Earlier today ESPN Insider published an article stating that the Celtics need to "blow it up" and referenced some obscure stat that somehow measures athleticism (see a blurb and link to the article here). Whatever. They came to the same conclusion that many have. It may or may not be time to blow it up, but good luck finding a deal that makes sense for everyone.
To that end, they posted a 2nd article with 5 trades for Paul Pierce. So I guess I'll just respond to this rather than run my daily trade ideas. At least this way I don't have to take the blame for bad ideas.
Insider: Blow up C's, Pierce trades - Boston Celtics Blog - ESPN Boston
The five swaps suggested in the Insider article:
1. Atlanta Hawks for PF Josh Smith
2. Memphis Grizzlies for SF Rudy Gay
3. Indiana Pacers for SF Danny Granger
4. Utah Jazz for Paul Millsap and pick, or Enes Kanter and 2012 draft pick
5. Houston Rockets for Kevin Martin and Patrick Patterson/Jordan Hill
We already went over number 2 (Rudy Gay) here. I tend to think that number 1 (Josh Smith) has many of the same risks and potential benefits. Smith is overpaid and isn't a cornerstone type of guy. However, when you are unloading Pierce's contract, you don't have as much to worry about because you still have Ray and KG coming off the books.
Number 3 doesn't really interest me much at all. For whatever reason Granger has regressed a lot this year and I'm worried that he might be falling back to the pack now that he's got teammates that aren't afraid to take some shots now and then.
Number 4 is at least interesting. Milsap is a potential 2nd tier star and is kind of redundant in Utah with Al Jefferson healthy and playing well. They also drafted Kanter and have Derrick Favors waiting in the wings. If they are willing to throw in a first round pick to get it done, even I would be tempted by that. Not sure what I think of Kanter, and it would depend on what other salaries we'd need to take back to make salaries work for that variation.
Number 5 makes little sense to me for Paul Pierce. If you really wanted Kevin Martin, I think you could snag him for Ray Allen and call it a day.
Those are just my quick thoughts though. I guess I gotta at least give them credit for coming up with some ideas. What are your thoughts?