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Ready for some complex formulas and Larry Coon? Here's how a huge deal between the Celtics and Clippers could go down (if both sides were committed to getting it done).
Let's make a deal? - Boston Celtics Blog - ESPN Boston
So if the Clippers wanted to trade for Garnett and Pierce, who make $28,356,610, in one big mega-trade before July 1, they would need to send out at least $22,605,288. Let's start with DeAndre Jordan, who makes $10,532,977, and Caron Butler, who makes $8,000,000. Those two add up to $18,532,977. The Clippers would still need another $4,072,311 under this scenario, which would not be met even if they included Eric Bledsoe and Willie Green, who combine to make less than that. They could make it work if they included Jamal Crawford, but sources say Crawford would not be included in the deal. That means the Clippers would go to the second option, which would be doing two separate trades. In this scenario, according to Coon, they get 150 percent or $5 million rather than just the 125 percent they get by acquiring them together. So they could trade Jordan and Bledsoe for Pierce and then Butler for Garnett. These two separate but parallel trades would work from a numbers standpoint.
Note: Butler is an expiring contract, so there's little risk in picking him up (and in theory he could be flipped at the trade deadline or later in the offseason anyway). In theory, the Clippers would also be sending two draft picks (preferably first rounders) to the Celtics as compensation for letting Doc Rivers out of his non-compete agreement.
So, if that's on the table, would you do it?