One Man's Blow It Up Plan (No, Not Bill Simmons)

Today Bill Simmons posted an article eviscerating Danny Ainge in every sarcastic way he could think of. That's fine an dandy and if you like that sort of humor, more power to you. However, in the process, he also offered up some trade ideas to blow up the team. Frankly those proposals made me want to throw up, not blow up. Lamar Odom? Mo Williams? These are the guys that we want to build around? Please. If that's the payout then I'll pass and wait for the cap room.

No, if you are really going to blow it up (and can't get a superstar in return - which we can't) then you have to at least target first round picks. I'm of the opinion that we won't find any teams willing to give those to us. However, our old friend Elrod Enchilada thinks he's got some proposals that might get us picks for each of the Big 3. I don't know if I buy that, but I give him a ton of credit for coming up with actual names and proposals that at least make me and Arsenio Hall want to go "hmmmm."

Here's one of them.

The Art Of The Managed Blow-Up - RealGM Articles

Conclusion: Houston is the best possible partner [for Pierce]. The Rockets are playing surprisingly well and need a small forward with Pierce's skill-set. With a player like Pierce, the Rockets could move into the first tier in the Western Conference and make it to the Conference Finals. The Rockets have a ton of expiring deals for guys who are not in the rotation and a GM in Daryl Morey who like Ainge is unafraid to shake things up. The Rockets also have the Knicks 2012 No. 1 pick. The deal for Pierce works if Houston gives up Hasheem Thabeet, Jonny Flynn, Terrence Williams, Chandler Parsons, Chase Budinger and the Knicks No. 1 pick. The Rockets are not giving up much, except their ability to compete in the free agent market in the summer of 2012. That did not look very promising for the Rockets, so they take Pierce instead. Why do the Celtics do it? Clear massive additional cap space in the summer of 2012, so the Celtics could sign two max-contract players. (Are you listening Dwight and Deron?) The Celtics also get a mid-range 2012 no. 1 pick and two serviceable young rotation caliber 3s in Parsons and Budinger.

Obviously in a 5 for 1 deal a few guys would have to be waived and/or tossed in the trade because any roster can only have 15 guys.

That said, the players are mostly just the vehicle to match salaries and that can be worked out. The key is adding the pick without adding huge amounts of salary for the offseason. If Ainge is presented with any scenario that achieves both those goals, I woudn't be surprised at all if he pulled the trigger and blew the whole thing up.