Like trading baseball cards when we were little, and participating in fantasy sports leagues in more recent years, boys and grown men love making, discussing, and imagining player trades.
As the trade deadline approaches, the Celtics said they would see what is out there. With Marquis Daniels out indefinitely, they have a hole at small forward to fill.
Peter May lists a number of potential player prospects for the Celtics.
I wanted to comment on each and offer a few words on some of his other perspectives.
First, it was good to see him go in some new directions as far as player possibilities. Second it was interesting to see him name who might go in trades.
Nate Robinson is listed as a possible trade option. Rightly so. Nate has fit in as best he can, but the fit is tenuous at best at this point. I was a believer that you had to let Nate be Nate to get the most out of him. Surprisingly, even with Doc always conscious of conforming to his system, he has allowed Robinson that freedom, more or less. Robinson has fit in better than last season and knows some offensive plays and tries to run them…some of the time.
But Nate still has a quick trigger and often shoots way too early in the clock. If the shots were going in, it would be tolerable. But they aren’t often enough. I’m aware that the Cs look for quick open shots as they attack in transition. But I have a hard time believing that his quick threes with no one underneath to rebound are what Doc had in mind.
Driving or waiting for other early options to develop would seem to be better choices. That said, Robinson’s big value is that he can score points in a hurry. The problem is that he seems to be in too much of a hurry and isn’t scoring them at a very efficient rate since he arrived. His point explosions are rare and too far in between them. He hasn’t appeared to be real comfortable in the Celtics’ system. Maybe he is thinking too much about what he should be doing, instead of just reacting naturally.
His shooting pct is 5 points and 10% lower than in NY. I’m still a believer that he can help in the playoffs. But he is solid trade bait as well. There are other places where he might reach his potential easier.
May suggests that Glen Davis is clearly in the Celtics future, thus implying that they won’t consider trading him. Though his teammates, Danny and Doc all like Davis, I wouldn’t completely rule out a trade. Should the right deal come along for the right talent, I think they would consider dealing Davis. It would have to be someone good though. Davis has made a solid place for himself these past few seasons and he keeps getting better.
The other side of that is…Glen is in the final year of his contract. As a 6th man of the year candidate and I’m sure he will want to cash in for a bigger payday, even with all the talk of reducing salaries and a possible lockout, Davis will command more than he is currently earning. I would guess that mid level type money is reasonable and someone will be willing to offer him that amount.
The players Peter mentions?
There are actually some quality names (in my opinion) out there.
Josh Childress – I like him and I think the Celtic players both respect and like him. At least they liked the player he was when he played for the Hawks that gave the Cs fits in the playoffs three years ago. Pierce mentioned him as one of the players on that team that helped them win. He is a scrappy, garbage-type player and scores without plays run for him. His is long and athletic. Though thin framed, he attacks the offensive boards well and defends well. As May mentions, his contract is the problem (4 more years at roughly $27 mil). I’m not sure Phoenix was the right team for him to make his NBA comeback with. But I would be surprised to see the Celtics add him.
Richard Hamilton – I already addressed him in the previous post. Like him. He helps this team, especially the second unit, if they can get him. Again, the remaining expensive contract is the biggest issue.
Troy Murphy – May has sources that say Murphy isn’t a good fit and wouldn’t have a role in Boston because of all the big men there. I don’t understand why that would be so. He rebounds and his three point shooting stretches the defense. Those are both skills that the Celtics would make good use of. It is his defense that would be the big problem. More important, he does not address the small forward depth problems.
James Posey – A personal favorite, the question is how much does Posey have left of the game he left Boston with? The second question is the money he has left, which is the reason why Danny let him go in the first place. If it could be worked out, he could have some definite value here. I believe the Celtics are a good fit for Posey and vice-a-versa. The question is…can you go home again…and would it be the same?
When I talked with James last season and things weren’t going particularly well for the Hornets, I asked him if he would ever mind playing for the Celtics again. He said he would definitely consider it. He likes Doc Rivers quite a bit. He liked his teammates. For no particular reason, my feeling is that the Celtics will not revisit Posey. But I could be wrong.
Ramon Sessions – that is adding a new name. I’m not sure why Peter included him, but Sessions would be another attempt at getting something out of the second unit scoring point guard. I guess they would swap Nate for Ramon. Again, he does not address the small forward issue.
That was it for players in that article.
Raja Bell was a player of interest for the Celtics before he signed with the Jazz. His contract runs 2 more years at $6.7 mil total. With injuries, he has slowed down as well, but would still be a good fit with the Celtics, I believe.
Josh Howard is playing again and it has been reported that the Celtics like him. He is making $3 mil this season and is a free agent after that. He has missed a heck of a lot of time. How healthy is he and could he get in shape in time to help?
Again, I have no knowledge that any of these players are currently in the Celtics radar. But they could get be ‘gettable’ and they would all help the Celtics to varying degrees.
I’ll trade you a Don Mattingly for a Reggie Jackson.
Danny may be doing some real trading soon. Small forward help is clearly needed.
It really depends on what Danny could get for either of them. For the right player….
No doubt, Glen has created a valuable role for himself on the team and is appreciated by his mates.
Don’t forget the Cs added PJ Brown and Sam Cassell late, granted they were free agents.Danny is looking at trades and their are only a few players who could fetch someone good whose contracts are tradeable.
thanks for the comment,
T
I would definitely say both glen davis and nate robinson are staying… trading either of them would be a panic move…