Quick Update From Bulpett
by Jeff Clark on Jun 16, 2007 4:44 AM EDT
in Boston Celtics Rumors
Email
PrintOn Monday, the Celts will host Julian Wright of Kansas and Keith Simmons of Holy Cross. Wright is reportedly low on the club’s list of eight primary players, but, as mentioned before, the C’s could very well move down from their high pick for something of value (veteran player, cap relief to help keep Al Jefferson) and a later selection.
Asked about the need to check out players beyond the range of 5, Ainge said, "It’s important. It’s very important. I don’t know (if the Celts will trade down). I’m planning on taking 5 right now, but I’m in the phase of listening to what people have to say and evaluating the talent one through 60.'’
The Celtics are also evaluating key veterans who may be available, but one shouldn’t yet read anything into the rumors that have been circulating. The club has questions about Shawn Marion, and, as noted in the Herald earlier in the week, word is the Suns want to clear out some bad contracts if they do move him.
"A lot of what you’re hearing now is stuff that was looked at and knocked down weeks ago,'’ said one source.
As for Rashard Lewis, the best chance at getting something done would likely have to be after the draft. To repeat, Lewis is an unrestricted free agent and cannot be spoken to about a sign-and-trade until July 1. That makes a deal involving the No. 5 pick highly problematic (a future No. 1 would make more sense).
Take into account also that newly hired Sonics GM Sam Presti — pride of Emerson College and Concord — has barely gotten a chance to warm his chair.
44 comments
|
0 recs |
Do you like this story?
Comments
Dumb question: if Rashard Lewis is an unrestricted free agent, why would the Cs have to give up anything to get him? I don’t follow the business side of the game all that closely.
by TedL on Jun 16, 2007 5:56 AM EDT reply actions
If Charlotte is interested, trading #5 for #s 8 and 22 seems like a good option. This scenario has previously been speculated but now grows credence when Danny says that he needs to expand his list of draft possibilities …“in case we trade down”…
by moskqq on Jun 16, 2007 6:10 AM EDT reply actions
If they didn’t exercise a sign and trade,looking to pick him up as a free agent,they smack into the salary cap wall.
As the rules state; teams over the cap can only offer the mid level, or the even lower salary slot, minimum exceptions, much too low for a player of Lewis’ caliber.
I believe we are over the cap, but just under the luxury tax limitation.
by JB_Celticsstuff on Jun 16, 2007 6:11 AM EDT reply actions
Trading down with charlotte if we are making a 2-1 or 3-1 trade with some fo the young guys this offseason. It gives us a chance to re-stock on the youth with two first rounders. I would like to see them make the trade and look to grab brewer, green, noah, or thorton with the #8 (one of these guys will be there) and then target either Splitter or McRoberts (I hate duke but a player I think could be very productive and help out our big depth) in the second half using the 32 to move up if needed.
I still hope there was some solid truth he Lewis rumor. I would love to get him.
by howl1309 on Jun 16, 2007 7:22 AM EDT reply actions
8 primary players? I thought it was 6 last week. Now it’s 8 and a few days later it will be 10. By draft time the Celts may be picking from the “master list of 16”!
I guess this is Ainge’s way of putting out the smokescreen. Watch him pick someone not even on “the list.”
by obnoxiousmime on Jun 16, 2007 7:37 AM EDT reply actions
I used not to be a big fan of Splitter but after watching him in the Spanish League semifinals I must confess that I believe there is a spot in our roster for him (of course not with the 5th pick). And also, after watching those semifinals, please trade with Washington for Navarro´s draft rights!!!!!! Today he is by far, a better combo guard than Delonte.
If your Phoenix of course you’re trying to tie a bad contract to Marion in any deal. Phoenix should want to keep that team together for at least one more shot at the Spurs. So if he’s truly out there for trade then they are in serious payroll slashing mode and I wouldn’t be helping them by giving them #5. More like a Ratliff, Scal and and someone else for Marion and Banks. Not sure that the Suns would find any takers for that deal but that’s the limit I would see Ainge offering. I’m sure Phoenix has already offered him for #5 and been turned down. If this deal was to get ressurected on draft day it would probably be something along those lines. Ainge wants to get better and get more experience but he, along with every other GM in today’s NBA, looks at/makes deals based on contracts and payroll ramifications.
the price for marion and rashard is way to high.
Marion would be the better of the two for the celtics
to get, but he is aging fast at this point in his career
and any injury now will give us another wally.
rashard lewis doesnt play defense, which translates into
the east as us getting a dickau or a telfair type
75 to 72 spurs over cleveland , do you think rashard
would have been a factor. obviously not.
if he came east to the celtics not only would he be a
huge liability on defense but his stats would come down
by a third, he would come down to were g green is going to
be this year.
so we gain nothing , but lose so much..just say no to rashard
Evedrytime I read one of these Bulpett articles the Celtics seem further and further away from what I strongly believe they ought to be doing. They need Jeff Green like Paris Hilton needs another pair of thongs. As for Rashard Lewis, there isn’t a player I’d less like to have, with the possible exception of Mike Bibby. Marion gives them 1-2 years of 40-45 wins. And then what? Meanwhile, they pass up the opportunity to get their franchise point guard for the next 10-12 years. LOL, they aren’t even going to work him out.
But why should Ainge and Rivers care? They won’t be here much longer anyway.
Perk, why is the price too high Lewis? Do you value what Theo Ratliff and a future pick brings to this team? Also, to answer your question. Yes, Lewis would have helped Cleveland a lot. Obviously by the score (75 to 72), Cleveland could play defense. The problem is that they had nobody to score. Lewis is a great shooter that would thrive playing with a guy like Lebron James or guys like Pierce, Jefferson, and Rondo. ;)
If Rashard Lewis is so fond of Gerald Greene, would a swap of Greene and Robert Swift work out? They are similar ages and, I assume, match up salary wise. Swift, a true 7 foot widebody C, fills a team need better than anybody that the Celtics can probably pick in this year’s draft. Swift, like Greene and Telfair, would still be in college if he hadn’t been drafted right out of H.S. and won’t reach age 22 until the middle of next season. On paper, Greene is already much better than Swift (who might be just another big white stiff). However, if Danny wanted to take him ahead of Jefferson, would he still have that Telfair type of high risk potential to become as good as Ainge believes or a terrible disaster?
If the Celtics value Brewer’s defense and better rounded game more than Greene’s spectacular individual offensive potential, then such a move could make sense if Swift will be the perfect middle man complement to Perkins.
Although he could go to his hometown Sixers at the end of the first round, Virginia’s Sean Singletary (if he doesn’t withdraw from the draft on Monday) is a defensively good true (but small) point guard who can be as good as Conley or Acie Law and will probably still be there for the Celtics at pick #32. Singletary is lightning quick, smart and a strong character guy. His defense is excellent though he is undersized and his passing game is underrated because, except for J R Reynolds, there were no reliable scoring recipients for some of his best assist attempts. Reynolds, who scored at will in the NCAA tournament before twisting an ankle, is another potential pick at #32 if the Celtics want another point guard at that time.
we need help of all kinds so adding Lewis,Green,Marion,Yi etc etc are all determined by the price we pay and the deals we turn down..maybe Jeff Green is picked as high as 5 because PP is going in another deal…let’s see it play out before we judge what assets we got for 5…5 is just part of a few/many moves NOT the last piece
Motown, he has some holes in his game because of his age, but I think he could be the next Isiah Thomas. I still like Rondo a lot though. I think he could be the next Gary Payton. If I had to choose by what the Celtics need, I’d draft Hortford or Noah. If the Celtics have a plan to bring in a big, then definitely draft Conely.
Frank, of course Ainge and Rivers care. I’m sure they want to be here for many more years. It’s just that maybe Danny does not share the same opinion as you of Mr. Conley. Maybe he’s wrong, maybe he’s right. Who knows, maybe you’re wrong on this one. I know, hard to believe! Maybe Ainge is running his smokescreen game right now and is mum on Conley cause he wants him at #5. In 12 days we’ll find out. Can’t wait!
Motown, yes Conley should go at #3. But ATL is picking at that spot. With their GM Billy Knight making the pick, there is no doubt that they will screw up the pick. If you recall, he also passed on Chris Paul and Deron Williams in the 2005 NBA draft, when everybody knew that the point guard spot was their most needed position. Also, ATL has the #11 pick where they can pick up Acie Law (pg from Texas A&M).
As for Memphis at #4, I hear they love Hortford. That leaves Conley for the C’s.
As for bringing in a big man, I hope it is Robert Swift in the Seattle rumor. I watched him play quite a bit before his injury and was really impressed. If not Swift, maybe when can get Darko out of Orlando.
Here’s the latest from Chad Ford. It involves a trade Kobe trade scenario involving Paul Pierce. (the C’s don’t get Pierce)
More than two weeks after Kobe Bryant made his trade request to the Lakers, he still wants out, says his agent.
“Kobe’s position remains unchanged,” Bryant’s agent Rob Pelinka told ESPN.com on Friday. “Kobe would like to be moved.”
The question remains, will the Lakers move him? The head says no. But the scuttlebutt suggests otherwise. A number of GMs and agents around the league seem convinced that he’s going to be traded.
The Lakers had strong interest in trading for Jermaine O’Neal before Bryant’s trade request. But that interest has cooled since then. Why? Because there’s no need to bring in a big-money player like O’Neal and gut the team if Bryant isn’t going to be around.
From what I can gather, the Lakers would have two conditions to meet in any Kobe Bryant trade:
1. They want to send him to the Eastern Conference.
2. They need a star player back in return.
The Eastern Conference preference would potentially rule out such places as Phoenix and Golden State, both of which have significant assets and interest.
And, of course, the lack of available stars would rule out just about every team in the East, including the Knicks.
Some East teams lack the star power to bid directly for Bryant. Others have stars that aren’t going anywhere.
For instance, the Cavs and Heat have superstars LeBron James and Dwyane Wade, but both are untouchable. Ditto, apparently, for Dwight Howard in Orlando.
Chicago, from what I hear, is Bryant’s first preference, and he might be willing to waive his trade kicker (a bonus payment if he’s traded) to play there. While the Bulls have lots of assets, such as Ben Gordon, Luol Deng and the No. 9 pick in the draft, that package lacks true star power.
Based on my conversations with various sources around the league, I see two intriguing possibilities if the Lakers are looking for an Eastern Conference star — the Wizards’ Gilbert Arenas and the Celtics’ Paul Pierce.
Scenario 1
Arenas isn’t Kobe, in talent or stardom. But he is from Los Angeles, he’s more than three years younger, he has great magnetism and, like Bryant, he can fill the seats.
With Arenas saying he’ll opt out of his contract with Washington next summer, the Wizards might want to start looking at ways to move him now before running the risk of losing him for nothing.
Here’s one potential trade, with Bryant headed to Chicago and Arenas to L.A.
The Bulls would send Gordon, Tyrus Thomas and P.J. Brown (sign-and-trade) to Washington, and the No. 9 pick to L.A.
The Lakers would send Bryant to Chicago.
The Wizards would send Arenas and Etan Thomas to L.A.
Under that scenario, which couldn’t be completed until mid-July, the Lakers would get a star player (Arenas) and a high draft pick (No. 9) which, I’m told, they’d use to get Yi Jianlian if he’s still on the board.
The Bulls would be paying a very high price for Kobe — two high lottery picks and this year’s No. 9. But the Bulls would keep Deng, something they desperately want to do. On the other hand, they still wouldn’t have a low-post scorer.
The Wizards would avoid having to break the bank for Arenas next summer, would bring in two very talented young players and would get some serious cap relief down the road.
Scenario 2
A similar trade could work if the Lakers were willing to substitute Boston and Paul Pierce. While Pierce is almost 30 years old, I’m told the Lakers like him — and he’s from L.A. too.
The Bulls would send Gordon, Tyrus Thomas and P.J. Brown (sign-and-trade) to Boston, and the No. 9 pick to L.A.
The Lakers would send Bryant to Chicago.
The Celtics would send Pierce to L.A.
That deal would make the Celtics even younger than they already are, but it would also give them plenty of assets to continue making deals.
by maccurta on Jun 16, 2007 10:32 AM EDT reply actions
atl will pick conley at 3,they need a floor general to
make all their pieces better. they would improve drastically
if 7 guys benefit from conley otherwise they get anothere athletic
scorer in wright but no one to distribute to him or the others
1 oden
2 durant
3 conley
4 horford shucks were a pick to late
5 wright to celtics , a younger cheaper rashard lewis
who will play defense
6 brewer a younger prince, he wants wins
I’d want Deng. If Chicago wants Kobe it should cost them more than Gordon, Thomas and the #9. If Paul and the #9 is all LA gets out of the deal, we could offer them something like Paul, Green, Perk, and the #5 for Kobe and Bynum. We could still do the Lewis deal if we wanted. Rondo, Kobe, Wally/Tony/Lewis, Al, Bynum. We’ll at worst challenge for the east for the next 4-5 years. After Kobe gets older we’ll still have Bynum, Jefferson and Rondo to build around.
We have absolutely nothing to offer the Bulls that would get us Deng in return. That ship sailed years ago.
It’s rather amusing to me that in a draft where at number five we are guarenteed the opportunity to address one of three vital needs for the team (pg, wing defenders and a big man, or, Conoly, Brewer or Horford), Ainge is looking to trade down in order to draft a guy who’ll at best be an off-the-bench scorer (thornton) and pick up some veteran who duplicates Pierce’s skill set (Marion or Lewis). Uncanny Danny strikes again.
by George Meyer on Jun 16, 2007 3:06 PM EDT reply actions
I would not be surprised if DA is using a smoke srceen by not having Conley work out. He has a past of going after point guards (Rondo, Telfair, trying to trade for Paul by using PP as bait). He also tends to go for the best player available and not for need. Besides a talented big, the most valuable asset would be another point guard, He certainly has enough wing plyers.
by bobs on Jun 16, 2007 3:36 PM EDT reply actions
bobs said:
“I would not be surprised if DA is using a smoke srceen by not having Conley work out.”
I wish I believed that, but I don’t. My guess is that Ainge has been pointing to the Rondo selection to demonstrate to the owners how smart he is. If he selects another pg, it will make him look dumb.
Also Rivers does not want to coach another rookie pg.
According to his own admission, he does not put much emphasis on workouts. He is also someone who studies a lot of game film. So seeing Conley workout is not that important to him. He also know the value of a great PG ( see T. Parker circa 2007). And if he is really looking long term (which should be part of his job description), he should let Oden train with Bill Russell (while he hears Celtic stories) and Portland over the next 5 years and then make a run at him with Conley here ready to embrace him.
by bobs on Jun 16, 2007 4:06 PM EDT reply actions
Also, Brick, I don’t think DA is that arrogant. If he sees something better, he goes after it. No harm having both Rondo and Conley on same team. He did admit that if he knew he was going to get Rondo, he would have done something diferent with the 7th pick. He is not afraid to admit a mistake. And anyway, if that were the case (showing how smart he is), he would not have traded for Rondo after trading for Telfair.
by bobs on Jun 16, 2007 4:23 PM EDT reply actions
Danny knows that a runnig team needs two really good pg and aback up
it was suppose to be telfair and rondo and west could back up both
the pg and sg spots. If conley is still on the board at 5 danny
will snag him so fast our heads will spin. then telfair and theo
can be packaged. but conley is too good for us to get that kind of
a break.
boy i sound like sour grapes, i guess im still p.o.ed about the fixed
draft.. I cant even calculate the improbabilty of Memphis and the
celtics not getting a top 2 pick or even a top 3 pick ,let along
that coupled with portland seattle and atlanta all three at the same time
seriously moving up. If any one here is a math P.H.D. please calculate
the improbability of the way the top 6 picks went.
George, do you know for sure that Ainge wants to trade down?? I would assume that all he is doing currently is due diligence. He has to check out all available players in case of any situation that could occur. He has stated recently though that he thinks he will be picking at #5. Of course that could change but you sure sound pessimistic. Why don’t we wait until the 29th and then if he has selected Thornton, bash away! But he may very well just end up selecting either Brewer or Conley. I love the name though, Uncanny Danny. Good one. By the way, you mentioned Horford also. Do you like him better than Brandon Wright as a big??
Brickowski said:
I wish I believed that, but I don’t. My guess is that Ainge has been pointing to the Rondo selection to demonstrate to the owners how smart he is. If he selects another pg, it will make him look dumb.
Also Rivers does not want to coach another rookie pg.
I could not agree more.
Besides, I believe Rondo could become a very good point guard in this league. Plus, Conley would never see the light of day behind Rondo and probably West. Doc simply wouldn’t play him.
by DJ to Bird on Jun 16, 2007 7:39 PM EDT reply actions
Comments For This Post Are Closed
Secondary Sidebar
User Tools
NBA Playoffs Content Module
FanPosts
Community blog posts and discussion.
Recent FanPosts
In Association With
Ball Don't Lie - NBA - Yahoo! Sport
- Behind the Box Score, where the Spurs won Game 1 with an inspired fourth quarter
- Kendrick Perkins does not think much of Andrew Bynum’s relative intelligence
- Behind the Box Score, where the Boston Celtics are moving on to the conference finals
- NBA Playoffs Fan Fiction: San Antonio Spurs vs. Oklahoma City Thunder
- The Indiana Pacers? Gone till November
