Let’s dive in.
Celtics-Nets
Trade
Celtics Get: Kris Humphries, MarShon Brooks, Gerald Wallace, Tornike
Shengelia, Keith Bogans, Kris Joseph, and 3 future first round picks.
Nets Get: Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce, and Jason Terry
This was by far the most publicized transaction on draft night and rightfully
so; not only did the Celtics2 announce their submission into full rebuilding mode, but the departure of Paul
Pierce (someone who has worn green since ’98) has to be heartrending for
Bostonians. KG and Pierce have propelled the Celtics to a plus-.500 record in
each of the last 6 seasons, and this trade probably means Boston will plummet
next season to enter the Andrew Wiggins sweepstakes.
Lacking talent is one thing, but even more confusing is Boston’s
decision to tack on these expendable players to their salary bill. Humphries
will accumulate $12 million next season, and Gerald Wallace signed a 4-year $40
million contract last season, of which he has over $30 million due in the next
three years. This is ultimate self-destruction on Boston’s part; there’s no
need to pay these players (a very average small forward and a power forward who
is best coming off the bench) this much money to be as bad as Boston will be.
They should certainly be looking to develop young talent rather than toss a
Rondo-Wallace-Humphries lineup on the floor that won’t be able to score more
than 15 feet from the basket.
And this means that Danny Ainge (Celtics General Manager) must
certainly have some sense of vision involved in moving these pieces for younger
talent to develop in return. Humphries would be a valuable asset for a team
looking for bench help and/or frontcourt depth (Indiana, Portland), and you
could get enough beers in a dumb GM to get 80 or 90 cents on the dollar for
Wallace. But it’s not going to be easy to dump that much money and get some good help in return, so
it’ll be interesting to see the moves Ainge makes in the next few weeks.
Somehow, among the remnants of this demolition is a small hole of
light that will only get bigger through the next few years for Boston. Check
out the next 5 years of picks the Celtics acquired through the past couple
trades. 2014: 2 firsts (Boston, Brooklyn), 0 second; 2015: 2 firsts (Boston, L.A. Clippers), 2
seconds (Boston, Sacramento); 2016: 2 firsts (Boston, Brooklyn), 1 second
(Boston); 2017: 1 first (Boston), 2 seconds (Boston, Sacramento); 2018: 2 first
(Boston, Brooklyn), 1 second (Boston).
Ainge played
this very well, although not perfectly. The Brooklyn 1st round pick
in 2014 and the L.A. Clippers 1st rounder in 2015 will most likely
be very low first round picks since those teams will be playoff bound. However,
these are still first round picks, and although the likelihood of striking gold
late in the first round is slim, Boston can still grow its roster
significantly. And once Brooklyn has to blow up its roster in 2 years when
Pierce and Garnett retire (assuming), the Brooklyn picks in 2016 and 2018
should be a relatively high lottery pick. It’s gotta be enlightening to have
such an abundance of picks in Boston’s arsenal, and if they can save money and
draft smartly for the next couple years, they could return to legitimate
contention in just a couple years.
As for Brooklyn,
well, this is quite the experiment. It has already been widely documented that
the Nets will be dumping over $80 million on their starting 5 alone, and it’s
clear that Mikhail Prokhorov (Nets owner) has no qualms in footing an
outrageous salary bill for the next few years. This was already apparent last
year after absorbing Joe Johnson’s absurd contract, so what’s the big deal
about an extra $27 million next year for Pierce and Garnett anyway?
The problem arises
within the back end of the roster; Brooklyn will need at least a decent bench
to compete, and a roster with such age will need significant bench minutes
throughout the regular season. Both Pierce’s and Garnett’s regular season
minutes were compressed to the lowest of their careers last season, and as they
continue to age, this minute regulation will occur even more dramatically.
Garnett didn’t even exceed the 30-minute/game mark, and Pierce isn’t topping
that by much. Jason Terry should help stabilize the bench units, at least on
the surface, but after him, names such as Reggie Evans and even Mirza Teletovic
provide shaky support underneath. And with absolutely no cap room, Brooklyn may
have to scramble to sign a decently productive bench player with one of their
cap exceptions that could skyrocket them into the luxury tax even more.
The coaching
situation also makes me weary given the circumstances and pressure. Look, I
love Jason Kidd, and I think he can and will do a fine job coaching. But can a
franchise really expect to hire a coach directly after he retires as a player,
and have him lead a team of former all-stars to a championship in his first
year? Not only that, but the championship window of this unit is really really
small. Most likely, in two more years Billy King (Nets GM) will have to blow up
this roster and start over. We all witnessed Miami’s finals collapse in the
first year of their assimilation as a superstar unit, where a large portion of
the blame was placed upon the shoulders of Erik Spoelstra. In a lot of cases, inexperienced
coaches need a grace period to adjust and understand the demands of coaching in
the NBA, and I’m afraid Kidd won’t have enough time to get in a “groove” before
the window closes.
76ers-Pelicans
Trade
76ers get: Nerlens Noel (6th pick), 2014 1st
round pick (top 3 protected)
Pelicans get: Jrue Holiday
This trade intrigues me as well, due to the implications going forward
for each team. Sam Hinkie (76ers GM) has clearly implied that everything on the
current roster is expendable, and the team is in full rebuilding mode going
forward. This has to be frustrating on the surface, at least for 76ers fans,
considering the thought last year at this time was that Andrew Bynum would be
the final piece needed to truly compete. But Bynum turned out to be a dud, and
apparently Holiday didn’t fulfill Hinkie’s expectations enough to be a
cornerstone going forward.
So now Holiday will turn over the reigns to either Royal Ivey or
another obscure, cheap floor general who can tread water through the season to
enter the Andrew Wiggins sweepstakes. Nerlens Noel will be the first building
block to what will almost certainly be a long-term project. What is concerning
is the lack of stabilization among this organization, at least right now.
Hinkie could pull the trigger on practically any part of his roster at any
minute it seems, and there looks to be little to no leadership to help guide
Noel. Heck, Philly doesn’t even have a coach yet.
But sometimes this is the most effective way to assemble a powerhouse:
an elaborate reconstruction of the entire franchise may be in order for a 76ers
team that wildly underperformed last year. Noel, who is only 19 years old, will
have plenty of time to grow, and if Hinkie can sign a good coach and make some
smart roster moves, it will be interesting to see how far this Philadelphia
team can go with Noel as their backbone.
As for New Orleans, I almost love this trade. I say “almost” simply
because I don’t think Holiday was worth Noel and a 2014 1st rounder, but the Pelicans now have a
solid core, and I would love to see Greivis Vasquez on the move for some pieces
to fill in the remaining roster holes. New Orleans is LOADED with cap space in
2013-2014, and with an abundance of young talent, this team could grow into
something serious in the next few years. Eric Gordon, Jrue Holiday, Anthony
Davis, and Austin Rivers comprise a very young and talented core that has
plenty of potential to grow. If they can sniff out a 3 and D type wing player
through free agency, I think the Pelicans can make the playoffs as soon as next
year.
The potential for success hinges largely on injuries however, as Eric
Gordon has been limited to 50 games in the past two seasons combined. This
simply won’t cut it; EG is the most reliable scorer on the Pelicans and has
tremendous upside, and he needs to stay healthy for them to have success.
Anthony Davis also missed 20 games last year, and while that is common for many
rookies, NOLA will need a healthier season from him as well.
I also want to point out that I love Jrue Holiday on this team. Love
it love it love it. Jrue has tremendous potential running the pick and roll
with Anthony Davis and even Jason Smith, especially with Ryan Anderson and Eric
Gordon spacing the floor on the wings. He has terrific court vision, is a good
shooter and finisher, and even brings it on the defensive end as well, and I am
completely convinced that his true potential was masked by Doug Collins’
pitiful offense in Philadelphia. Monty Williams has been labeled as one of the
brightest young coaches in the league, and I think this team has a winning
group going forward. Put the Pelicans as the team to watch next year.
Timberwolves-Jazz
Trade
T-wolves get: No. 14 pick Shabazz Muhammad and No. 21 pick Gorgui
Dieng
Jazz get: No. 9 pick Trey Burke
I love love love this trade for both sides. Trey Burke has tremendous
potential and plenty of room to grow with a young core in Utah, with players
such as Enes Kanter, Derrick Favors, Gordon Hayward, and Alec Burks, all of
whom are 23 or younger. The Jazz finally snagged a true point guard again, and
will turn the reigns over to Burke, a true point guard, from Mo Williams last
year. Utah also has plenty of cap space to add some situational talent, and
while they’ll probably be lottery bound for the next year or two, I like the
way Utah is building for the future: staying cheap and young.
The Timberwolves finally made a smart draft decision, trading their
higher lottery pick for two later 1st round picks to add to the
roster more effectively. Gorgui Dieng and Shabazz Muhammad both have terrific talent,
and should significantly improve the current roster almost immediately.
Muhammad seems to be a decent 3 and D type player at the very least, which will
help space the floor for Rubio running the pick and roll. Muhammad has a few
red flags involved with his character, but if coach Rick Adelman can manage his
flaws, he should develop into a nice piece going forward.
Dieng is very intriguing, simply because he projects to be very NBA
ready. He has terrific fundamentals already, and projects to be a steady
defender/rebounder/roll man for the Wolves. If he were a tad younger I would
say he could develop into something special, something along the lines of Larry
Sanders. But Dieng is already 23, which is rather old for a big man, so it will
be interesting to see how much his game elevates from what it is now.
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