Yeah, I agree, Roy.

And I’d take a shot at Shinn to see if he’d bite on Ray and Rondo for CP3 and West – with whatever filler and cash thrown in to make it work, sin’ce I’m not a contract expert.

That if we trade Ray – and he gets bought out – that he would come back to play for the C’s. If the team I help win a title dealt me because they thought I was too old to make that much money, I certainly wouldn’t go back. But that’s just me. I understand that it does happen occasionally….

If we do trade him – we need a big and a shoot in return. And we still need a back up pg, a wing player, and a defender / kobe/lebron stopper.

what’s the rule about trades? the team that gets the best player wins? I have some misgivings about Ray and how much longer he has but if we keep him until his contract expires what’s so bad about that? We will have $20M to spend on free agents. Ray is clearly on the decline but he’s still a great shooter and he was our best clutch shooter this year. With KG backRay’s game will elevate. I think if we found another shooter to put on the floor with ray that would also help. Bottom Line I don’t trade Ray now

I agree that trading Ray and getting younger would be to the Celtics benefit long term. However, he is like the old car that costs a lot and is priced higher than any prospective buyer would pay. Nice idea. Probably won’t happen unless packaged with some value added.

As I keep saying, the trade to make is Ray Allen to Charlotte for Bell, Diop and Diaw. You get a reasonable replacement for Ray (Bell), a good young defensive backup center who is a legitimate 7 footer (Diop), and a very versatile 6-9 forward who can defend three positions and has an excellent floor game (Diaw).

The downside of this trade (and of several other trades posed above), is that management has to be willing to take on the salary commitments.

Ray is probably going into the Hall Of Fame. If we trade we must get a potential HOFer in return. Ray is a 95% free throw shooter. Ray hits game winning shots on a consistent basis. If we want to win another championship we need Ray. What we need is what Doc says we need in addition to Ray, not at the expense of Ray.

The return of KG makes Ray that much more valuable to us. We know Ray and Ray knows us. There’s no learning curve needed if we keep one of the best players in the league.

of course ray is tradeable, but it won’t happen. the contract is nice, but… anyone who wants him doesn’t want to give up what we want because they want to win too.

Those might be our best options due to cap space. I can’t seem to think of anyone except for the Clippers (if they want to make a run at a LeBron or someone) that would offer us much back (Knicks & Nets just don’t have any real good players that fill our needs). Maybe one of those Texas teams?

Bottom line for me is I only trade Ray if it makes us better (or at least even) for NEXT year. If trading Ray will hurt our chances, then I’m not doing it. Wit that in mind, I like the Chandler Posey deal the most. It gives us a young, athletic, defensive presence to pair with Perk. It gives us a versatile 3 to back up PP. What we would need to do then is find an SG with the midlevel and sign Marbury for near minimum.

That about sums it up perfectly as to why Ainge would / should consider moving Ray this summer. It’s the debate of going for it all again this coming season versus planning for seasons down the road. He made that decision last summer on Posey. He has another one to make on Ray this summer.

Danny, being the nice guy that he is, would never argue about the fans being included in the “we.” Niether would Wyc, he likes to sell tickets and turn a profit and the two greatest weapons to do that are winning, and creating a sense of community. However, don’t let that fool you into believing any fan or group of fans have one ioda or pinch of influence when it comes to personel decision made by the Celtic organization.

Having said that. Ray Allen isn’t going to be traded unless it’s going to somehow improve the team in a big way. Danny isn’t necessarily looking for long range financial burdens that might hamstring future cap flexibility (see his reasons for letting Posey go). So somehow I highly doubt Ray Allen goes anywhere. And, if you remember Danny and Doc also have a policy of discussing personel moves with the captains of the team I highly doubt that moving Ray Allen, and disrupting the lockeroom and on court chemistry of this team, would Any relief Ray’s expiring contract might bring would be just as big a benefit to the Celtics as it would to another team.

A man who was an integral part of #17, and who was a huge part of the success of this offseason, and fans are chanting to trade the guy. Fans here might be loyal to the jersey, but apparently there is little to no loyaly to players. Sad day.

we won’t have cap room in 2010 anyway, DA has to do something to make up for misjudging everything but Perk and Rajons growth this year.

NO is hurting so badly I am not sure that a cp3 trade is improbable. But we don’t need to even pull that big of a shocker. Charlotte has everything we need too and they are motivated. We can add TA or Scal if need be to make it work on salaries or add draft picks if we are getting too much talent back.

it should finish:

on court chemistry of this team, would recieve the blessing of KG and PP.

I´d only trade Ray if he accepts a buyout and comes back one month later.
I just don´t see any realistic trades on the horizon, yet (as you said yourself, the ideas you posted aren`t realistic). Ray has not the only expiring contract in the NBA, so the number of takers might be smaller than people think.

Now, how about trading Pierce?
He´s still one of the best SF in the game, and could put several teams over the top.

Trade him for a big expiring contract. and a Draft Pick in 2010. Let´s say to Utah, who have the Knicks´ 1st next Draft. Or the Clippers, who have the Wolves pick.
You´d still have a team with KG, Ray, Rondo and Perk, a high Draft Pick in 2010, and ~40 million in expiring contracts.for the summer of 2010.

Tell me we aren´t the prime candidate for a young superstar willing to win a ring.

(Btw, I was just playing devil´s advocate, but the point remains: Is trading Ray really smarter than trading Pierce?)

Charlotte, NO and Memphis are hurting financially and there may be other teams in trouble. We know that the Bobcats and Grizzlies are for sale. The Bobcats have the cap structure from hell. I don’t know how much of it is Jordan’s fault, but some of it has to be.

Small market teams like Milwaukee, Indiana and Atlanta may also be experiencing financial difficulties. These are the 6 teams most likely to be involved in a trade for Ray Allen and his expiring contract.

I have beem a celtic since 1969, I can not beleive just how dumb celtics fans have gotten ." Pay attention" the starting five is not the problem. The problem is the bench. Take our starting five against there’s and we win. If there is no problem dont create one. As Ray get’s older dont you think his salery will decrease and he could come off the bench. Who in the world are we going to trade for that can score 51 points if you ask him

We were down two big men Powe and Kevin tired broken up and still gave Orlando all the hell they could stand. Dont let fear cloud your judgment. We should get rid of T. Allen.
Mikki Moore, Scal, Stephon and Eddie House.

Agree 100% with this article. We just need to be patient the right deal will come along. Expiring contract is extremely valuable more so than people realize…

I think we are limited in who would actually trade for Ray in the off-season. (During the season next year is another matter.) Most of the trades nbeing mentioned are one-sided and the other team would never do them.

Here is a trade I think Milwaukee would do: (No the Bucks will not trade Bogut.)

Boston trades: R. Allen, T. Allen, Scal, Giddens, Pruitt
Milwaukee trades: Redd, Gadzuric, Ridnour, Alexander, 2009 no. 1 pick (1oth overall)

the trade clears at RealGM.

Why Milwaukee does it: Money.Money and Money. Did I mention money? The Bucks unload $28 million in salary in 10-11, so it can re-sign Villanueva and Sessions (two of their four or five best players) w/o going very deep into luxury tax hell. Ray is very popular in Milwaukee, where he began his career. Redd is coming off ACL and is way overpaid.

Why Boston does it: Redd when healthy is not a huge drop-off from Ray, if he is at all. He is a solid citizen type, too. Get quality veteran back-ups at the 1 and the 5 in Gadzuric and Ridnour. Upgrade in the prospect department with Alexander and no. 1 pick over Giddens and Pruitt. Love to see what Danny can do with a lotto pick.

But Wyc must be willing to swallow the salaries. That is the catch.

There are problems with almost all of the players who would be coming back. Chandler is also damaged goods; you may recall that NO tried to trade him last year and OK City sent him back after he flunked the physical.

The reality is that you won’t be getting back a single player as good as Ray. But you may get guys to fill bench holes who are alot better than what you can get for the MLE or less in the free agent market.

I’m willing to weaken the starting 5 a little to strenghten the bench. It was the bench that failed in the playoffs. Also, Ray Allen’s post-season performance was spotty. He had that one 50 point game, but against Orlando he couldn’t create his own shot against JJ Redick, which was very disappointing. They say he was hurt, but that’s going to happen.. He isn’t getting any younger.

good points,though droopdog and Jeff get the spirit of the trade.

let’s have Milwaukee toss in their 2011 no. 1 pick too. we can give them rights to semih erden.

To legitimately have a shot at a title, we’d need quality backups at the 1, 3, and 4/5 slots.

Without trading Ray, can we fill all those needs? I think we could fill two of them; one by the MLE, and the other by packaging the expirings of Scal, TA, etc. Don’t think we could fill all three slots without trading Ray. I hate to get to the trade deadline hoping/praying for buyouts. That’s really hit or miss. Of course, if we do go the trade Ray route, then obviously, we need a starting 2 as well. All told, assuming we keep House, we’d have near 28 mil in expirings to get it done.

Of the trade proposals in this thread, I’ve seen only two team trades. I don’t have any ideas right now to throw out, but I’m sure Danny would consider multi-team trades as well. Of the proposals I’ve seen here though, the Charlotte one looks like the best and most realistic.

Danny would be negligent if he didn’t at least consider trading Ray. Say, for instance, trading Ray landed 3 of the 4 needs. You could still use the MLE to pick up the last need. I honestly think the chances of seeing Ray traded are 50-50.

It’s gonna be interesting to see how the roster plays out, but I trust Danny, in spite of a poor off season last year.

The only guy I would trade Ray Allen for is Al Jefferson, and then The Celtics would have to put McHale on the payroll too.

is if I get an all-star caliber 2-guard back in return to replace him. One who is younger.

That’s it. you don’t sacrifice a legitimate chance at a title for anything less than an equal replacement.

Please. No Vince Carter.

The problem is, they may not be able to add enough to the bench with the MLE to win #18. If they can get Sheed for the MLE, I’m happy to keep Ray.

They’ve got a two year window. After that, they will need a complete rebuild. So the time to upgrade is now.

But please no more bargain basement trash like Marbury and Moore. I wasn’t particularly happy with Cassell either.

We hold onto Ray. He showed this year he has plenty still in his tank. Then WE get $20 mil off the cap for 2010. I only sped briefly through all the posts above but you included Earl Watson and I see Dan Gadzuric. Any Tyronn Lue mentions yet? I know trade spec is blog gold but it does bring out the worst “what ifs” from many.

Overall, the article was good until you threw out your trade suggestions…all of which would favor the Celtics in a major way. I know, why not trade Ray’s expiring deal to the Cavs for Lebron James and Delonte West! That trade works out in the trade machine!

On a more realistic note, why not trade Ray Ray, Pruitt and Walker to the Nets for Vince Carter, Sean Williams and Ed Najera. The Nets’ plan to build in Brooklyn has the green light, so they’ll still be looking to attract Lebron next year (especially since the Cavs got bounced by the Magic).

Playing in Brooklyn, with a legit center (Lopez) and a legit point guard (Harris) looks a lot more promising then the No show of Mo and the slow mo of Big Z.

Getting rid of Carter’s contract would go a long way to doing that. For the Cs, adding Sean Williams could be a plus with KG barking in his mug all year and Najera is the type of glue/D/grit guy the Celts were lacking without Posey. The men in green take back a lot of salary, but they actually get younger with Carter who is more versatile than Ray and has a pretty good stroke from deep.

The Nets clear salary, and get an athletic wing locked up on a very, very reasonable contract, who many compared to VC just a couple of years ago (before his injury). They also get a potential back up point guard.

I don’t even want to think about it, so my head is planted firmly in the sand until I am forced to confront a completed trade, and even then I may be in a state of denial for months! I will not be fun to be around, anyway….This is one of those things I have a definite opinion on (do not trade Ray) but I am not at all sure my opinion is the correct one. I have an idea….ask for a team vote..put the onus on the ones with the most to lose or gain.

Yep, you heard me. I don’t know how much Wyc’s bank account wants to hear this; however, I’d extend Ray one year at the same money. That way we keep the nucleus together one more year and the C’s still have his valuable salary to use as a trade chip next year.

I still hate pretty much any trade. To me, the C’s not only were clearly the best team in the NBA were healthy, they have the potential to be historically good with a little bench depth. To think that we can make a trade and be better next year is really a pipe dream. And while some trades may upgrade the “Ray Allen” salary slot 2 years from now, what good is that if PP and KG are in decline?

His value as an expiring contract is less than his value to the Celtics as their starting shooting guard. Ergo, any Ray trade made would be losing proposition for the Celtics…

Danny brought in Ray and KG with the idea that the new Big 3 would compete for championships in 2008, 2009, 2010. He’s not going to break them up now after they won one championship in 2008 and valiantly fought in sans KG all the way to game 7 against the eventual Eastern Conference Champions in 2009. Nope, what he’s going to do use his MLE to get better backups at center and point guard, and hopefully sign Baby with his Early Bird Rights, give Powe a make-good qualifying offer, and give Bill Walker the opportunity to be our backup 3 man.

Next summer, when Ray’s a free agent, we’re going to have to face post Big 3 reality and even then it’s most likely that Ray comes back on a reduced contract (around 8-10 million per), assuming we have another fruitful playoff run.

Chorus:

No Vince Carter
No Allen Iverson

Just get Rondo to polish his shots like Tony Parker did a few years ago. This way his guy won’t come at Ray. Teach Perk a few more offensive moves down low so his guy won’t come at Ray too. Then get Ray healthy. With these three things done, we will see Ray hitting jumper after jumper.

Even though Ray struggled in the playoff, teams still always kept at least a guy on him. There are still a lot of basketball left in Ray. The Celtics can us some of those.

Allen had to play big minutes down the stretch of the season. That limited his & PP’s effectiveness. Combine that with injury, and lack of space to shoot and his game was pared down to nothing.

I still thought Ray gave full effort, but all the work the C’s had done in the previous season went down the tubes because guys were sagging off of Rondo and Baby to cover Ray.

Ray & PP need a reliable defensive player & scorer to spot them off the bench. Besides a backup for Rondo & Perk, I think that is their biggest need.

Depending on signing McDyess and Hill at bargain prices, both of whom to me seem likely to stay put, is a risky strategy.

But I do think it’s a good idea to see what can be achieved through free-agency before making a trade.

I am Bobcats fan( Yes there are still some out there). I think Management will accept a trade that would include Ray and Kendrick Perkins for Raja Bell, DJ Augustin, Nazr Mohammed, and Emeka Okafor.

You get a starting center to replace Perkin’s defense. Emeka has ok offensive skills and very good defense without being paid a ridiculous amount of money. The replacement to ray is a career starting SG with better defense than Ray. Raja is a good shooter, not at the same caliber as Ray, but you can funnel the offense to two HOF players in Pierce and Garnett. DJ Augustin is a young back up point if Rondo really is a head case. Nazr is a decent Back up center with Finals experience(Nazr played for both San Antonio and Detroit Championship teams).

We get much needed Cap relief after the shopping spree last year with Ray’s expiring contract and we get the offense we lacked this year. We also get a guy who can make the big shot in the end of the game. We get a replacement for our Center. Both Okafor and Perkins are defensive minded centers. I am okay with letting DJ go because of the good array of PGs available in this draft but I believe he is good enough to start for other teams.

I think it is a win win for everyone. What do you guys think?

never ever i wudnt trade allen foe kobe lebron and wade together not cause he is better but u talking bout nbas best 3 pointshooter best jumper sweetest one and the one that made u win have of those games during playoffs and regular season buzzer beater game and if was ainge dont trade anybody give all these players a cahnce to try to win next year adn then decide and by the way wasnt this the team that one 2007-08 title heck yea and if u had to trade i wud let go off pruitt and walker get posey back and no more big three big 4 with the way rondo improved the celtics are the best team no lakers no magic and no cavaliers