Barkley: Celtics need to make a trade for a role player, because their scorers aren't meshing

Barkley: Celtics need to make a trade for a role player, because their scorers aren't meshing

WEEI John Tomase


Charles Barkley believes it's time for the Celtics to make a trade.

The NBA Hall of Famer and TNT analyst broke down what has ailed the team during halftime of Thursday's 115-99 loss in Miami that saw Marcus Morris and Jaylen Brown briefly scuffle on the bench.

"They're not going to win the way they're currently constructed," Barkley said, per Boston.com. "I don't know what type of team they are. I really don't. I don't think they know who their go-to guys are. … If the Celtics are going to win the Eastern Conference, I think they've got to make a trade."

The team's flaw, in Barkley's mind? The age-old problem of too many shooters and not enough shots. Marcus Smart might be the only role player on the roster.

"They're not making that transition where they're like, 'OK, I'm not going to score tonight, gotta get stops.' They don't have guys like that," Barkley said. "Jaylen Brown could be an All-Star. Jayson Tatum could be an All-Star. Kyrie [Irving]'s been an All-Star. Gordon Hayward's been an All-Star. Al Horford's been an All-Star, but you don't look at any of those guys and say, 'Well, they're a defensive stopper and they're content doing that.'

"I had a Mark West, who could go the whole game and not get a shot. Was going to affect the game and not complain and not pout. You have to have guys like that. You look at the Warriors. Draymond [Green] is a great defender. He's content to play great defense and rebound the ball. Last year, they had David West. They had JaVale McGee, Zaza Pachulia, because those [other] three guys are going to get all the shots. And with the Celtics, those guys, I told you coming into the season. Tatum and Brown wasn't going to say, 'Hey, Kyrie and Gordon, y'all take all the shots,' because they think they're better players than that."

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Barkley is a big blowhard, first of all, when season started they were trying to adapt and many times team was overpassing and a lot of main players/scorers weren’t getting enough shots. On Tatum and Brown, we need offense from them, if they just focused on defense and passed on shots, does anyone think Kyrie, GH and Al can carry us? Pretty obvious right now those 3 cannot carry us, Kyrie could, but Al is a broken down glue guy, he’s far away from a 20-10 guy, and I’d be thrilled with 18- 8, but he’s not gonna do that. Gordon I don’t want to beat a dead horse, we all see the struggles he’s going thru. We need 2 J’s to be best versions of themselves both ends, they are not glue guys, we need their playoff form from last year and if this team is gonna go far, they need to play like the best versions of themselves. Theis, Williams, Baynes, Smart, Semi can all be the dirty work role players that winning teams need and Smart has done a great job in limiting his shots and taking good ones.....this team needs to get 2 J’s offense rolling to have a chance to do anything in playoffs.

What is Barkley looking at? Baynes can’t play D? Williams? Semi, Smart, Theis...? We have a very strong core of defensive role players.

he's a clown, like Bradshaw is in football.

but he's also probably right, this team needs to get ride of someone. I fear they end up dumping Tatum or Brown over Hayward.

We'll know inside of a month....

db

kdp59 wrote:he's a clown, like Bradshaw is in football.

but he's also probably right, this team needs to get ride of someone. I fear  they end up dumping Tatum or Brown over Hayward.

Tatum isnt going anywhere.

mrkleen09 wrote:

kdp59 wrote:he's a clown, like Bradshaw is in football.

but he's also probably right, this team needs to get ride of someone. I fear  they end up dumping Tatum or Brown over Hayward.

Tatum isnt going anywhere.

The very idea...geez

Just saw a piece on Dennis Smith and a possible trade to Orlando, with Mo Bamba being possibly moved to Dallas?

I wonder if Danny can get in the mix and maybe do something like

Rozier, Rob Williams and one of our non kings first rounders for

Bamba and either Briscoe or Frazier?

won;t move the needle much this year, but could help big time next season

Why would you trade Robert Williams, a young guy who is cheap and fitting in well with this team, for Bamba who is an more expensive and already injury prone?

mrkleen09 wrote:Why would you trade Robert Williams, a young guy who is cheap and fitting in well with this team, for Bamba who is an more expensive and already injury prone?

I was thinking Bamba has a higher upside and would be worth it.

kdp59 wrote:

mrkleen09 wrote:Why would you trade Robert Williams, a young guy who is cheap and fitting in well with this team, for Bamba who is an more expensive and already injury prone?

I was thinking Bamba has a higher upside and would be worth it.

Clearly a very limited sample size, but Mo is making a LOT more money than Timelord with around the same level of production.  You can get Rob for 4 years for the price of Mo for two years.

This is a trade just for the sake of trading.  No thanks.

I do not see Orlando trading Bamba to anyone but it could happen.

Kleen how do you figure he is injury prone? He missed the last 3 games but has played in 39 games this year?

Nikola Vucevic is having a very good year and is making $12.75 million and he will be a free agent. They may let Vucevic go and roll with Bamba and BU center Birch plus Movgov has another year remaining at 16.7 million.

Dallas has to move PG Dennis Smith because he cannot play off the ball. Doncic is the PG now period. Smith at 6' 3" is not a good 2 guard prospect. But if the Magic want to move Bamba for a PG how about Terry Rozier?

Rozier and Yabusele works or Terry and Semi work.

That would resolve a lot of minute issue for Boston. Smart and Brown can absord Terry's minutes.

D - thought Mo was also injured last year at Texas. I just looked and it seems it was only for a few games.

My bigger objection is the money- clearly, not an upgrade over Williams for a lot more $$$.

mrkleen09 wrote:D - thought Mo was also injured last year at Texas.  I just looked and it seems it was only for a few games.  

My bigger objection is the money- clearly, not an upgrade over Williams for a lot more $$$.

Kleen that is true but we could use another center and Terry is likely gone this year, Bamba is locked in at $4.9 miil this year and $5.8 next year. and then a team option at $7.4 and a QA at $10.1 Terry already turned down a $13 million offer in October. Both Williams and Bamba are projects. But we have Al and Baynes for another year which gives the team time to develop those young guys or even make another trade down the road.

dboss wrote:

mrkleen09 wrote:D - thought Mo was also injured last year at Texas.  I just looked and it seems it was only for a few games.  

My bigger objection is the money- clearly, not an upgrade over Williams for a lot more $$$.

Kleen that is true but we could use another center and Terry is likely gone this year,  Bamba is locked in at $4.9 miil this year and $5.8 next year. and then a team option at $7.4 and a QA at $10.1   Terry already turned down a $13 million offer in October.  Both Williams and Bamba are projects.  But we have Al and Baynes for another year which gives the team time to develop those  young guys or even make another trade down the road.

Wait, so the conversation was about TRADING one for the other, so not sure what you are saying. You want the Celtics to carry Horford, Baynes, William, Theis AND Bamba?

I see nothing that says Bamba is any better than Williams - for 5x the price. I will stick with Robert as my young project and bank the difference

I would do the Bamba for Rozier and Yaba or Semi in a hearbeat, so what if we have abundance of 5’s....

cowens/oldschool wrote:I would do the Bamba for Rozier and Yaba or Semi in a hearbeat, so what if we have abundance of 5’s....

Me too. Bamba is also a very smart person. That helps as well and he does have talent.

cowens/oldschool wrote:I would do the Bamba for Rozier and Yaba or Semi in a hearbeat, so what if we have abundance of 5’s....

First off - in what world would Orlando do that deal?

Second, what team in the NBA has 5 centers? Come on man.

Maybe it just as much wanting to get rid of Rozier.

5 centers? Theis is not a center. Al's days are numbered. Baynes is no spring chicken. We have 1 young true center., RW. Bamba would be a great get whom we will never get.

worcester wrote:5 centers? Theis is not a center.  Al's days are numbered. Baynes is no spring chicken.  We have 1 young true center., RW.  Bamba would be a great get whom we will never get.

You get a chance to get a player like that, you do it....worry about minutes later

worcester wrote:5 centers? Theis is not a center.  Al's days are numbered. Baynes is no spring chicken.  We have 1 young true center., RW.  Bamba would be a great get whom we will never get.

Worcester - we are talking about a trade THIS SEASON. You can count them anyway you want. Horford, Theis, Baynes, Williams AND Bamba = 5.

cowens/oldschool wrote:
You get a chance to get a player like that, you do it....worry about minutes later

What makes you think Bamba is better than Robert Williams? Williams was a projected lottery pick in 2017, decided to come back to A&M and that team ended up with all kinds of injuries and playing Robert out of position all season.

I dont think either of them are stars by any means, but dont see any justification that Bamba is better than Robert.....and certainly not 14 MILLION dollars better.

I don’t care who’s better now, get him and keep both if you can dump 
Rozier, let them battle for minutes, Williams only young talent at 5, all others have age/injury issues as Worse pointed out....

cowens/oldschool wrote:I don’t care who’s better now, get him and keep both if you can dump 
Rozier, let them battle for minutes, Williams only young talent at 5, all others have age/injury issues as Worse pointed out....

This the progression of a debate out here - the terms change as the threads go along.

The whole point of this thread was making a deal that sent Robert Williams TO ORLANDO and brought Mo Bamba TO BOSTON.  It wasnt both, it was an either or.

How it turned into everyone is old, so we should keep them both is beyond me.