Tag: NBA Trade

Carmelo Anthony Traded to OKC; How Does This Affect the Celtics?

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Something I wanted to touch on as it does directly affect the Boston Celtics was Carmelo Anthony getting traded to the Thunder over the weekend. Now obviously Melo’s trade value has plummeted over the years, especially with the $54 Million he’s due to make over the next two years, but it was still a pretty measly return for the Knicks. I guess they just wanted to close that chapter and move on and rebuild (AROUND DOUGIE MCBUCKETS!)

But hats off to Sam Presti. This guy has been getting roasted for years, rightfully so, for blowing up the Thunder and trading away “bench players” like James Harden who has only grown into a Top 5 player in the league. So getting Carmelo Anthony and Paul George this offseason for Enes Kanter, Doug McDermott, a 2018 second-round pick, Victor Oladipo, and Domantas Sabonis is the definition of pulling a rabbit out of your ass.

Now how does this affect the Celtics? Well its always good to see an elite scorer not land with your biggest rival in Cleveland, which is where a lot of rumors had Melo going. Problem is GM LeBron has gutted this team of assets so the Cavs don’t really have much to offer anyone aside from that brand new Brooklyn pick, which was obviously never gonna happen. But, Melo on the Cavs was a scary thought. Say what you want about the guy, but if he’s the second or third option and can just hang out in the corner waiting for his shot, thats lethal. So him going to OKC helps Boston avoid an even larger uphill battle against the Cavs.

Remember when LeBron said Super Teams weren’t a thing? Welp, What is dead may never die. There are now like 4-5 teams (read: Golden State) that have a real shot at winning the title, which is bad for the league, but great for NBA2K because OKC just became a must play team.

Also, hopefully Carmelo, Paul George and Russell Westbrook don’t murder each other when they’re all gunning for the last shot. Hopefully it works out because I NEED Russell to win a title in OKC soon just to see him essentially host the Haters Ball in his victory speech. I don’t think Kevin Durant would ever recover from the things Russ might say in that speech. Need to see it.

PS – While Carmelo on the Knicks was basically a dumpster fire for the better part of six years, let us never forget that trade spawned one of the best sports commercials of all-time. I’m not even a Knicks fan and that commercial still gives me goosebumps.

Kyrie Irving Wanted Out of Cleveland Because LeBron is a Massive Dickhead

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As this trade languishes in GM negotiation purgatory I just wanted to circle back on some of the criticism of this deal. After the trade became public a lot of people were asking what does it say about Kyrie Irving if he wants off one of the 2 best teams in the NBA? If it were any other team and any other situation I would probably be asking the same question. Why does this guy want to leave a team thats been to the Finals 3 straight years and won a title just last year? Why would you want to leave that situation?

Except this is not any team. This is LeBron’s team and the guy is probably such an insufferable asshole that I don’t blame Kyrie Irving one bit for saying enough is enough.

If LeBron does leave after this coming season, that Cavs team would be in shambles having completely built itself on LeBron’s every whim. A team with stiffs like JR Smith and Richard Jefferson on the squad purely because they compliment LeBron’s game. So Kyrie said screw this I’m out, I’m not dealing with LBJ and I’m certainly not cleaning up his mess once he bounces.

I mean just take a look at this CBS Boston article that dutifully went back and pulled quotes from LeBron immediately after winning the title last year.

“LeBron was then asked about the comeback from a 3-1 series deficit and specifically what changed in Game 5. He said: “Just locked in. I had to change my approach a little bit in how I approached the game. I wasn’t that good in the first two games in this building [in Golden State]. I watched a lot of film, detailed it out, changed my blueprint, and was able to put together some spectacular games after being down 3-1.”

A LOOOT of “I’s” in there. I did this. I did that. I had some spectacular games. Puke city. Especially since these quotes came not 10 minutes after Kyrie saved his ass with an absolute dagger of a three in the final minute of Game 7.

Ya know, while LeBron was bricking shots left and right down the stretch.

So, hey is it a little petty to be complaining about not getting more credit for your role in winning a championship? Sure, but I’m not gonna hold that against a guy. Kyrie seems hyper competitive and wants the keys to the car. Not to mention, the thought of these two guys teeing off on each other opening night and in the playoffs has me all tingly inside. I’m just giddy thinking about the passive aggressive subtweets LeBron is gonna throw out there after the Celtics take Game 1. LETS GO.

Why the Celtics Won the Trade of Isaiah Thomas for Kyrie Irving

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Wow. Last night the Celtics traded Isaiah Thomas, Jae Crowder, Ante Zizic and the 2018 Nets pick for Kyrie Irving. As I said at 7:30 last night, I go off the grid to workout for ONE hour and I come back to find Trader Danny has fundamentally changed the structure of the Celtics with another blockbuster trade. Seriously, sleep with one eye open around this guy.

First things first, it sucks to see Isaiah Thomas go as he was absolutely integral in putting the Celtics back on the map the past couple of years and vice versa. Celtics went from a middling team to the No. 1 seed in the East. Isaiah went from a third string point guard in Phoenix to Boston finishing in the Top 5 for MVP. He had 40 and 50 point games while getting his teeth knocked out and even putting on dazzling performances after suffering tragic family losses. IT seemed like a genuinely good dude with a massive chip on his shoulder who just wanted to prove the world wrong. And he’s done that. IT, the last pick in the 2011 NBA Draft just got traded for Kyrie, the first overall pick in the 2011 NBA Draft.

While IT has been hands down my favorite Celtics player since KG and it sucks to see him go, Kyrie is so, so, so good that its hard to not like this deal. The Celtics upgraded at PG getting one of the best scorers in the entire NBA. Kyrie isn’t exactly a defensive savant either but he’s 6 inches taller than IT, which alone will allow him to more effectively cover the positon defensively. Kyrie is also going to create even more space for the Celtics on offense, especially in the playoffs, as other teams won’t be able to smother and trap Kyrie as they were prone to do with IT. Teams will have to account for his one-on-on play and continuously have help defenders and double teams waiting for Kyrie, which will open up even more opportunities for guys like Al Horford and Gordon Hayward.

The Detractors:

  • “Kyrie is not that much of an upgrade over Isaiah.”
    • He’s 3 years younger, healthier, bigger and has one more year left on his contract than Isaiah. At just 25 years old Kyrie can grow with the Celtics core of Jaylen Brown and Jason Tatum and be right in his prime as the other two are coming into theirs. As much as I love Isaiah, the core probably would not have been good enough quick enough as he and Horford would be in their 30s by the time Brown and Tatum enter their prime.
  • “The Celtics have just wrecked their team chemistry.”
    • This I admit could be an issue as the Celtics now only return 4 players from the 2016 team that reached the Eastern Conference Finals and only 1 out of 5 starters. That is CRAZY. However, one of the reason’s I’m not higher on the NBA in general is because, more than any other sport, talent wins above all else. It doesn’t matter how great your chemistry is if you don’t have 2 or 3 of the best players in the league. The NBA is built around a core of hypertalented superstars and if you don’t have at least a couple of them you’re porked.
  • “I hate to trade Jae Crowder and Ante Zizic.”
    • Always loved Crowder and he was a key guy off the bench. Again this is why I’m not a GM, but if we’re going to look at this emotionlessly, thats what Crowder was; a guy off the bench. You do not turn down trades for 25-year old 4x All-Stars over bench players. And for anyone crying about trading Ante Zizic I ask you this; Have you ever even seen Zizic play? Granted I’m not a scout, but this is a guy who was so good that he couldn’t get on an NBA roster and got stashed overseas his rookie year. I’m not sweating over trading a guy with exactly 0 minutes played in the NBA. Plus, we still have the Dancing Bear.
  • “Who is going to rebound for us?”
    • WHO HAS REBOUNDED FOR US THE LAST FOUR YEARS?! The Celtics as an organization have effectively punted on rebounding. Last year the Celtics were 22nd in Offensive Rebounds per game and 22nd in Defensive Rebounds per game. Not exactly world beaters to begin with.
  • “I hate trading the 2018 Nets pick.”
    • It sucks to trade one of our treasured assets, but thats exactly why Danny got them. He’s been trying to trade these things for years, he just has never found a deal he wanted to pull the trigger on. Plus how many of these things are you going to keep? The Celtics have already drafted No. 3 overall the past 2 years and still have a potential Top 5 pick next year (more on that below.)

How about Danny Ainge though? This guy has effectively turned a 36-year old Paul Pierce and a 37-year old Kevin Garnett directly or indirectly into: Kyrie Irving, Jaylen Brown, Jason Tatum, Al Horford, Gordon Hayward and the 2018 Lakers potential No. 2-5 pick.

And if Kyrie re-signs with the Celtics then Danny looks like an even bigger genius for the Jayson Tatum move, trading down from the No. 1 overall pick to No. 3 while also scooping up the 2018 Lakers pick from Philly. This is HUGE looking back because without that Lakers pick in his back pocket I highly doubt Danny makes the Kyrie trade, having to surrender the Nets pick. He basically, as many said at the time, got the guy he wanted in Tatum while also picking up an additional draft pick. And while many people laughed at Danny for trading the No. 1 overall pick for another one of his coveted draft picks, the fact of the matter is he got a great player while also adding a back up lottery pick, which allowed him to more aggressively shop the Nets 2018 pick.

For those of you that are mourning the end of the “Pierce/KG Nets Trade” well fear not, because its not over, not really. The Celtics got that 2018 Lakers pick by trading the No. 1 overall pick, which was the Nets pick. So we still have one more year to live off of the Nets misery if we’re getting technical. One more asset/player to build off of, while the Nets continue to send Billy King hate mail.

PS – This Isaiah trade just reinforces my longstanding personal policy of never buying a player’s jersey unless they’ve recently signed a contract extension. I’ll never forget buying a Sergei Samsonov jersey in 2006, only to see the Bruins trade him A WEEK LATER. Which is why the next Bruins jersey I bought was a Patrice Bergeron jersey, fresh off his 8-year contract extension.

Celtics Trade Isaiah Thomas: This is Why I’m Not a GM

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This is why I’m a fan and not a GM. I couldn’t have traded Isaiah Thomas. Objectively, I know Kyrie Irving is the better player, but IT is my guy. 5’9″ and the King in the Fourth. Isaiah made the Celtics fun to watch again, night in and night out and I’m bummed to see him go. We’ll have a full breakdown of the trade later this AM, but first we gotta show Isaiah the respect he deserves. Cue the highlights.

Avery Bradley Becomes a Cap Casualty, Traded to Pistons

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So first things first, trading Avery Bradley sucks. Especially for pennies on the dollar. Marcus Morris is a decent player. He’s 6’9″, averaged 14 and 5 the past 2 years and is due less than $11M over the next 2 seasons.  Bradley is going to be a free agent after this season and he is going to make $20M+ per year on his next deal. That is going to happen. There was just no way the Celtics were going to pay Bradley that, not with Al Horford and Gordon Hayward on max contracts and Isaiah Thomas needing to get paid too.

Danny wasn’t about to let a guy walk for nothing, not for a team that is playing the long game. Plus the C’s had to trade one of Smart, Crowder or Bradley to clear enough cap space to even make room for Hayward’s contract so everyone knew something was coming. Sucks to see him go, Bradley has been a member of the Celtics since he was 19 when he was a first rounder in 2010. The guy grew to be a key cog and a defensive stud (who got screwed out of All-NBA this year).

Bradley was a defensive pillar when he was in the game, his offense was up and down, but the guy could hit a corner 3 with the best of them. Game winner buzzer beater 3 over Cleveland anybody? And most recently when he went off in the playoffs against the Wizards this year.

But thats when he was on the court as the guy played in more than 64 games only twice in his NBA career. For a player with an ankle and shoulder injury history, it was never a long term deal Danny Ainge was going to hand out.

But Bradley was the only holdover from the Pierce/Garnett/Allen days and I don’t think that can be overstated. He helped bridge the Celtics from being one of the best teams in the NBA to a lottery team in the basement of the league all the way back to the No. 1 seed and playing in the Eastern Conference Finals. Gotta respect that, best of luck in Detroit man.

To steal a phrase from KG, Avery Bradley was all Grit and Balls.

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.

The 300s Drive Time

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Don’t have time for a full podcast? Then we’ve got some bite size content for you in the first episode of Drive Time. Are the Knicks really gonna trade Porzingis? Is Danny gonna sell the farm or trade *down* again? Why is the entire NBA losing its collective mind right now? Tune in, its good for you.

The NBA Offseason is the Best in Sports and its Not Even Close

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The amount of juice the NBA has provided since the season ended last week is just insane. Its been more entertaining than the NBA playoffs and even more so than the Finals. The NBA offseason is hands down the best in sports as GM’s continue to look around the league, see teams like Golden State, and just say fuck it lets reload.

In the immortal words of Ricky Bobby: “If you ain’t first, you’re last.”

I think that needs to be the new slogan of the NBA. If you’re not Golden State then your franchise might as well punt on the next 3-5 years. It sounds like a joke, BUT THATS WHAT TEAMS ARE DOING. Sure, there are teams like the Celtics who are technically within striking distance so I applaud Trader Danny’s efforts to improve this team as long as it does so without mortgaging the future. But even LeBron and the Cavs, the team thats been to the NBA Finals the last 3 years IN A ROW, seem to be panicking. Cleveland has been in talks for all the big names like Paul George and Jimmy Butler all sandwiched around kicking their own GM to the bricks.

As much as it sucks there is a goddamn Super Team standing between the Celtics and a title, I’m glad it at least gives the rest of the league the motivation to either completely blow things up and rebuild or just stockpile as many assets and big name players as possible.

It’s like the Elite Four at the end of Victory Road in Pokemon. An absolute nightmare to deal with so don’t even both walking down the road if you’re not ready. Level up, get your shit together and then go after the top dogs.

So yesterday we had Woj Bomb after Woj Bomb. Paul George told the Pacers after next season he’s out so now they’re looking to get whatever they can for PG-13. The Knicks are listening to offers for 21-year old stud Kristaps Porzingis and the Celtics are one of the teams in talks with NY. Jimmy Butler saying he’d rather not play in Cleveland so the C’s are still in on that rumor too. Dwight Howard got traded, minutes after dropping some fire jokes about NBA trades on his own Twitter account.

Then we got the Lakers trading D’Angelo Russell, the Clippers looking to deal DeAndre Jordan, all while we still have the NBA fucking Draft on Thursday night. God knows how many more trades there will be and how much more hot, hot heat Woj is going to be dropping on Twitter.

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The only one drooling more than me right now is probably Ainge. No sleep til Brooklyn.