Tag: Anthony Davis

What Celtics Should Do Before Thursday’s NBA Trade Deadline

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What a crazy past week in the NBA, huh?

It all started with last Monday’s huge news that Anthony Davis doesn’t want to stay in New Orleans, which immediately caused a whirlwind of trade rumors, future roster predictions, and A LOT of false hope being doled out to desperate NBA fans around the country. It’s also caused some other soon-to-be-free-agents’ names to be dragged through tireless speculative “reports” – many of which are based on literally ZERO evidence – regarding where they will all go to create the new “superteam.” And it all seems to hinge upon Davis. On top of all that, we also got a major blockbuster between the New York Knicks and Dallas Mavericks involving Kristaps Porzingis just before the weekend.

(It was actually tough to keep up with everything, but for those who need a more in-depth refresher on last week’s events, Red’s got you covered with a great roundup on all of it here.)

The NBA trade deadline is this Thursday, and teams have continued to make even more moves this week, with many others sure to come before tomorrow afternoon.

In what amounts to awful news for the Celtics, the 76ers acquired forward Tobias Harris from the Los Angeles Clippers on Tuesday night in exchange for a criminally overrated veteran shooter (Wilson Chandler), a decent backup center (Mike Muscala), and future draft picks. So, Philly just got significantly better, adding a 20-point-per-game scorer to an already loaded lineup, and they did so without having to give up virtually anything for this season. Yeah, it’s definitely not good news for Green Nation. (The Pistons also traded former first-rounder Stanley Johnson to Milwaukee for Thon Maker on Wednesday. But, honestly, this move means zilch for anyone in the grand scheme of things.)

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The 26-year-old, Harris, is one of the most underrated players in the league.

So what should the Celtics do?

First, just to reiterate, the Celtics are not able to trade for Davis until at least after July 1, 2019, so we already know he’s not coming here this season. However, the team could potentially do a bit more to put themselves in an even greater position to acquire The Brow this summer if New Orleans decides to stand their ground and wait for what they know will already be the best offer out there. Much has been made about everything the Lakers have allegedly offered to the Pelicans over the past week, but they still can’t match the level of talent and future assets the Celts currently possess.

If the Celtics were to trade someone like Terry Rozier – an impending restricted free agent – for, say, another first-rounder, they could sweeten the pot even more. They’d also be getting at least something in return for someone who is very likely to leave in the offseason. But, they’d also be leaving themselves desperately thin at the position, especially if Kyrie Irving were to get injured, and this team is still right in the middle of contending; even after the frustrating loss to Golden State on January 26, the team has won five straight and vaulted up to third place in the Eastern Conference. Furthermore, there really just aren’t many teams who’d be willing to trade such a valuable future asset for a guy who could walk in five months. So, Scary Terry ain’t going anywhere.

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Terry’s time will come soon enough. He’ll have to tough out just being “one of the guys” for a bit longer.

Or – and make sure you’re sitting down for this one – the Celtics could trade Kyrie Irving. Much like Rozier, Kyrie is also a free agent this summer; unlike Rozier, Kyrie is an unrestricted free agent, meaning he can go wherever he wants and there’s nothing the Celtics can do to stop him.

Just to set the record straight: I do not think the Celtics should trade Kyrie right now. However, I can see some logic in doing so, especially after his pretty frank comments last week regarding his commitment to the team’s future. In case you missed what he said, here ya go:

To be fair to Kyrie, I think he was just getting frustrated with the incessant “rumors” and “predictions” of where everyone was going to be next season, himself included, and we still haven’t even reached this year’s All-Star break! It’s actually pretty ridiculous, and to be entirely honest I’m getting sick of it myself. Slam Magazine also made sure to focus on other things he said during the interview, which pretty much back up what I just surmised and also points out the fact he still views the Celtics as the lead dog in the race. Finally, according to Steve Bulpett of The Boston Herald, Danny Ainge is refusing to take calls from any team that’s even tried to start the conversation anyway.

Were Kyrie to actually up and leave this summer, though, the Celts’ title contender status would immediately evaporate. And then, even if they still somehow traded for Davis, there’s no way he’d re-sign for the long term without at least one more superstar. So standing pat on Kyrie does not come without risk. But, keeping Kyrie right now at least gives you a plausible scenario which could see both he AND Davis here next season; trading him now does not give you anything close to that. In sum, the Celtics need to keep Kyrie and hope for the best.

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The Celtics need to do everything they can to keep this man happy for the next couple of months.

OK, so they can’t really trade Rozier or Kyrie at the moment. So what else should they do?

Honestly, nothing. Sure, maybe they could use some help in the rebounding department from time to time, but this team really doesn’t have any glaring issues. As I’ve said multiple times this year, I just believe there’s actually too much talent on the roster, and they just need to learn how to play better together as one unit.

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Or maybe a little more playing time for Robert Williams and his 10.0 rebounds per 36 minutes could provide a big help, too!

Again, while this team has certainly struggled much more so than I thought to this point in the season, they’ve still shown the ability that got them within minutes of an NBA Finals appearance last year. They’ve also quickly jumped up two spots in the standings after ripping off five-straight victories, and they’re still a top-five defensive team.

Brad Stevens has also started to refine the rotation a bit more in recent weeks, which will hopefully help guys settle into their roles for the stretch run and provide a bit more consistency. This team can still do some damage, as evidenced by their sound victory over the Raptors three weeks ago followed by a close defeat to Golden State, and I don’t think a major shakeup would be helpful right now in any way.

So, for the first time in years, I will be perfectly content with Ainge & Co. deciding to pass on doing anything at the deadline. Seriously, shut the phone off, Danny. Just bide your time and let the rest of the league continue to tire themselves out. Our golden opportunity still awaits.

Soon. Soon.

Tampering LeBron Seems to Be Pissing Off Trade Partners, Knicks Shooting for the Moon With Porzingis Trade and Where Do the Celtics Stand?

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ESPN – New Orleans Pelicans general manager Dell Demps has yet to return a call from Lakers GM Rob Pelinka, league sources told ESPN. The sluggish response time is perhaps a message that New Orleans places some responsibility on the Lakers for Davis’ trade request…

Demps is picking up his phone and returning calls — just not from the Lakers, sources said. From Paul George to Leonard to Davis, the Lakers’ front office is growing accustomed to icy receptions from teams enduring All-Star trade demands with a full year left on their contracts.

What is usually a case of Magic Johnson and the Lakers just tampering with anyone and everyone and then pleading ignorance or brushing it off as players talking seems to finally be catching up to them. We saw it before the season even started as LeBron basically committed insider trading on his way to Los Angeles, as we discussed on The 300s Podcast last July.

Now we’re starting to see NBA executives getting fed up with teams just flaunting the rules, especially small market teams like New Orleans that depend on those rules. Now obviously if you think players aren’t talking and pitching each other during vacations and at All-Star games you’re glib, but when players are openly campaigning to play with other players under contract with different teams, that is beyond frustrating.

Especially when LeBron owns the company that employs the agent (Rich Paul) that your star player (Anthony Davis) now shares with LeBron himself. Robert Mueller couldn’t untangle that web of deception.

You can start to see the puppet strings from Rich Paul in recent reports that have come out. Such as the one suggesting that Kyrie wanted to reunite with LeBron and was likely to leave Boston after the season. Essentially just putting reports out there to try and destabilize the perception of Boston as a destination to help expedite a trade of Davis to LA.

The stance of Davis and his camp toward Boston is linked to their view of Kyrie Irving’s future, sources said. Davis and his camp no longer believe that Irving is a sure bet to re-sign with the Celtics this summer, and that’s the primary reason they insist on clumping Boston with a similar message to the 28 other teams: Buyer beware on a trade for Davis.

This is pure agent speak for I want my client in LA so I will float rumors that Boston’s best player is leaving after this season.

Simply put if we get past the next week and Anthony Davis is not traded, there is no way I can see that he doesn’t wind up with the Celtics. If the Pelicans truly are bullshit about the tampering consulting of Davis’ (and LeBron’s) agent to get him to LA, then they for sure won’t trade him before the deadline this year. That would bring us to the offseason when no team can really beat the Celtics’ potential package.

Whether Danny Ainge would ultimately give up Jayson Tatum in any package remains to be seen, but the Lakers don’t have too much that would entice me if I’m Dell Demps. Especially if they’re still pissed because theres no more powerful motivator in this world than spite.

So the big market Los Angeles Lakers are just going to punt on 2019-20 to hopefully sign Anthony Davis the FOLLOWING summer when LeBron will be in his age 35-36 season? Uhhh…

To sign Davis outright in 2020, the Lakers would have to maintain enough cap space for him — which could mean forfeiting the chance to add a star player this summer. The Lakers could sign that star free agent, and then sign-and-trade their young guys for Davis in the summer of 2020. Whatever the case, it’s a complicated path to Davis.

Not to mention if the Lakers want to gut their team to trade for Davis now it would put them in the same exact situation the Knicks were in when they acquired Carmelo Anthony back in 2011. Sure they got their guy, but the team around him after that was garbage.

What’s more, to deal all of their young assets for Davis now would complicate the Lakers’ path to a third star. With only Davis, LeBron and Luol Deng’s stretched salary on their books for 2019-20, the Lakers would have only about $30.5 million in cap space — not enough for a max free agent. They would either have to hope a star takes less than the max, or roll their space over to the summer of 2020 — when the cap will go up again.

So if your the Pelicans, whats the rush?

The Pelicans believe the Lakers will offer the same deal in June and July as they can offer now, which is one more reason to wait on the Celtics.

But it wouldn’t be ESPN if they didn’t end the article without shitting in the cereal bowl of Boston fans with this doomsday scenario:

Still, there are scenarios that concern Boston. For instance, the Celtics could disappoint in the postseason. The Knicks could win the draft lottery and enter the offseason with the one trade asset that tops Tatum: the NBA draft’s No. 1 pick, and the chance to select Duke’s Zion Williamson.

If that isn’t enough, the Knicks could add Kevin Knox to their offer and hope that acquiring Davis would entice a second star free agent to join him. Irving would be on their short list of such players, and the Knicks, armed with Davis and enough cap room for Irving, stand as one the only Irving threats that would unnerve Boston.

The tinfoil hat donning Celtics fans are already starting to freak out about this exact scenario after the Porzingis Woj bomb that dropped out of the sky this afternoon.

The Knicks are essentially hoarding assets and clearing out more cap space for a potential Anthony Davis trade to then turn around and team him up with….a freshly signed max contract Kyrie Irving. It takes some mental gymnastics to get there, but it is a scary thought.

I have more faith in the Browns making the Super Bowl than I do in the Knicks suddenly getting their circus together enough to facilitate one of the great coups in NBA history.

There Are Reports That Kyrie is “Genuinely Interested in Reuniting With LeBron.” Not Good!

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LeBron, you tampering son of a bitch. It all started with Kyrie Irving publicly and pretty blatantly complaining about the young guys surrounding him on the Celtics.

THEN by his own admission Kyrie called LeBron James for advice  and to apologize for their falling out.

LeBron, the guy that Kyrie hated so bad that he forced his way out of Cleveland, is who Kyrie is turning to for advice. Odd flex, but OK.

Credit where its due, but Felger pointed out on 98.5 today that LeBron, who loves to opine about his role as a veteran mentor, was radio silent on the matter. Seriously, there was not a single quote from LeBron about the exchange he had with Kyrie, which as Felger said is just suspicious. It may even point to a guy in LeBron who is being cautious of potential tampering charges should Kyrie sign with LA this summer.

THEN we get the Instagram Story from LeBorn legitimately singing about lost love and publicly tagging Kyrie. At that point I was officially concerned.

THEN there was also a story that flew under the radar a bit this week about how Kyrie is planning to produce and star in a movie about a haunted hotel in Oklahoma City.

I mean they film most movies in LA, but plenty of bangers have been shot in Boston. The Departed, The Town, Fever Pitch, I could go on and on, but the point has been made.

THEN as we get to the most deeply of buried leads, comes the report from Ric Bucher:

NOW, before I get my blood pressure up I want to acknowledge that this is a report from a “source close to the team.” While thats never ideal, it’s still just a whisper of a rumor. With that being said, this would be one of the softest moves in the history of a league filled with soft dough boys. You  just cannot do this as a man if you have even a *shred* of pride. Fed up with being treated as the little brother and overshadowed by LeBron, Kyrie forced a bitter split from a team that was coming off an NBA Finals appearance into a trade with their biggest rival. Now, he’s moved onto Boston and after trying to carry his own team for a grand total of TWO seasons he’s going to give up and go running back to big bro? I’m sorry, but I would crush him worse than I crushed Kevin Durant and thats a promise.

So lets just hope this is all a bunch of malarkey or this is a behind the scenes leverage play by Kyrie perhaps. Maybe he is just trying to ensure that Celtics ownership doesn’t take his presence for granted and Danny really goes after Anthony Davis hard this offseason. That way we can go back to being good friends and I can watch my guy Kyrie hit daggers in OT against the Raptors.

THEN we had the long expected trade request from Anthony Davis coming out of New Orleans, which due to the timing gives the Los Angeles Lakers the immediate leg up on acquiring him. All this just a few months after AD signed on with one Rich Paul…the same agent as LeBron James.

LeBron…you tampering son of a bitch.

BREAKING: Anthony Davis Wants Out of New Orleans

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After years of dreaming, wishing, and hoping that NBA superstar Anthony Davis would eventually make his way up to Boston, we got a major WOJ BOMB regarding the Pelicans’ All-World forward early Monday morning:

*HEAVY BREATHING*

But, in the words of the great Phil Collins:

“Hold on my heart.
Just hold on to that feeling.
We both know we’ve been here before.
We both know what can happen.”

Everyone knows that anything Wojnarowski says is pretty much Bible. BUT, before you go throw on your Green jammies, I’m going to crush your dreams (and mine) and inform you right away that the Celtics are not allowed to trade for The Brow right now, no matter what they’d be willing to offer.

Why? I’mma let Boston.com’s Nicole Yang explain the reason why:

Both Davis and Irving signed their contract extensions under the “Rose Rule,” named after point guard Derrick Rose because he was the first player to sign such an extension. The “Rose Rule” allows certain players coming off their rookie-scale contracts to earn 30 percent of the salary cap as opposed to 25 percent. To be eligible, a player must have achieved one of three accolades during the first four seasons of his career: MVP award, Defensive Player of the Year award, or two All-NBA selections. (When Davis and Irving inked their extensions in 2015 and 2014, respectively, two All-Star starter nods was in place of DPOY.)

NBA teams cannot trade for more than one player who has signed an extension under the “Rose Rule” — a limitation that is only applicable when the players are still on their “Rose Rule” extensions. The Celtics acquired Irving via trade in August 2017, so they cannot deal for Davis — or any other player that has signed such an extension — until Irving leaves or agrees to a new deal. Irving will become an unrestricted free agent at the conclusion of this season and has expressed his intention to re-sign with the Celtics. The earliest he can do so is July 1, 2019.

Seriously, that SUCKS, but such is the reality right now. Sorry to ruin your week already.

Again, it doesn’t change the fact that the Celtics are the team with likely the best combination of current players AND future assets to offer New Orleans. And, with the way the team has been playing this year, I’m pretty much ready to deal anything and everything we’d need to in order to get it done.

But, alas, we can’t do a damn thing.

Everyone now assumes that the Lakers will make a Godfather offer in order to bring Davis to L.A., which would pair him up with the King. The Lakers may not have the same abundance of draft capital the Celtics have right now, but they do have plenty of young talent that could tempt the Pelicans into moving the 25-year-old. But truthfully, who knows where he could end up? When a player this good hits the trade block, pretty much any team would jump at the chance to get him.

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Seriously, this man is a true franchise-changer.

Davis is also signed through next season, with a player option for 2020-21. This makes him even more enticing, as whoever obtained him in a trade wouldn’t just be getting a rental. However, this also means the Celtics can’t just wait until next summer and try to sign him because: 1) he won’t be a free agent and 2) something could happen well before then anyway.

All the team can do is hope that he stays with New Orleans through the rest of this season. Then, after July 1, hopefully we’ll have already locked Kyrie up for the long term and we’re able to put together a package to acquire Davis before next season. And it’s really not all that crazy of a scenario, as the Pelicans don’t “need” to trade him any time soon, and they know they’re unlikely to get as good of a deal from anyone else as the one they’d get from the C’s.

So, sorry to break it to you, Celts Nation. But hey:

Stay tuned…

Williams, Morris Shine Against Anthony Davis and the Celtics Are Surging

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Photo credit: Charles Krupa/Associated Press

As already noted earlier today by Red, what a night it was for Bob at the Garden on Monday! His performance helped the Celtics win their seventh game in their last eight tries, and it really seems like The Green are starting to turn it on.

The Celtics rookie played a season-high 26 minutes against New Orleans and proved exactly why he was being projected by many as a lottery pick before this past June’s draft. His seven points and 11 boards were solid enough, but he also compiled three blocks – TWO of which were on none other than Anthony Davis.

Even more impressive is the fact that he held Davis to 7-of-17 shooting overall on the night; so, yes, while Davis did score 41, over half of those points were actually allowed by Daniel Theis and others besides Williams who covered The Brow last night. Bob also showed incredible discipline, playing so aggressively yet only committing one foul and zero turnovers.

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The rookie big man was all over Davis last night.

Red and I have been telling you since July that this kid was going to be something special, and we got our vindication last night. This is just a sign of things to come.

Another 300s favorite, Marcus Morris, was also huge in last night’s win. He posted 31 points to go along with four rebounds and four assists. Ever since being inserted into the starting lineup at the end of November along with Marcus Smart, Morris has averaged over 15 points per game.

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This man has kept on rolling all year long.

Brad Stevens’ choice to switch things up a few weeks ago has proven to be a very underrated (and potentially season-saving) move. Replacing Gordon Hayward and Jaylen Brown in the starting lineup for Morris and Smart may have sounded foolish just three months ago, but there is no doubt that the decision has injected some much-needed life into this team; the Celtics are undefeated through four games in December, and they have lost just once since Thanksgiving. I know that “season-saving” may sound a bit melodramatic, but this was a team that had lost five of their previous nine beforehand, and something needed to be done – and quickly – to get the team back on track.

Kudos on that one, Brad.

And what’s even better is that neither Hayward nor Brown have suffered as a result of the move, as both are still a huge part of the rotation and are each playing well over 20 minutes per night. Though Brown missed three games after injuring his back against Dallas on November 24, he’s averaged over 20 points per game in three games since returning. Hayward has been a bit more inconsistent and is still trying to find his groove, but his 30-point explosion against Minnesota on December 1 should give fans hope that he’s not too far off.

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Hopefully, this was Hayward’s coming-out party.

The team now currently sits fifth in the East, which is certainly not where most expected them to be this far into the season. Alas, don’t worry, Celtics Nation; it is still early and we’ve seen plenty of encouraging things over the past couple weeks which leads me to believe they’ll be just fine in the end.

Next up is a matchup with the Wizards on Wednesday night. The Celts then get Atlanta, Detroit, and Phoenix before a Friday night showdown against the No. 2-seed Bucks just before Christmas.

So while November was a bit of a rough patch, I’ve been liking what I’ve been seeing lately, boys! Keep it up!

The Celtics’ Robert Williams AKA Time Lord Put on a Show Last Night

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Update: Buy Time Lord shirts here!

With pretty much everyone of note sitting last night (Kyrie, Hayward, and Horford) there were plenty of minutes to go around. Enter Robert Williams AKA Time Lord, who got his first taste of legit NBA time with 26 minutes last night and boy did he put on a show. The Time Lord finished with 7 points and 11 rebounds, but for a young, raw player he was a force on the glass. Before last night Williams hadn’t played more than 8 minutes in any game this year so it was great to get an extended look at the 1st round pick. He was even a couple of inches away from being No. 1 on SportsCenter as he muffed an alley oop attempt. The highlight of the night for my young neighbor in Brighton though was this absolutely devastating block of arguably the best player in the game Anthony Davis.

Davis still finished with 41 points so nobody was shutting AD down, but that block was Williams making a statement. He actually had 3 blocks on the night as he made his presence known.

The kid can play and he may be the “rim defender” the Celtics have been looking for all these years.

Why the Celtics Need to Trade for Anthony Davis NOW…Like TODAY

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The idea of Anthony Davis in a green and white uniform is something Celtics fans have been dreaming about for what seems like half a decade now. However, as time wears on, it seems like the chance of that happening continues to become slimmer and slimmer.

Much of this has to do with Danny Ainge’s seeming reluctance to trade away the assets it would take to acquire a guy like Davis. There’s also the fact he did already trade away one of his precious lottery picks for Kyrie before last season. Plus, after two-straight seasons that saw the Pelicans lose at least 48 games, they had quite the resurgence last year – 48 wins and a first-round playoff series victory over Portland – and are now a respectable 7-7 so far in 2018.

Still, there may have never been a more perfect time to trade for Davis than right now, and Danny NEEDS to make a Godfather offer to New Orleans ASAP to get it done. I’ll tell you why.

I’ve already made note of the fact, as have plenty of others out there, that the Celtics offense has been absolutely putrid this year. Not only do they currently rank 24th in terms of points per game, but they are dead last in the league in terms of points in the paint.

Mattes, who cares? The NBA is all about the three-point shot now. Bigs are a dying breed – if they’re not completely dead already. It’s all about SHOOTERS, SHOOTERS, SHOOTERS!

First and foremost, while Davis is indeed listed at 6’10”, he is more than just a “big.” Even though he may only have a career 31-percent mark from deep, he has shot over 34 percent from three for two consecutive seasons, including a really impressive 40 percent last year.

He can also pass, defend the rim (3.1 blocks per game this season), and is athletic enough to get out in transition and run with all of the Celtics’ young gunners. Many people may not be aware that Davis was actually a point guard in high school, but he grew seven inches between his junior year and graduation – no, but really though – and made the switch to forward.

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This man has come a loooong way.

But it’s about so much more than who Davis is as a player. There’s no denying that Davis is a generational talent – a rock-solid top-five player in the league who would improve any squad in the Association.

Here’s a stat for you: Of the teams that finished in the bottom 10 in points in the paint last season – which did indeed include the Celtics – only four of them made the playoffs. One of those teams, the Houston Rockets, were so predicated on three-point shooting that they almost didn’t even need to step foot inside the arc to win last year, so I’m not going to count them. Therefore, in sum, only about 30 percent of the ten worst teams inside the paint made the playoffs last year. Basically, unless you have all-time shooting talent like Golden State or Houston, you still absolutely need some guys down low.

ESPN’s Kirk Goldsberry wrote an excellent and incredibly stat-driven article on the state of the Celtics offense right now. I highly suggest taking the time to read it all the way through, but here’s a great quick-hitter from that piece supporting the evidence I just mentioned:

Despite the league’s rising obsession with the 3, shots near the rim remain the best looks in the game. They’re essential. Not only do close-range shots yield points at the highest rates, but players attacking the paint also elevates everything else. Things like shooting fouls and offensive rebounds tick up. Those 3-pointers see more daylight.

Any basketball fan knows that strong play up front opens things up for the rest of the offense, and the Celtics’ current group of post men just aren’t getting it done. As Goldsberry also points out, Al Horford – our $29 million “force” up front – is attempting less than three shots within eight feet of the rim per game. That is just shameful. And while Aron Baynes and Danny Theis are two tough, solid role players, there is just nobody else down low who has the talent to pick up the slack right now.

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Still love ya, Al, but I’m gonna need a bit more than that.

The team has also been super skiddish in terms of their attack. They average less than 20 free throw attempts per game – only the Magic attempt less – and are all too quick to settle for ill-advised, risky jumpers.

Davis is third in the league in free throw attempts per game (8.5) and fourth in the league in points in the paint per game (14.4). He’s also tenth in offensive rebounds per game (3.5), which is another area the Celtics have struggled with mightily this season.

With a .500 record in a tough conference, New Orleans may be more willing than usual right now to listen to trade offers. And as I mentioned above, it’s also only going to get tougher to make a trade happen the more time goes on.

First, there’s the fact that both Philadelphia and Sacramento – both of whom determine the fate of the extra draft pick the Celtics receive in next June’s draft – are both playing extremely well this season, continuing to fade the value of what was once thought to be such a valuable asset. Also, as I mentioned earlier this week, with guys like Terry Rozier already starting to express their displeasure with being “just another one of the guys” on a crowded roster, the Celtics could soon lose all of the almost ridiculously unfair leverage they once held in their favor. And worst of all, another team  – e.g. Lakers, Rockets, Timberwolves, Warriors (yes, I’m serious; it could happen), etc. – could swoop in first and end the discussion altogether.

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You might be smirking now, Danny, but don’t get too cocky.

Look, it’s not going to be easy, and the Celtics will have to give up A TON to make it happen. But rather than spitball different scenarios, I think it’s safe to say the Celtics are one of the only teams in the NBA right now with enough young talent and draft picks to make it happen. I would be willing to give up ANYONE on the team to get this done – except maybe Jayson Tatum, but even still his inclusion wouldn’t necessarily be a non-starter for me – because Davis is just that good. Davis is also locked up for the next two seasons after this one, so it’s not like the team would be risking everything for a rental or short-term solution.

Somehow, someway, we need to get this one done, Danny. Get on that horn and make a call down to the Bayou IMMEDIATELY.

Vegas Underdog Celtics Go for the Sweep Tonight Against Vegas Favorite Sixers

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The Celtics have been underdogs in each of the first 3 games against Philly this series and are now up 3-0 and on the brink of a sweep. Massholes everywhere are putting Vegas bookies in the hurt locker this past week. The Celtics were +9 the other night for christ’s sake and it took a buzzer beater (and confetti!) just for the Sixers to force OT and lose again.

The Celtics, per usual, are fun as all hell to watch because they’re tough, gritty, smart with the ball, and are playing above their talent level. Once Hayward got hurt 5 minutes into the season, most reasonable hopes of a Larry O’Brien trophy went out the window. Then once Kyrie Irving got shut down for the season, I was content to just win a round. Not the C’s though. These guys are giving the Sixers fits, who are basically the bully on the block that gets punched in the nose and doesn’t know what to do.

Young guys like Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum are setting records and look years beyond their age. Seriously, these guys have been incredible. I’m done with the Kawhi Leonard trade rumors. I’m not moving these guys for anyone outside of Anthony Davis, let alone both of them for a player who’s battled injuries and has been a general sourpuss for the last 2 years.

Terry Rozier has become a national story as Scary Terry continues to put up huge numbers both on, and off the court (and murdered Eric Bledsoe as a result).

Al Horford has probablyyy heard the Average Al nickname and its probablyyy pissed him off as he’s looked like the max player we all hoped for night in and night out. Just look at the numbers. In the playoffs this year, Horford is AVERAGING 17.9 points (a career high)  and 8.6 rebounds per game.

Not to jinx it, but assuming the C’s don’t completely implode, we’re set up for another classic Eastern Conference Finals rematch with LeBron James. The Celtics bodied LeBron for the first half of his career and legitimately chased him out of Cleveland because he couldn’t get past Boston in the playoffs. The second and third acts of his career have been a different story though as LeBron has been ridiculously great for an unprecedented number of years and taken the Celtics behind the shed a few times along the way. At 33 you’d think LeBron would be slowing down, but nope the guy has gone Super Saiyan and is just putting on an absolute clinic carrying the Cavs to the ECF hitting iconic game winners in the process (soft defense by Toronto is besides the point).

So whether the Celtics are ready to get past LeBron remains to be seen, but goddamn will it be fun to watch. A young, long, athletic, and best of all cocky squad of guys in their early 20s gunning to knock off the best player of my generation will be legitimate theater.

I Would Trade Every Player On the Celtics Roster for Anthony Davis

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The Vertical – “Rival executives expect Boston to be keeping close tabs on New Orleans, which is entering a critical season. The Pelicans are committed to seeing if an Anthony Davis-DeMarcus Cousins frontcourt can work, but if the season goes awry, it’s widely believed the Celtics will make a strong run at Davis, who is under contract through 2020.”

Stop me if you’ve heard this before: there are growing rumblings around the league about the future of Anthony Davis and how the Celtics could be in on any potential deal. If the New Orleans Pelicans start off poorly next season and the DeMarcus Cousins pairing doesn’t mesh, a lot of smart guys around the NBA like Chris Mannix expect the Pelicans to start listening to offers for Davis.

I am one of the biggest Anthony Davis guys you’ll find. He is a top five player in this league, he’s a future MVP and I just want to state for the record that I would trade every single player on the 15-man roster plus everyone on the Maine Red Claws to get Anthony Davis. He is literally the only guy in the league that can put up a 40 and 20 game. I will buy that AD jersey TONIGHT.

You can have whatever the fuck you want if it gets me Anthony Davis. Sure you can point out that the C’s would be in the same situation the Pelicans are in right now with Anthony Davis and no one around him. But I will take Danny Ainge and Anthony Davis and let them figure it out. I have faith in that pairing. Love you Jaylen Brown. You look like a pretty good player so far Jayson Tatum. Isaiah you’re my guy, but if I can get Anthony Davis I will play one-on-five if I have to. Get me the Brow and we’ll go from there.

Rapid Reaction to the Celtics Draft Night: #WycFireworks Postponed (Again)

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So after all the hype, the rumors, and the Woj Bombs I think a lot of people were expecting the Celtics to make a trade Thursday night, but ultimately they stood pat and drafted their guy Jayson Tatum at No. 3. Again.

Look I fully admit I’m not a college basketball expert so I wasn’t going nuts over who they should draft. It sounds like Tatum will be a good fit, a guy who can get to the basket and create offense on his own, which is exactly what the Celtics need.

But, now we’re hearing rumors about the Celtics STILL being in on a potential Paul George trade.

All I’m saying is, the last 3 years have been full of trade speculation and Wyc shouting from the rooftops to expect fireworks.

Well, I don’t know how much more of the “Celtics are in on player X” I can take. First it was Jimmy Butler (who got traded to Minny last night), then it was Paul George, then it was Kristaps Porzingis. In years past it was Kevin Love and Carmelo Anthony. Now everyone’s already got Gordon Hayward penciled into the starting 5 next season, despite the fact that he’d have to eat like $30-$40 million dollars to leave Utah. Its a merry go round and I’ve been on it way too long. I’ll keep my Woj notifications on, but I refuse to get hyped for anything until Woj tells me its happening. Anthony Davis is not walking through that door.