Trade season is universally beloved in sports because it is the ultimate marriage of opinion and creativity for sports. Typically, sports talk is limited to ‘what-if’s that are so abstract and variable that’s it’s too difficult for even the most articulate of people to describe their vision. For example, “the Celtics would be better if Marcus Smart shot less three-pointers” is an opinion someone can have, but trying to account for what that would look like on a basketball court is very difficult. We’ve never seen a Marcus Smart that was shy about not shooting three pointers, so to imagine what that player would look like (and by extension to visualize that new player making an impact) is not only difficult but also uninteresting. We know Marcus Smart will likely never be shy about taking three-pointers so the unreality of that situation makes debating or imagining that idea seem more bland and less worth thinking about.
Trade ideas are an exploration in possible realities. Other teams’ players are fungible, unlike imagining what our players would be like if they were different. It’s much more easy to see a new player affecting a team’s composition than the changes of current Celtics player. If you say, “I think the Celtics should trade for Hassan Whiteside”, people understand that and are way more interested in it than “I think Kelly Olynyk should start focusing on getting blocks” because it’s a scenario that has so much more reality to it. It gives everyone a clear vision of the changes you are looking for, because the players you are talking about actually exist. All that’s left to do is to debate what will happen to them when exposed to the miasma of “team chemistry”.
Trade season is fun, because it gives us a chance to show other people our vision of the team in an intellectually currency that makes sense to everyone. Even more so, it allows us to express something of ourselves in the medium of sports; an opportunity to communicate a little bit of our values and thoughts to other people. Really it’s one of the more creative forms of communication that sports talk has.
So with that said, the point of an appealing trade is how it fits into reality. You need to be able to peel back the curtain and show people a different reality where Cell murdered Trunks and stole the time machine, Rick didn’t Cronenberg the world, and CJ McCollum got flipped for Avery Bradley and picks. The sky just can’t be green. What makes a trade great is when you can place the trace paper reality of a deal over the backing of real world and it mostly fits. So let’s take a look at what the ‘real world’ looks like.
| Player | 2016-2017 | 2017-2018 | 2018-2019 | 2019-2020 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Al Horford | $26,540,100 | $27,734,405 | $28,928,709 | $30,123,014 (PO) |
| Amir Johnson | $12,000,000 | $15,600,000 (CH) | ||
| Tyler Zeller | $8,000,000 | $8,000,000 (NG) | $12,000,000 (CH) | |
| Avery Bradley | $8,269,663 | $8,808,989 | $13,213,484 (CH) | |
| Isaiah Thomas | $6,587,132 | $6,261,395 | $9,392,093 (CH) | |
| Jae Crowder | $6,286,408 | $6,796,117 | $7,305,825 | $7,815,533 |
| Jonas Jerebko | $5,000,000 | $9,500,000 (CH) | ||
| Jaylen Brown | $4,743,000 | $4,956,480 | $5,169,960 (TO) | $6,534,829 (TO) |
| Marcus Smart | $3,578,880 | $4,538,020 | $13,614,060 (CH) | |
| Kelly Olynyk | $3,094,013 | $9,282,039 (CH) | ||
| Terry Rozier | $1,906,440 | $1,988,520 | $3,050,390 (TO) | $9,151,170 (CH) |
| James Young | $1,825,200 | $2,803,507 (CH) | ||
| Demetrius Jackson | $1,450,000 | $1,384,750 (NG) | $1,544,951 (NG) | $1,676,735 (TO) |
| Jordan Mickey | $1,223,653 | $1,471,382 (NG) | $1,600,520 (TO) | $3,040,988 (CH) |
| R.J. Hunter (waived) | $1,200,240 | |||
| Gerald Green | $980,431 | $1,471,382 (CH) | ||
| Ben Bentil (waived) | $250,000 | |||
| Guerschon Yabusele | $2,247,468 | $2,348,484 | $2,449,638 (TO) | |
| Ante Zizic | $1,645,236 | $1,719,204 | $1,793,310 (TO) | |
| 2017 Pick #3 | $5,645,442 | $5,899,500 | $6,153,420 (TO) | |
| 2018 Pick #10 | $3,164,202 | $3,306,618 | ||
| 2018 Pick #27 | $1,473,426 | $1,539,804 | ||
| 2019 Pick #18 | $2,172,672 | |||
| 2019 Pick #27 | $1,525,038 | |||
| Total | $92,935,160 | $120,135,132 | $105,787,180 | $68,738,637 |
| Cap Projection | $94,143,000 | $103,000,000 | $105,000,000 | $106,000,000 |
| Current Space | $1,207,840 | -$17,135,132 | -$787,180 | $37,261,363 |
PO = Player Option, TO = Team Option, NG = Non-Guaranteed Money, CH = Cap Hold
You’ve probably taken a look at this and thought, woah, the Celtics are 16M over the cap? Well, technically because of what’s known as cap holds. Cap holds are the counter-balance to teams having ‘Bird Rights’ on their own free agents. Cap holds take up cap space until the team either “renounces” these Bird Rights (effectively stating, we won’t be resigning this player in a way that makes us go over the salary cap) or resigns the player.
I’ve included the cap holds for all of the Celtics free agents here, but many of them will almost certainly be renounced. A more accurate portrayal is listed below, with this year’s cap holds renounced (except for Kelly Olynyk who is a restricted free agent) and Tyler Zeller 2018 Cap hold pulled because he will likely be waived for cap purposes if he’s still on the team this offseason.
| Player | 2016-2017 | 2017-2018 | 2018-2019 | 2019-2020 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Al Horford | $26,540,100 | $27,734,405 | $28,928,709 | $30,123,014 (PO) |
| Amir Johnson | $12,000,000 | |||
| Tyler Zeller | $8,000,000 | $8,000,000 (NG) | ||
| Avery Bradley | $8,269,663 | $8,808,989 | $13,213,484 (CH) | |
| Isaiah Thomas | $6,587,132 | $6,261,395 | $9,392,093 (CH) | |
| Jae Crowder | $6,286,408 | $6,796,117 | $7,305,825 | $7,815,533 |
| Jonas Jerebko | $5,000,000 | |||
| Jaylen Brown | $4,743,000 | $4,956,480 | $5,169,960 (TO) | $6,534,829 (TO) |
| Marcus Smart | $3,578,880 | $4,538,020 | $13,614,060 (CH) | |
| Kelly Olynyk | $3,094,013 | $9,282,039 (CH) | ||
| Terry Rozier | $1,906,440 | $1,988,520 | $3,050,390 (TO) | $9,151,170 (CH) |
| James Young | $1,825,200 | |||
| Demetrius Jackson | $1,450,000 | $1,384,750 (NG) | $1,544,951 (NG) | $1,676,735 (PO) |
| Jordan Mickey | $1,223,653 | $1,471,382 (PO) | $1,600,520 (PO) | $3,040,988 (CH) |
| R.J. Hunter (waived) | $1,200,240 | |||
| Gerald Green | $980,431 | |||
| Ben Bentil (waived) | $250,000 | |||
| Guerschon Yabusele | $2,247,468 | $2,348,484 | $2,449,638 (TO) | |
| Ante Zizic | $1,645,236 | $1,719,204 | $1,793,310 (TO) | |
| 2017 Pick #3 | $5,645,442 | $5,899,500 | $6,153,420 (TO) | |
| 2018 Pick #10 | $3,164,202 | $3,306,618 | ||
| 2018 Pick #27 | $1,473,426 | $1,539,804 | ||
| 2019 Pick #18 | $2,172,672 | |||
| 2019 Pick #27 | $1,525,038 | |||
| Total | $92,935,160 | $90,760,243 | $93,787,180 | $68,738,637 |
| Cap Projection | $94,143,000 | $103,000,000 | $105,000,000 | $106,000,000 |
| Current Space | $1,207,840 | $12,239,757 | $11,212,820 | $37,261,363 |
Renounce the rights to Kelly Olynyk and waive Tyler Zeller before his money guarantees, and the cap sheet looks like this.
| Player | 2016-2017 | 2017-2018 | 2018-2019 | 2019-2020 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Al Horford | $26,540,100 | $27,734,405 | $28,928,709 | $30,123,014 (PO) |
| Amir Johnson | $12,000,000 | |||
| Tyler Zeller | $8,000,000 | |||
| Avery Bradley | $8,269,663 | $8,808,989 | $13,213,484 (CH) | |
| Isaiah Thomas | $6,587,132 | $6,261,395 | $9,392,093 (CH | |
| Jae Crowder | $6,286,408 | $6,796,117 | $7,305,825 | $7,815,533 |
| Jonas Jerebko | $5,000,000 | |||
| Jaylen Brown | $4,743,000 | $4,956,480 | $5,169,960 (TO) | $6,534,829 (TO) |
| Marcus Smart | $3,578,880 | $4,538,020 | $13,614,060 (CH) | |
| Kelly Olynyk | $3,094,013 | |||
| Terry Rozier | $1,906,440 | $1,988,520 | $3,050,390 | $9,151,170 (CH) |
| James Young | $1,825,200 | |||
| Demetrius Jackson | $1,450,000 | $1,384,750 (NG) | $1,544,951 (NG) | $1,676,735 (TO) |
| Jordan Mickey | $1,223,653 | $1,471,382 (NG) | $1,600,520 (TO) | $3,040,988 (CH) |
| R.J. Hunter (waived) | $1,200,240 | |||
| Gerald Green | $980,431 | |||
| Ben Bentil (waived) | $250,000 | |||
| Guerschon Yabusele | $2,247,468 | $2,348,484 | $2,449,638 (TO) | |
| Ante Zizic | $1,645,236 | $1,719,204 | $1,793,310 (TO) | |
| 2017 Pick #3 | $5,645,442 | $5,899,500 | $6,153,420 (TO) | |
| 2018 Pick #10 | $3,164,202 | $3,306,618 | ||
| 2018 Pick #27 | $1,473,426 | $1,539,804 | ||
| 2019 Pick #18 | $2,172,672 | |||
| 2019 Pick #27 | $1,525,038 | |||
| Total | $92,935,160 | $73,478,204 | $93,787,180 | $68,738,637 |
| Cap Projection | $94,143,000 | $103,000,000 | $105,000,000 | $106,000,000 |
| Current Space | $1,207,840 | $29,521,796 | $11,212,820 | $37,261,363 |
| 1-6 Year Max | $22,168,004 | $25,750,000 | $26,250,000 | $26,500,000 |
| 7-9 Year Max | $26,601,605 | $30,900,000 | $31,500,000 | $31,800,000 |
| 10 Year Max | $31,035,206 | $36,050,000 | $36,750,000 | $37,100,000 |
Some disclaimers and assumptions about this numbers.
- Rookie scales deals from the 2018-2019 season on will be subject to a new rookie scale that has not been reported yet. Current numbers are using old rookie scale numbers with reported changes for 2017-2018.
- All draft picks, (including this year’s Net’s pick) are estimated based on where they will fall. A higher pick would denote higher salary by the rookie scale.
- This assumes both Zizic and Yabusele will come over next year which is not a given.
- Cap Projections (particularly those of later years) will likely increased with reported expanded definitions of BRI which is used to calculate cap numbers.
Think of the cap sheet as a the framework of the reality, and now think about what you think the team’s goals should be going forward. Some good questions to start figuring out where you might stand…
Should the Celtics give Isaiah Thomas (Possibly ALL-NBA this year) a maximum contract when he is 29 years old?
Probably the best place to start is what will be the most emotional discussion of the Celtics’ future. Where does Isaiah Thomas fit in and how much will he be worth? The future tense of that question is important because there is no doubt that 2015-2017 Isaiah Thomas is worthy of a maximum player contract. He is the engine that makes the Celtics go and somehow got better even when self-proclaimed experts (shuffles nervously) picked him as a regression candidate. Beyond that, Thomas is the emotional bedrock of a fanbase. We as fans love IT and the feeling seems to be mutual. To callously reduce the emotional value of that player attachment to dollar and year figures not only feels basic, but gross. Cheering for laundry is no fun, and everyone wants a world where IT continues an improbable HOF career here well into his 30s. If you are someone who sees that path forward, you want to batten down the salary cap hatches and take care of business before he hits FA in 2018.
However, there’s another camp that might point out that Isaiah Thomas is 5’9” and needs to rely on his athleticism more than perhaps anyone in the league to get shots off. Additionally, players who have a strange quirks like this to their game tend to be hit the hardest by crossing the threshold into 30. The Celtics are positioned to have a young core going forward with plenty of draft picks, and putting more help around Isaiah will likely require cuts from that incoming youth. A misstep by doubling-down on an ineffective Thomas would not only destroy the Celtics cap space going forward, but likely eliminate most of the sizable advantages granted by the Nets picks. The Celtics have hit the threshold of the rebuild where the way forward is too murky for a consensus, and incorrect moves are much more punishing than good moves are helpful. If you see IT’s situation more this way, you might be thinking more about flexibility and maybe even trading him while his value is high.
Were Isaiah Thomas a free agent last year or this year, this decision might have been simpler than it will be next year. Who knows? Maybe Thomas will continue to improve and the decision will be taken from the Celtics’ hands. But the path forward requires some decisions to be made this offseason, and that requires predicting what you think you are going to do with Isaiah Thomas, the man who built his career on making people who doubt him look stupid.
Are The Nets Picks Building Blocks or Ammunition?
The Celtics are set to receive their third infusion of Nets-subsidized talent this offseason, and it projects to be the most impactful one yet. James Young will likely go down as a high-upside swing that failed (for better or for worse). Jaylen Brown looks capable and promising, but All-Star aspirations for him are a hope, not a given. This year’s pick swap hopes to net (no pun intended) the Celtics the blue-chip prospect that they’ve missed on during their last few lottery trips. This is how many other teams see this as well, and several teams with all-stars are rumored to be open for business if the Celtics are willing to put that pick on the table. Most level-headed Celtics fans acknowledge the Celtics are 1-3 steps removed from contention without injury aid, and the internal debate seems to be whether the Celtics should aim to utilize the primes of their best current players (Al Horford, Isaiah Thomas, Jae Crowder) to reach for that contention now, or patiently (and without guarantee) trade those peak years for a more conservative, youth oriented approach.
Aiming to contend right away makes things pretty straight forward. In those instances the Celtics should prioritize attaining large infusion of talent over the next year and rely on the avenues that will make those most viable. For example, cap space remaining open for 2016 will allow for the chasing of big free agent acquisitions. Tossing the Brooklyn picks into deals for free agents would get the Celtics the big boy seat at any trade talk table.
However, if you think the Celtics have the opportunity to build something rare and lasting through the draft, you might be considering what the point in holding onto win-now pieces like IT and Horford would be. Maybe, you consider moving them for less polished, yet younger pieces, even though it might affect how the team is viewed. Moving Al, in particular, would raise questions about what kind of a team detonates their squad after a big free agent signing.
Maybe you’re someone who thinks that everyone gets that this is a business and there would be no hard feelings over tough decisions. Maybe, instead you’re a big advocate for Bill Simmons’ “secret” of basketball and think that a team needs continuity and chemistry to hold their roster together. Either way, the Celtics are going to makes decisions with these Nets picks over the next two years, and it’s largely going to be influenced on which iteration of the team they think is going to have the best chance to win.
What Should The Celtics Obligation to This Year’s Current Team Be?
The future tense is all well and fine, but at what point do the Celtics owe it to their current squad (a team with an outside shot at have two rounds worth of home court advantage) to be the best they can be? Players get hurt, teams catch bad match-ups and other lucky things can happen that determine a championship. Given that the Celtics would need more luck than most pseudo contenders to reach the promised land, but matchups are everything in the playoffs and the Celtics have the personnel to give most top teams that aren’t the Cavs and Jazz a lot of trouble.
The other side of that coin is the sad truth that this Celtics squad is facing some very long odds to be considered championship hopefuls, and buying support for this squad based on injury luck might be akin to making a bet at the roulette table on your way to cash out of the casino. You’re already coming out ahead, so why try to have it all? The next Celtics championship is very likely to not be this squad, so why not save those second round draft picks for a time when they might be able to contribute to that championship run?
You might think the Celtics should use picks to go get a rebounder or wing shooting. You might think the Celtics should hold tough and just let this team suffer an expected (but disappointing) second round loss in the interest of defending assets. Whatever your take, the Celtics spending habits in the next month will likely point to how the FO feels about this team’s shot.
What Does It Mean?
Once you’ve answered the questions, you’re ready to put together a trade profile for yourself. Let’s take me, for example. Here’s where I fall on these big questions discussed above:
- I think there’s a path for the Celtics to be a championship contender with a bonafide max free agent and an extra move or two.
- I think the Celtics shouldn’t trade any Nets picks before draft night. Nothing big is likely to change and the team will have more information then. The DVE has made some of the in season trades more impotent anyway, so it’s unlikely for the Celtics to be getting a home run trade out of an in-season Nets pick trade. If the Celtics still don’t have another big name after FA, then the Nets picks can be loosened a bit, but there’s not a great reason to do
- I love IT and think he can be a max year contract guy for at least 3 years, so I would want to make a run at maximizing the cap space this year before we lose space to IT, Smart and Bradley’s cap holds.
- The Celtics have enough talent stashed and in the pipeline with drafts that I think it’s worth parting with some minor assets in case LeBron’s cyborg “Check Engine” light comes on, and/or Draymond kicks Eric Gordon’s wedding tackle off in Round 3.
These points means I’m going to be focusing on trades that centralize on preserving or adding to cap space and flexibility in the 2017 off season and trade deadline. I think that this is probably going to be the gameplan for the Celtics front office going forward, so I think it makes a lot of sense to consider that when thinking about trades. That said, I’m also willing to move minor assets for a little bit of help. The extra “two-way” D-League roster spots will be helpful, but Abdel Nader has been surprisingly effective, and the Celtics are projected to have three 2nd round picks going forward. As a matter of fact, let’s take a look at the pick situation.
| Projected Picks | First Rounders | 2nd Rounders |
|---|---|---|
| 2017 | BRK | MIN, LAC, CLE |
| 2018 | BRK, BOS | BOS (owed to OKC, but protected 31-55) |
| 2019 | BOS, LAC (Lottery Protected), MEM (Protected 1-8) | BOS (owed to MEM, but protected 31-55), DET |
| 2020 | BOS | BOS, MIA |
That’s the end of my trade spiel, but if you’d like to hang around, I’ve got some trades that I think could help the Celtics achieve (what I believe to be) their aims of getting better this season for low end draft assets, redundant pieces, and maintaining their flexibility for the 2016 offseason with Griffin, Hayward, Millsap, and Kevin Durant, oh god I’m sorry please don’t yell at me.
Trade 1: Andrew Bogut for Tyler Zeller and Sweeteners
| The Trade | BOS | DAL |
|---|---|---|
| Receives | Andrew Bogut | Tyler Zeller, 2017 MIN 2nd and/or other second round draft sweeteners |
This one has been kicked around so much that it’s nearing parody, but part of the reason for that is because it makes a lot of sense. The Celtics get expiring-contract help to shore up the rebounding and rim protection and the Mavs get compensation for a warm body during a lost tank season. Maybe the Mavs want his bird rights, but I think they are beginning to understand the writing on the wall, and throwing money at an aging, oft-injured guy is usually ill advised. Bogut, a very good big passer, would also be a good fit for the Celtics “hit the paint and kick out” system.
Trade 2: PJ Tucker for Tyler Zeller and Sweeteners
| The Trade | BOS | PHX |
|---|---|---|
| Receives | PJ Tucker | Tyler Zeller, 2017 MIN 2nd and/or other second round draft sweeteners |
Now’s probably a good time to explain that you should probably get used to seeing Zeller’s name. His hefty salary and status as a non-rotation player mean that he will be in a lot of these trades. This trade would make the Celtics smaller, but Tucker has the same kind of strength and “fuck you” attitude that we see from Jae Crowder, allowing him to plug holes across three different positions. He’s having a brutal shooting year, but given the spacing of the bench and the brutal defensive stints that Gerald Green has had this year, he could shore up some of the wing depth issues the Celtics have. Players like Tucker command some value, however, and I could see other top teams bidding for his skills. Maybe more than makes sense for the Celtics to give up...
Trade 3: Will Barton for Tyler Zeller and REAL Sweeteners
| The Trade | BOS | DEN |
|---|---|---|
| Receives | William Norman Barton | Tyler Zeller, 2019 LAC 1st, Celtics 2018 1st, MIN 2nd |
Here is one of the weirder trades I could come up with. Denver finds themselves in a “not-unsimilar” situation to what the Celtics have been, flush with young assets, and capable vets on good contracts, but quickly running out of roster spots. Barton has a year left on his mondo cheap deal after this one, in which he will be in line for a substantial raise. Denver has Gary Harris, Jamal Murray, Danilo Gallanari, and Wilson Chandler all set to receive large helpings of wing minutes, to say nothing of their two first round picks coming in. Everyone is under contract for multiple years, so it makes sense for Denver to make paying Barton someone else’s problem while collecting a healthy trove of assets for his nifty contract. The Celtics get a scoring wing whose tiny contract can easily be accounted around. Even though taking on 2017-18 salary is a cardinal sin during this trade deadline, Barton is the rare player on a contract low enough for the Celtics to find creative accounting measures (stash Yabu an extra year, waive Jackson and/or Mickey) to keep him and maintain maximum cap space. Barton is an excellent 6th man type scorer, good shooter, has the requisite size to plug the Celtics wing hole, and the quickness to give Brad some lineup flexibility. What’s more, Barton would hit the market when the Celtics were totally capped out anyway. The two first round picks are deceiving, because protections and high win projections make them less valuable, but it would still be a good haul for a guy who only 1 ⅓ years left on his contact. What’s more, the Celtics would have his Bird Rights to hold a talented core together.
Trade #4: Serge Ibaka and Mario Hezonja for Avery Bradly and (sigh) Tyler Zeller and a pick
| The Trade | BOS | ORL |
|---|---|---|
| Receives | Serge Ibaka, Mario Hezonja | Avery Bradley, Tyler Zeller, 2019 LAC pick (or sweeten with picks to taste) |
This is the trade most likely to get me yelled at in the comments, and I admit at first blush, trading Avery Bradley’s cheap-o deal for an expiring contract isn’t a great look. But you have to give something to get something, and Ibaka fit the Celtics for a lot of different reasons. He’s a very good big shooter, capable rebounder, and an excellent rim protector to put next to Horford’s great shot blocking. The Celtics would be dealing Bradley a year early for value and to avoid a sticky 2018 situation where they will have to pay major money to two of their three main guards. Since Thomas returned from injury on December 16th, the Celtics have a nearly identical PPP differential with Smart on the floor as Thomas’s partner (+0.061) as compared to Bradley (+.058) per NBAwowy.com with a fair portion coming in starts since Bradley has been out. Smart is also a more capable standalone PG, with the team netting a +0.148 rating in the 418 possessions when Smart was on the floor with IT or AB, compared to a -0.074 for the team in the 217 poss when Bradley played without Smart or IT.
This means I lean toward Bradley being the most tradeable of the guards, which is a little strange, because many of the league reports I’ve seen have Bradley as more of a commodity than Smart. I feel that Bradley should headline any trade packages where a member of the core is involved, especially given that his value seems.
This deal with Orlando gives the Celtics a shot to look at a damaged scoring prospect in Mario Hezonja, who’s found himself glued to the bench for much of his time in Orlando. I’ve got to say that I’d like to see what the ‘Brad Stevens juvenation machine’ could do for him. This trade would require Orlando to eat a little crow on their deal offseason for Serge, as they aren’t getting the return that they sent out to acquire him in Victor Oladipo and the 11th pick. However, Bradley gives them some bonafide backcourt talent that they had been badly lacking. AB doesn’t need the ball, so you can still pursue PG (deepest positions in the league) to flesh out your rotation, but he can also play next to Evan Fournier if you want to move Never Google to the 2. The Magic get a solid return on an expiring deal and a prospect they seemed to have soured on.
The Celtics get out ahead of a problem that would have materialized in 2018, get to see what an Ibaka Horford frontcourt looks like, and regain some Nets pick trade leverage for teams who were tripling down on them not being able to use the pick due to the large amount of guards atop the draft. They get a former top-5 draft pick and wing prospect, and most importantly, further flexibility in the 2017 offseason. The Celtics will have the bird rights to Ibaka, so if they whiff on top level free agents, they will be able to bring Ibaka back without it costing Kelly Olynyk, Jonas Jerbko, or other free agents the Celtics might have had to renounce to sign him. Ibaka’s cap hold will also only be $18M which stands to be less than he might command on the open market. The Celtics could generate a little more cap space wiggle room (not much, but it might be important) by agreeing to terms with him and then signing a deal with him after handling all the other business. All of this, come without the Celtics having to cost themselves a bite at the Blake Griffin or Kevin Durant apple as Ibaka will be a UFA. Ibaka could possibly walk before the Celtics get their business done the Celtics would be sans Bradley with nothing but Mario Hezonja to show for it, but Ibaka would likely agree to hang around for a couple of days if you offer to pay him handsomely when you strike out, and I think that kind of backstop would be worth the risk, particularly when you pair it with an ability to retain impact players like Kelly Olynyk.
This would be more of a risk, but if you are planning on giving Avery Bradley 20M+ in 2018 when it’s time to pay IT and Smart, the worst case scenario of this plan isn’t that much different.
TL;DR
Trade season can be a lot of fun, and you can save yourself some hassle by figuring out where you stand on big picture team questions. IT’s 2018 payday, the Nets picks, and 2016-17 Celtics squad’s chance are all factors you should consider when constructing your own trades. Also, I put some at the bottom. Apologies to Robert Covington, whom I couldn’t find a good trade for.
Submitted January 19, 2017 at 08:05PM by shnts07