either Bennett or Martin as part of the future, so the Celtics could send assets back their way in return for a package of Martin and Bennett. Martin is one of the premier three-point shooters in the league and Bennett presents upside as the top pick in 2013.

Tyreke Evans, Wing, New Orleans Pelicans

Ainge has long coveted Evans for his tenacious scoring and his versatility. It's unlikely that he'd be available, since Pelicans head coach hinted that he has big plans for Evans this coming season, but talk is cheap.

Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Wing, Detroit Pistons

Early impressions of Stanley Johnson are strong in Detroit, so they have a fair amount of depth at wing. Maybe Caldwell-Pope could be acquired if a stretch shooting big is sent in return. However, this move wouldn't be very impactful for the Celtics this season, since KCP hasn't proven he can produce consistently.

112288

IF Ainge trades for Gallinari (which has been rumored elsewhere), I think my head might explode.

Amir Johnson (Average journeyman)
David Lee (past his prime player, who never won as a key piece)
Gallinari (please, injury prone euro big who knows nothing of defense)

that looks more like an off-season by a GM trying to hang on his job and making silly moves , rather than a guy who is trying to build a contender to me.

maybe we really are back to the old "trader Danny" days before 2008?

where trades are made to do them, with really no plan in place but hope.

kdp,

Nobody likes Danny's draft picks, so maybe he does go back to trading players like so many basketball cards. (LOL)

gyso

kdp59 wrote:IF Ainge trades for Gallinari (which has been rumored elsewhere), I think my head might explode.

Amir Johnson (Average journeyman)
David Lee (past his prime player, who never won as a key piece)
Gallinari (please, injury prone euro big who knows nothing of defense)

that looks more like an off-season by a GM trying to hang on his job and making silly moves , rather than a guy who is trying to build a contender to me.

maybe we really are back to the old "trader Danny" days before 2008?

where trades are made to do them, with really no plan in place but hope.

Don't really know about Gallinari, but the other way to think about the others is:

Amir Johnson - Good energy and defensive player taken away from a division rival that finished ahead of the Celtics last year (12M expiring contract)
David Lee: Recent all star who can make a much bigger contribution next year than the corpse of Gerald Wallace rotting on the bench (15m expiring contract)

These guys aren't the future... they're placeholders for next year who will allow the team to:

1) Free up a bunch of cap space next year
2) Potentially trade Kelly and/or Sully without leaving a gaping hole in the lineup
3) Potentially trade one of these guys during the year as a large expiring contract to help someone else get cap space

In short, they've added flexibility, turned one on court useless asset (Wallace's expiring) into a larger, on-court useful asset (Lee's expiring), and probably made the team better for next year. Hopefully Danny can turn some of the remaining assets into a decent SG.

-V

BaronV wrote:

kdp59 wrote:IF Ainge trades for Gallinari (which has been rumored elsewhere), I think my head might explode.

Amir Johnson (Average journeyman)
David Lee (past his prime player, who never won as a key piece)
Gallinari (please, injury prone euro big who knows nothing of defense)

that looks more like an off-season by a GM trying to hang on his job and making silly moves , rather than a guy who is trying to build a contender to me.

maybe we really are back to the old "trader Danny" days before 2008?

where trades are made to do them, with really no plan in place but hope.

Don't really know about Gallinari, but the other way to think about the others is:

Amir Johnson - Good energy and defensive player taken away from a division rival that finished ahead of the Celtics last year (12M expiring contract)
David Lee:  Recent all star who can make a much bigger contribution next year than the corpse of Gerald Wallace rotting on the bench (15m expiring contract)

These guys aren't the future... they're placeholders for next year who will allow the team to:

1)  Free up a bunch of cap space next year
2)  Potentially trade Kelly and/or Sully without leaving a gaping hole in the lineup
3)  Potentially trade one of these guys during the year as a large expiring contract to help someone else get cap space

In short, they've added flexibility, turned one on court useless asset (Wallace's expiring) into a larger, on-court useful asset (Lee's expiring), and probably made the team better for next year.  Hopefully Danny can turn some of the remaining assets into a decent SG.

-V

Baron,

I agree.

Amir Johnson can play, and started, on a better team than us last year. Getting a better player than we have from a team that is better than you, that's an upgrade. It might be a one-year deal (or less) but it is an upgrade.

David Lee can play. Gerald Wallace, the guy we gave up, can't anymore. Lee is 2 years away from being an all-star and that fall off in production happened because of an injury, a new coach and a player who is now one of the top 3s in the league grabbing his spot in a small ball lineup.

I'm not a big fan of Gallinari but my biggest beef with him is his defense and lack of rebounding for his size. There's probably not much that can be done about his rebounding (see Green, Jeff) but Brad's defensive schemes might minimize his defensive liability. He was a #6 pick in the draft. And then people wonder why my eyes start rolling when they start extolling the draft and the joys of losing to go higher in it. The good news about him is he's 6'10", 225#. That is very nice size for a SF. Contrary to his rep, his shooting stats are excrement. I'd rather give his minutes to James Young, and that is saying something.

I don't believe, for a NY second, that Danny is worried about his job. Nope.

kdp,

I don't mean to be be following you around and picking on your comments.  But your problem is that you post interesting stuff, which can be provocative—in a good way.

I would question the statement that Gallinari "knows nothing of defense."  According to Basketball Reference, in 2014-15, Gallinari's defensive points allowed were 1.1 points below the average player for the entire league.  I don't know a lot about how this was calculated, nor do I really care because I probably could poke holes in the philosophy of the stat.  But this once I'm assuming that it may provide a general indication that he's no worse than average defensively.

You have a point about his being injury-prone, as he played in only 79% of his team's games last season and 86% the previous year.  But, when he plays, he has averaged a solid 30 mpg throughout his career (24 last season).

I expect the Celtics, if they were to consider trading for him, would carefully check his medical records, although I realize they're not a prediction of what will happen in the future.  Perhaps De Rozan would be a better target, although he played only 73% of his games last year.  But they do need another wing with some length, and one who can space the floor.

Sam

Sam,

Gallinari missed the entire 2013-14 season.

I do think Boston needs an upgrade at SF but who would Boston give up to come close to matching his salary of $11.56m?
As of today, Boston can't expect anything from James Young.
It's not only that his shots aren't falling. It's also his body language and decision making.
DeRozan could be a very good fit for Boston.
He is a great athlete and will score even if it's by volume.
Boston is not building their team around great shooters, but it's more about the pace.
DeRozan is a legit 20 ppg player, so I expect the price would be high to try to trade for him.

well I got some response here anyway.......LOL.

as they say..it will be all good in the end.