Oh Please No

Posted by Zach Lowe on Dec 21, 2009 491521 commentshttp%3A%2F%2Fcelticshub.com%2F2009%2F12%2F21%2Foh-please-no%2FOh+Please+No2009-12-21+16%3A14%3A53Zach+Lowehttp%3A%2F%2Fcelticshub.com%2F%3Fp%3D4915

Via Chris Sheridan in the Daily Dime on ESPN.com:

[Nate] Robinson does want out, and a source close to the Robinson camp tells ESPN.com there’s one place the former slam-dunk champion would truly like to land if a trade can be worked out: Boston.

And:

•  Robinson also is what’s known as a base-year compensation player, a designation given to any player whose salary rises more than 20 percent from the previous season (Robinson went from making $2.02 million to $4 million). If the Knicks found a trade for Robinson that was to his liking, they could only take back a player making $2.02 million or less — and Walsh has been adamant that he will not take on any contracts that eat up the cap space he has squirreled away for next summer. (Note: A trade of Robinson to Boston for J.R. Giddens and Bill Walker would work under salary cap rules, but would add nearly $2 million to the Knicks’ 2010-11 payroll. A Robinson-Marquis Daniels swap — with all deals possibly brokered through a third team — would make more sense for New York payroll-wise, but it is questionable whether that would interest the Celtics — even with Daniels sidelined until the All-Star break by thumb surgery.)

Look: Nate Robinson is, at times, a clown. This cannot be denied. He doesn’t try as hard as he can on defense; earlier this season against Boston, he followed up a spectacular LeBron-esque block on a fast break by preening to the crowd as the ball bounced behind him, allowing Marquis Daniels to pick it up and lay it in right behind Nate. If there is a sequence that better defines his career to date, I don’t know it.

That said, you can’t just dismiss a guy that has scored 17 points per game over a full season in the NBA. You can’t.

But the fit isn’t obvious.

Would his scoring punch help the C’s second unit? Sure. But are you really going to play him on the court at the same time as Eddie House? How the hell is that back court going to guard anyone? Are you going to deal a team-first stabilizer—with ball-handling skills—like Marquis Daniels for Nate Robinson? Would that mean handing over second unit ball-handling duties full-time to Nate Robinson? Or Tony Allen? Or both?

I may take a more in-depth look at Nate Rob tonight—if I can stomach it—but my initial gut reaction strongly says no.