Trade Rumors

Bob, I assume you'd include Rondo in those players who are on the table. It should go without saying that trading anyone would require the right return.

I'd agree that Sully should be untouchable. He's working his butt off (as if that were a physical possibility) and realizing less than the maximum return on his effort because of the ineptitude of the team in general. But, of all the current Celtics (with the possible exception of Rondo depending on a lot of things), Jared most looks like someone who could have a major impact on a championship team.

Interesting to see Bradley's name floated, even in a rumor. I remain concerned about the extent of his upside because he's apparently through growing physically and his defensive forte depends so much on his physicality, which can deteriorate rapidly. Yes, he's shooting pretty dependably, but I have difficulty envisioning him as a starting SG on a championship team.

I've mentioned a championship team twice because that's my litmus test in appraising the long-term value of players for the Celtics.

Sam

I just went online and accessed as many mock drafts as I could, navigating through a lot of crap about everything from cheerleaders to one mock draft that didn't include the Celtics picking in the top 19.

Anyway, following are the results. It must be noted that this lists counts all mock draft as having equal weight, and I realize some would have more credibility than others.

3 had the Celtics picking 4th and selecting Dante Exum, PG/SG from Australia

2 had the Celtics picking 4th and selecting Julius Randle, PF from Kentucky

2 had the Celtics picking either 4th or 5th and selecting Marcus Smart, PG from Oklahoma State

1 had the Celtics picking 3rd and selecting Jabari Parker, SF from Duke

1 had the Celtics picking 4th and selecting Andrew Wiggins, SF from Kansas. (I believe it was Exum who knocked Wiggins out of the top three.)

With just that one exception, these guessing games had Embiid, Wiggins, Parker comprising the top three in some order.

As I read through these listings, I got the feeling that the identity of the Celtics' second pick in the first round could actually be more of an indicator of drafting success than the first pick because I sense that the Celtics could well draft their first pick based on the best athlete available and their second pick based on need. The depth of this draft will make many interesting possibilities available when they utilize the Hawks' or Nets' pick.

Sam

bobheckler wrote:
As we head into the final 3 weeks before the trade deadline, the word is that Danny is trying to move Wallace (no surprise there), Green (some but not a lot of surprise there) and Avery Bradley.

As far as I'm concerned the only player who should not be on the table is Sully.  He's a perfect combination of multi-position player, young, now-healthy, rookie contract and already ferocious NBA game.  Having said that, I think I'd even trade Sully if it got me LaMarcus Aldridge or Kevin Love, but that what it would take, I think.  That doesn't mean I want to see the above players traded, it just means we need change and that means players are moved for better fitting pieces.

I'd love to see Bradley stay.  Right now, he's looking at a $8-$9M/year contract.  How would that fit in to our salary cap, especially if Rondo's looking at the $20M max next year and Jeff Green is already making $9M?  


bob


.

$20M? That seems a bit on the high side. I could see Rondo getting mid-high teens, though $(16-17M perhaps?).

$17M (Rondo) + $8M (Bradley) + $9M (Green) = $34M. Salary cap is around $58M. Other players have contracts, too but they don't take up that much.


KJ

BobH,

And naturally a lot will have to do if Rondo is capable of returning to form.

Of course, he's months away from that possibility.




KJ

At only 23 Bradley still has upside on the offensive end.  I think his ceiling is pretty close to 20PPG.  Defensively he will be a top defender for a while just like Tony Allen.

DA would be a damn fool to trade him.  From what I read he wants $8 million per.  I think that is a very fair salary given the fact that he is a very good two way player.  

I also do not think that Sully is untouchable.  No one on this team is untouchable.

I would hate to see Sully moved but he is no superstar.  He is a ferocious rebounder and is developing into a good scorer but he is S L O W and cannot check big guys in the post.  Based on that he would be on the table as well.

The other thing to consider is how a midseason trade could impact the draft.  If for example the Celtics pulled the string on a trade for Aski, center would not be a primary area to target.  They would probably go after  a  scorer and a promising PG to groom behind Rondo.

Bottom line we could finish the season at or near the bottom and still get screwed in the lotto.  We have not had good luck in the draft lottery so the crab-shoot analogy applies here.

I suppose with all of the picks we have a few  misses are to be expected but this year could really supply top end talent .  We need to hit this one out of the park.

dboss

Keep Bradley... we all saw what happened to the defense when Tony Allen left. Every team that has aspirations for going deep in the playoffs needs a really great 1-vs-1 defender to give the other team's main weapon or PG fits. Bradley fits this role nicely. Pay him the money. He's earned it. He's fought his way back from multiple injuries and is becoming a leader. You gotta keep a guy like that.



KJ

Sam has never been a fan of AB, so I take his reluctance to give the guy enough credit with a grain of salt.

Totally agree with Dboss and KJ.  Bradley has more than proved himself on both ends of the floor.  Time to sign the kid to an extension.

sam wrote:Interesting to see Bradley's name floated, even in a rumor.  I remain concerned about the extent of his upside because he's apparently through growing physically and his defensive forte depends so much on his physicality, which can deteriorate rapidly.  Yes, he's shooting pretty dependably, but I have difficulty envisioning him as a starting SG on a championship team.

Sam

He plays better defense than Ray Allen did. And scores about just as much. Sure, he lacks the experience and consistent FT shooting ability that Allen had, but his on-court contributions measure up in my opinion.



KJ

MK,

Could not agree more Bradley is a rare find where you have the best on ball defenders in the NBA and he is developing a nice offensive game both within and outside the arch.

Trade him......let him go and not sign him.........are you nuts!

112288

Kj, when doing the salary cap math, don't forget the $10 million the Celts owe Wallace.

Otherwise, I agree about Avery. Keep him.

Mrkleen,

Would it hurt you terribly if I spoke for myself? I was down on Avery as a PG fairly early in the game—one of the few, I might add. Guess I was wrong about that, huh? How many grains of salt was that worth?

I've actually been a supporter of Bradley as a shooting guard, and I've especially been gratified at his shooting improvement. But there are two things that continue to bother me about Avery. One involves his halfcourt defense. Unlike his transition defense, I don't think there's anything special about his defense in the halfcourt, as I see him being beaten a lot, especially in dealing with back picks near the baseline. However, that situation could probably be reversed with the advent of some legitimate backup at the rim.

The other thing involves his athleticism. He's obviously got a boatload of it. However, when I see players who depend as much on their athleticism as Avery does, I always have to wonder what their shelf life will be. Within the past day, I also voiced the same reservation about Rondo, and he's my favorite current Celtics player. Both of their styles subject them to a lot of knocking around, sudden starts and stops, and other contortions that can invite injury. And, over time, even if they don't have serious injuries, will their level of play remain the same with a diminishing degree of athleticism on which to depend?

Another concern I have is Avery's height. He may be 6' 6" in your eyes, but he's (at the most) 6' 2" in mine. The height of shooting guards has been on the increase in the NBA. That gives them a built-in advantage over Avery in the halfcourt, though not in the open court where he can currently get up under taller players and attack their rhythm.

Whether any of this has any real bearing on Avery's potential future with the Celtics I'll happily leave to Danny Ainge. I do count him among the Celtics who could become trade bait for the right returns, and the only two I exempt are Sully and (probably) Rondo.

If you think my views are unreasonable, that's fine and I'm happy to discuss it. But please refrain from putting words in my mouth—especially oversimplifying my views to suit your needs—and then attacking the words. That's creating a straw man, and it's one of my pet peeves.

Thank you,

Sam

Sam, I assume that you wouldn't mind someone putting spanakopita into your mouth. I'm planning another trip to Crete this summer and invite you and Sally to join me. W

Saying you have not been a big AB fan is not putting words in your mouth Sam.  Any simple search of the archives would bear this out as a fact.

So go ahead and search and you'll find that everything I just said is true.

Sam

Worcester, you're right about the spanakopita. However, we'll have to pass on going to Crete (how it pains me to type those words) because summer is when we make the alleged money here on Cape Cod. You are a good friend to extend the offer, which I know you mean sincerely.

It’s appropriate that I close with the one Greek word I know. (I had to cut-and-paste it because my computer said, "Tilt" when I tried to type it.)

Σας ευχαριστώ πολύ

Sam

Tipote!