TRADE TALKS HEAT UP ON ASIK & CELTICS

by **112288** Mon Dec 16, 2013 10:10 pm

CSNE

Trade rumors heating up around Celtics

BOSTON — Aside from the Boston Celtics rookies, just about every player on the Celtics roster is familiar with this time of year when trade rumors make the rounds.

But this is all new to head coach Brad Stevens who has his own way of handling such talk.

"I don't pay attention to that stuff," said Stevens in this his first season. "The only time I would pay attention to it is if Danny (Ainge, Boston's president of basketball operations) came in and told me that something was being considered and we haven't had any of those discussions."

The Celtics came into the season determined to avoid being a luxury tax payer this season, meaning any deal that would jeopardize that this season or even next season, isn't happening.

That's why the rumors about Boston being involved with a deal to acquire Houston's Omer Asik is unlikely to happen unless the Celtics look to make other deals as well.

Although Asik's salary counts $8.4 million against the cap next season, his actual salary is a shade under $15 million which makes it unlikely for Boston to do such a deal unless they had a taker for one of their higher-salaried players like Gerald Wallace or Rajon Rondo who are due $10.1 million and $12.9 million, respectively, next season.

Boston has not found much interest in Wallace, while multiple league sources contacted on Monday told CSNNE.com that the Celtics aren't going to get any "legitimate" offers for Rondo until he returns to playing.

A more likely scenario for the Celtics is to pursue a player still on their rookie contract whose potential is of greater value than their present play.

A league source told CSNNE.com to keep an eye on New Orleans' Austin Rivers who is playing sparingly in this, his second season.

While no deal is imminent, there's no denying the interest that Rivers generated within the Celtics front office leading up to the 2012 NBA draft.

Boston looked into possibly moving up the draft board with an intent on taking Rivers, the son of former Celtics head coach Doc Rivers.

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HOW DANNY AINGE’S CELTICS CAN ACQUIRE OMER ASIK

WEEI

By Ben Rohrbach

As we’ve discussed in great detail, the Celtics have the picks and assets to enter just about every NBA trade conversation, so it comes as no surprise that they have reportedly entered the Omer Asik sweepstakes.

The advice offered to us on Sunday was stern: Keep an eye on Boston. The Celtics possess two players in different salary ranges that would presumably fit in useful ways next to Dwight Howard: Jeff Green and Brandon Bass. The Celts also have a spare first-round draft pick or two to plug into any trade equation to sweeten the deal for Houston, amid rising suspicions around the league that Morey’s Rockets are going to find a way to come out of the Asik saga with at least one future first. – Marc Stein, ESPN.com

The Rockets set a self-imposed deadline of Thursday to deal Asik, who requested a trade last month and even sat out a game due to concerns that resulted from the Dwight Howard signing this summer. The 7-footer hasn’t played since Dec. 2 after suffering a bruised right thigh and getting his swollen right knee drained.

This season and next, Asik is owed $20.1 million of his uniquely structured three-year, $25.1 million deal, including $14.9 million next year, although he would count $8.4 million against the salary cap. Make no mistake, though, Asik is a catch. The 27-year-old Turk played every game of his first three NBA seasons, culminating in career averages (10.1 points, 11.7 rebounds) during his first winter in Houston. He’s widely considered an elite rebounding center with an improving offensive game whose impact is measured best by advanced analytics.

But how much would the Celtics be willing to give up for Asik? First, Rockets GM Daryl Morey‘s asking price.

He hopes to come away with either a strong defensive wing who can catch-and-shoot, a power forward who can fill in as a backup center, or expiring contracts that come with first-round picks — or some combination of those assets. – Jonathan Feigen, Houston Chronicle

Recent reports have indicated the 76ers are the leaders in the clubhouse for Asik’s services, offering 25-year-old power forward Thaddeus Young (15.9 ppg, 6.7 rpg, 1.6 apg, .533 TS%, 16.3 PER, 721 minutes), but Terrence Jones‘ emergence as Houston’s starting 4 as well as the two years and $18.9 million remaining on Young’s contract after this season might require a third team to complete — and further complicate — a deal.

Both Jeff Green and Brandon Bass appeared in Stein’s piece about Boston’s initial interest and would meet Morey’s desires. Green for Asik works straight up, but Morey may have similar concerns over the two years and $18.4 million left on Green’s contract, and Ainge might hesitate in trading his most potent offensive weapon. (And wouldn’t it be ironic if Ainge deals Green for a defensive-minded center with a limited offensive game?)

The Celtics could more easily part with Bass, whose numbers compare favorably to Young’s (11.7 ppg, 6.5 rig, 1.4 apt, .536 TS%, 16.1 PER, 753 minutes), and Ainge would have to throw in MarShon Brooks to make the money work. The Bass contract (just $6.9 million next season) could be attractive enough to trump Thad’s youth (Bass is 28). This would be a no-brainer for the Celtics, who desperately need a legitimate center to protect the paint, but Ainge might have to sweeten the offer with one of his nine first-round draft picks over the next five seasons.

If parting with Bass and a first-round pick is too steep, Ainge still has the expiring contracts of Kris Humphries and Keith Bogans to package. Because of a trade exception from their blockbuster deal with the Nets this past summer and Houston’s salary cap flexibility, the Celtics could ship Humphries and a protected future first-round pick for Asik, but Ainge might want those assets to package for a better player at the deadline.

Regardless, Ainge can meet Morey’s demands in any number of creative ways, which was the plan all along.

112288

by **dboss** Tue Dec 17, 2013 9:49 am

Made up media driven rumors.

by **gyso** Tue Dec 17, 2013 10:54 am

I liked what A. Sherrod Blakely said during the game last night. The Celtics are not going to go over the luxury tax level this year and next.

He also said that the Celtics are not in a buying mode, they are rebuilding.

by **hawksnestbeach** Tue Dec 17, 2013 11:32 am

My take on this: don't give away the farm and don't be pressured by another team's timetable. We have too many pfs and no front-line center, but it seems the backup pg problem was resolved without giving up anything and Brad is doing an excellent job of distributing minutes. I don't think we'll get a center for nothing and I know we will trade players at some point, but our surprisingly (to some) good record and the early returns on the coach, team comaraderie and Rondo's pending return make us a good place to land. Just want to see us thinking long-term all the way. Hawk

by **dboss** Tue Dec 17, 2013 11:43 am

Agree 100%

by **bobheckler** Tue Dec 17, 2013 12:17 pm

http://www.sheridanhoops.com/2013/12/16/omer-asik-sweepstakes-source-says-five-teams-still-in-the-mix/

Omer Asik Sweepstakes: Source says Five Teams Still in the Mix
By Chris Sheridan
December 16, 2013 at 5:55 PM

TRADE TALKS HEAT UP ON ASIK & CELTICS Asik

TRADE TALKS HEAT UP ON ASIK & CELTICS Asik

Omer Asik is going to be traded this week, and Philadelphia, Atlanta, Charlotte, Boston and Cleveland are the five teams most squarely in the mix, a league executive with intimate knowledge of the trade talks told SheridanHoops.com on Monday.

A number of three-team deals are being discussed, with Houston general manager Daryl Morey seeking to land a backup center along with a 2014 first-round draft pick — unless he can land a bonafide stud.

Asik has missed the past six games with a bruised right thigh. Of course, this is complete BS. But it ranks a distant second on Asik’s list of fake injuries, as anyone who watched the Turkey-Serbia semifinal at the 2010 World Championships can attest.

For the uninformed, here’s what happened: Late in a tight game, Asik was ever-so-slightly fouled on a drive to the basket. A notoriously poor free throw shooter, Asik fell to the floor and stayed there for several minutes because he was too much of a bitch ass (quoting the producer of the video cited below) to go to the line for two crucial free throws with his entire country watching. (YouTube video of the Academy Award performance right here.)

Asik’s acting job began with him holding his stomach, which was not touched when he was fouled, and concluded with him holding an ice pack to his head, which also was not touched. It was the biggest and most egregious flop I have ever or will ever witness.

Anyway, that’s ancient history; it happened way back on Sept. 11, 2010. Turkey went on to win the game, and Asik will stay out of Serbia for the rest of his life if he knows what is good for him.

Everything above this paragraph is fact. Everything below it is informed conjecture. So let’s have a look at the five teams mentioned above and see whether they have the goods to get a deal done and make it work under NBA salary cap rules.

PHILADELPHIA 76ERS - The Sixers, now in full tank mode after opening the season 3-0, have been a mainstay in the Asik rumor mill.

They have a center of the present, Spencer Hawes, who makes $6.6 million and will become a free agent at the end of the season, and a center of the future, Nerlens Noel, who is on the shelf recovering from a knee injury.

The most obvious trade candidate is Thaddeus Young, an expendable power forward who is not exactly a stretch 4 but can knock down an outside shot and hit the boards. He carries the highest salary of any player on Philadelphia’s roster at $8.85 million.

The Sixers also have Evan Turner, whose trade prospects were examined on this site a week ago by longtime Philly sportswriter Jon Marks.

In the draft pick department, they have their own No. 1 pick in 2014 plus the Pelicans’ pick (protected 1-5), and GM Sam Hinkie will cling to them more than he will cling to any single player on his roster. So Morey won’t be getting a first-rounder if he does a straight up deal with his former assistant. But Philly owns the rights to Houston’s second-round pick and Brooklyn’s second-round pick.

PHILADELPHIA 76ers SALARY CAP SITUATION AND ANALYSIS

The thinking here is that Hawes makes more sense than Young because Hawes can not only play as a backup behind Dwight Howard, but also can be a stretch 5 playing the power forward position since he shoots threes.

ATLANTA HAWKS – Paul Millsap’s name has been thrown out there, but Paul Millsap is twice the player that Omer Asik is, and Danny Ferry is no dunce.

So that just ain’t happening unless Wes Wilcox stages a coup d’etat.

But what else might get the deal done for Atlanta?

In the backup center department, there is Elton Brand (over the hill and making $4 million); Gustavo Ayon, who was the MVP of the Tournament of the Americas last summer for Mexico, which won the gold medal; and Pero Antic, a beefy Macedonian who might remind some of Nikola Pekovic, with a head only a few sizes smaller.

Nothing great among those three, but then there is this: Atlanta has the right to swap first-round draft picks with Brooklyn. And with the Nets floundering through their soda-spilling escapades as they languish near the bottom of the Atlantic Division, Morey could take a gamble that Mikhail Prokhorov’s $180 million mess might miss the playoffs and wind up in the lottery.

What if Morey can get a spare center, a possible lottery pick and rid himself of Jeremy Lin?

ATLANTA HAWKS SALARY CAP SITUATION AND ANALYSIS

That’s why NBA trades can get interesting.

Here’s an eight-player trade that would be Linsane — but might make some sense for both teams: The Hawks get Lin, Asik and two players nobody’s ever heard of, and the Rockets get Ayon, Antic, Brand, Jeff Teague and the Nets’ pick.

CHARLOTTE BOBCATS - They are one of the few teams with an expendable backup center in draft bust Bismack Biyombo. They would have to throw in a better-than-serviceable second player to even get Morey to return their calls, but since they are on our source’s list, they probably have already done so.

One thing Michael Jordan will not do is sacrifice another of his own future first-round picks. The ‘Cats already owe one to the Bulls from the ill-fated Tyrus Thomas trade, although they will keep it in 2014 if it falls in the top 10 (the protection drops to top 8 in 2015 and unprotected in 2016).

But Charlotte also owns the right to Portland’s 2014 pick and Detroit’s 2014 pick, and it’s fair to say Morey would only do a deal if the Pistons pick was put into play.

CHAROTTE BOBCATS SALARY CAP SITUATION AND ANALYSIS

So if we start with Biyombo and a No. 1, what else would it take? How about Michael Kidd-Gilchrist?

Here’s how that deal would look, courtesy of ESPN’s Trade Machine.

BOSTON CELTICS – In my humble opinion, the only way Morey does business with Boston on this one is if Rajon Rondo is included. Despite their first-place standing, the Celtics stink.

Sure, Danny Ainge would be happy to hand over Brandon Bass and/or Courtney Lee, but he’s keeping his hands on Kelly Olynyk and Jared Sullinger. What about Jeff Green, you ask? Yes, that could be a possibility.

But let’s get back to the bigger fish.

Ainge has been steadfast in saying that he has no plans to trade Rondo. But as we all know, you can tell Ainge is lying when his lips are moving, and Rondo was one of the primary reasons why Doc Rivers left Boston (the two nearly got into a fistfight, as reported exclusively here).

You put Rondo with Howard, and look out.

So what would it take?

BOSTON CELTICS SALARY CAP SITUATION AND ANALYSIS

For starters, the Rockets would be the ones giving up at least one first-round pick, and probably a couple of second-rounders as well. Jeremy Lin would have to be in the deal as well. So how about this, Celtics Nation: Would you give up Rondo for Lin, Asik and two future first-round picks if the Rockets agreed to take Courtney Lee and Bass off your cap?

Have a look in the ESPN Trade Machine. And remember that the first-round picks do not show in the WWL’s piece of gadgetry.

CLEVELAND CAVALIERS – Andrew Bynum is too injury-prone to make Anderson Varejao expendable. That’s just a fact. And Varejao’s energy cannot be replaced. Reports out of Cleveland media outlets have shot down the Varejao-Asik rumor that was floated out there a few days ago.

But what about a different backup center?

Ladies and gentlemen, how about Tyler Zeller? He is a third wheel in Cleveland, but the Cavs would have to add a player or two along with a future first-rounder. Cleveland is owed one by Memphis in 2015 that has some very strange protection: 1-5 and 15-30. Cleveland also is owed a first-rounder from Sacramento, but that obligation will be extinguished if the Kings fail to make the playoffs between now and 2017.

So what else would get a Cavs deal done? Aside from Varejao, it seems almost impossible — unless it is a three-way deal through Philadelphia, which can absorb Asik’s salary in an uneven trade.

CLEVELAND CAVALIERS SALARY CAP SITUATION AND ANALYSIS

We won’t even bother with the ESPN Trade Machine on this one because it does not include picks. But what about Asik to Cleveland through Philly, with the Rockets getting Zeller and the Memphis pick, and Philly giving Thaddeus Young to the Rockets, and the Sixers getting back a pile of the five second-rounders that Houston is sitting on (New York’s in 2014 and 2015, Philly’s in 2014, and the Clippers’ and Wolves’ in 2015.)

Yes, that last one is creative. But no team gets quite as creative as Cleveland when making trades, so rule this one out at your own peril.

Chris Sheridan is publisher and editor-in-chief of SheridanHoops.com.

bob
MY NOTE: "Bitch ass"? I said I thought he was a complainer and an overrated prima donna, but a "bitch ass"? Furthermore, Sheridan is still hung up on that report about Doc and Rondo almost fighting. That isn't why Doc left, get over it Sheridan, it was a media hyped dud. You know what a media hyped dud is, right? You see one in the mirror every morning. As far as Danny lying because his lips are moving, I would love to play poker with Sheridan. Five minutes after the game is over I'd be booking a trip to Fiji using his money because he doesn't grasp the fundamental concepts of "bluffing" and "disinformation". He thinks that if someone doesn't tell the press (aka, him) the absolute Gods-given truth, then they're a liar and horrible person.

.

by **gyso** Tue Dec 17, 2013 1:07 pm

We are to take on Asik's and Lin's contracts (almost $30M salary next year)?

What a maroon!! This guy Bugs me!!

by **RosalieTCeltics** Tue Dec 17, 2013 1:28 pm

The new one is Sacramento making a blockbuster trade with Celtics for Rondo. Not liking this at all

by **k_j_88** Tue Dec 17, 2013 1:55 pm

Asik is going to want more money after his contract is up most likely.

And Asik could potentially leave after his contract is up. Why trade multiple legit rotation players for a guy that may not stay? Boston could easily just wait a year or two and sign a FA instead. They can build around what they have instead of obliterating the core.

KJ

by **tjmakz** Tue Dec 17, 2013 3:17 pm

The only way I see Boston trading Rondo in a trade for Asik is if Boston is in full rebuild mode.
At that point, they would be better off re-routing Asik to another team.
I think Boston could get two players and two 1st round picks from Houston in a trade built around Rondo and Asik and they could get maybe a Jeremy Lamb, another player and a 1st round pick from OKC for Asik. The Houston picks would have to be unprotected for Rondo as he is a top 3 pg in the NBA when healthy.
But, in reality, with Boston in first place and the playoffs being realsitic this year in the East, I doubt they go into rebuild mode and trade Rondo.

by **k_j_88** Tue Dec 17, 2013 3:40 pm

Why trade Rondo? That means Boston will have to go out and find yet another PG...

They only need a few more pieces...

KJ

by **RosalieTCeltics** Tue Dec 17, 2013 5:16 pm

This was on bleacher report earlier today. Guess where they got this from? Donny Marshall on NBC TV. This is all Marshall has been harping on for a long time. I do not believe it. Why trade a piece like Rondo for whatever's? I know, I know, money. This would be a big mistake.

Those guys over there on Bleacher Reports just love to stir the pot!

Rosalie

by **dboss** Wed Dec 18, 2013 6:47 am

Also read that this rumor was started by none other than Bill Simmons and then spread to dummies like Marshall. In fact it was not a rumor. It was more like a what if pipe dream.

Dboss

by **k_j_88** Wed Dec 18, 2013 10:49 am

I am under the impression that none of these proposed trades are imminent or even discussed.

Boston's cap situation prevents flexibility. Ainge has already stated that "making the playoffs this year is not a goal." This shows me that he appears to be more willing to see what the assets are worth and wait for some of the cap room to clear up.

There is so much nonsense going on these days. You notice that once it was determined Rondo was cleared for practice that these rumors really took off from the rather idle chatter that was going on in its place.

KJ

by **tjmakz** Wed Dec 18, 2013 10:56 am

k_j_88 wrote:I am under the impression that none of these proposed trades are imminent or even discussed.

Boston's cap situation prevents flexibility. Ainge has already stated that "making the playoffs this year is not a goal." This shows me that he appears to be more willing to see what the assets are worth and wait for some of the cap room to clear up.

There is so much nonsense going on these days. You notice that once it was determined Rondo was cleared for practice that these rumors really took off from the rather idle chatter that was going on in its place.

KJ

KJ,

I would be very surprised if you could find a quote from Ainge stating what you claimed he said.
How would Stevens and the players feel about Ainge making a comment like that?

by **k_j_88** Wed Dec 18, 2013 11:04 am

tjmakz wrote:

KJ,

I would be very surprised if you could find a quote from Ainge stating what you claimed he said.
How would Stevens and the players feel about Ainge making a comment like that?

http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nba-ball-dont-lie/boston-celtics-boss-danny-ainge-making-playoffs-not-202958681--nba.html

Here's the direct quote from Ainge:

“I don’t know, because there’s too many variables, it’s just not that simple,” he said about the postseason. “Making the playoffs is not a goal. I need to explain that a little bit. If there’s a bunch of teams that are just injured and playing and you finish five, six, or seven games under .500 and you made the playoffs just because of that, that might not be such a great thing. I’m only concerned about how our players are playing, and if it so happens we make the playoffs and we earn our way and our guys are getting better, then I’m thrilled."

“We’re not excited about being 10-14. That doesn’t bring excitement to anybody, but progress does.”

^That is what I was referring to. Boston is in a transitional year. If they make the playoffs, cool. But that isn't what they're shooting for.

As far as how they "feel" about it, well, all they have to do is go out and play and get better.

KJ

by **tjmakz** Wed Dec 18, 2013 11:10 am

Yes, that needed further clarification.
Making the playoffs as an 8th seed while being 7 games under .500 would not be ideal.

Also, he recently said that.
He didn't go into the year telling everyone that our goal is not to make the playoffs.
In looking at Boston's record and their schedule in January, Ainge could envision making the playoffs as a 7th or 8th seed.

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