The trade rumors swirling around Nate Robinson had appeared to calm down in recent weeks, but Marc Spears of Yahoo Sports has reported today during an interview with Tanguay and Zolak on 98.5 The Sports Hub in Boston, that he has knowledge that the C’s have made an offer to the Knicks for the ever controversial guard Nate Robinson.
Speculation has been in place since the end of last December that the Knicks were looking to trade the disgruntled guard. After being benched for a month, Robinson has been worked back into the rotation in New York though, returning with a bang after a 42 point effort in Atlanta on New Year’s Day. The Knicks have continued to play fairly well since Robinson’s return to the lineup going 5-4 over that time span, while remaining just 2 games out of the 8 spot in the Eastern Conference.
With Mike D’Antoni pining to win now, and Robinson’s offensive contributions off the bench continuing to be a positive for an improved Knicks team, (16 points, 3 boards and 3 assists a game with 50 percent shooting during the past month) it’s evident that New York will no longer be willing to just give Robinson away unless they are able to send Jared Jeffries over with him.
With Robinson’s stock on the rise, the question is just how much the C’s would be willing to give up for him. CH’s Zach Lowe thoroughly analyzed a potential Robinson acquisition last month for the C’s. I strongly encourage you to check that out.
Spears did not specify when an offer was made, or what the exact offer was, but I think it is big news that the C’s have kicked the tires on a move. Given the team’s recent injury problems and lack of consistent scoring off the bench, instant offense in this backcourt is a need right now for the C’s.
Spears did seem to institute that a 1st round draft pick was….or will have to be part of any offer for Robinson from the C’s to make any kind of move worth the Knicks while. My question for Celtics fans is would you be willing to deal that pick for Robinson, along with an potentially useful expiring contract (TA, Eddie, etc.) for Robinson.
Given the team’s dire cap situation next year, I’m not sure I would as low cost youngsters are going to be needed on this squad. We’ve seen Doc use these kind of guys (Big Baby, Leon Powe) and not (Giddens, Walker) recently so it’s an interesting conundrum to dissect. Do they go for it all this year and trade that pick for Robinson or someone else? Or do they keep it in hopes of bringing in a cheap key contributor next year?
And while I am not in favor of this kind of deal, I am happy to see Danny is looking into making some moves. This team needs a jumpstart right now, and while we haven’t seen a fully healthy squad yet, counting on having one once KG and Marquis returns does not appear to be a situation Danny Ainge can or should count on.
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Holy crap!
Mitch was really up for this. At first, I was against it, but now I’m debating. I just wrote elsewhere that the Cs have no one to bring the ball up quickly to put pressure on the defense immediately if Rajon is not in. I think Nate is pretty quick, & he seems to handle the ball well. Would he be able to pick up the Cs defensive scheme & play hard D? Would he be able to PASS the ball & not chuck up unnecessary 3s? Would he be willing to LISTEN to Doc or would he ignore Doc like he does Mike living in his own little world?
That is my biggest fear about Nate. Will he listen? Can he learn? He seems like a knucklehead sometimes.
Nate has a TON of ENERGY which seems to be lacking from this team in key stretches.
As far as draft picks go….what have we done with draft picks lately??? Are they really that important when either we are picking poorly (Lester was a bust) or the pickees take quite awhile to develop (JR, Bill) ? In defense of JR & Bill it would be extremely hard to know their talent because they just don’t get any solid chance/minutes to show us something. If everyone you draft is just going to sit on the bench then who cares about draft picks ? KG, Paul, Ray Ray are not going to have less injuries in the future so the window is closing.
I don’t think you give up TA. When he gets a chance, he can really play some great D (see last minute of 1st quarter). He is athletic & tall enough to play a variety of players. Since we are never going to see them, I guess you could give them JR & Bill & Shelden plus ???
Would do it for any combination of Walker, Giddens, Scal, TA and a first. Low risk, high reward as none are in the playoff rotation. We don’t need him and can bench him easily so he has to listen/learn (Doc is great with PG’s), and he could be instant offense for the 2nd unit.
Also like to challenge that our first=a cheap contributor. Assuming we end up back of the first round that pick turns into another JR Giddens/Gabe Pruitt. That is not a “cheap contributor” but a fun novelty for when the Nets are in town.
DO. NOT. WANT.
I told you all from the beginning, nate is a beast and would make the celtics a much more explosive fun team
This is a tough deal to execute. REad my post from over the weekend:
http://celticshub.com/2010/01/16/debunking-trade-rumors-robinson-hinrich/
Nate could help, but getting him will be tough.
Worrisome? Yes. Potential? Yes. Nate scares me like Starbury scared me .. but I think he has something we need … something that Giddens, Pruitt and to a lesser extent Scal and TA doesn’t bring: fast paced energy. I never really liked Nate or his attitude .. until the Slam dunk contest. His performance and showmanship with the dunk over Howard really got to me. I was on-line researching him for the next hour. C’mon folks, Doc, Danny, Paul , Allen, and KG have all proven that they can handle personalities. Our vets need the intensity and energy Nate will bring off the bench, and if we manage to get him, we will start winning those games like the Monday night loss to the Mavs.
Would the Celtics take on Jared Jeffries in a trade? Sure, he’s overpaid, but he’s exactly the kind of defensive-minded SF/PF who can guard 4 positions but is a black hole offensively. There are scenarios that could make this work:
Scenario 1:
Nate Robinson and Jared Jeffries for Brian Scalabrine, Tony Allen, JR Giddens, Eddie House
(http://games.espn.go.com/nba/tradeMachine?tradeId=ylkuwca)
Scenario 2:
Robinson/Jeffries for Scal/TA/Giddens/Walker/Sheldon WIlliams
(http://games.espn.go.com/nba/tradeMachine?tradeId=yj6gp7k)
(NY would likely have to cut a few players to work this one, however)
Scenario 3:
Robinson/Jeffries for Giddens/House/Sheldon Williams/Walker/Scalabrine
(http://games.espn.go.com/nba/tradeMachine?tradeId=yjrmm6t)
(for what its worth, according to PER this would be the best trade for the Celtics, but still -1 win. Of course, I don’t think Jeffries is a 8 PER player due to his defense, which is honestly pretty damn good)
Do the Knicks have the roster space to do a 5-for-2 trade?
Personality is not what worries me. It’s height. The man’s 5′-nuthin… can’t guard anybody in the league except Earl Boykins… even if he could be motivated to try. Isn’t this a defense-first team?
And of course… rebounding would also suffer.
Knicks have 15 players under contract. However, that includes Darko Milicic (who has indicated he wants to go back to Europe and would likely easily be bought out), Cuttino Mobley (insurance is paying his salary), Marcus Landry (salary guaranteed but could be cut), Larry Hughes (feud over playing time, would accept a buyout). That’s four players that could fairly easily be removed from the roster.
So if the Knicks want to get it done (and they would, to get Jeffries’ cap room), they could easily do so. Like I said, unlikely since the Celtics probably wouldn’t want to take on Jeffries’ salary, but a possibility.
I don’t get it. When he’s on the court with Rondo, what roles does he fill that we don’t already fill with House? Sure, I guess for the 10 minutes Rondo’s not in the game, I guess he can bring the ball up the court, but is it really worth making an offer for him?
I just don’t get it.
what do we know about jeffries? I know nothing.
I like the idea if house or baby are not included in the deal and jeffries is not a liability on TO’s or defense. TA I would like to keep if we didn’t already have a TO problem with Rondo, Perk and even sometimes Pierce. That said, his defense doesn’t counter his poor decisions on offense.
Jeffries is among the worst offensive players in the league. He’s awful. Defensively, he can be useful, though I think he’s overrated there. I don’t think there’s any chance the C’s would want him as part of a Nate deal.
@Rocci
If Rondo and Nate ever played together, which would probably only happen in end-game situations where we need quick points, he would play the same role as House. Which means House would probably be included in any trade with NY. Fine with me cuz House as been terrible for us anyways, and he might actually do good in D’Antoni’s run-n-gun offense.
I’m still not sure how BYC works, but NY doesn’t have the roster to take on two players and we don’t have a player with the salary for a straight up swap. so (correct if I’m wrong here, Zach) a third team will probably have to be involved.
Nates 40+ point game told me all i need to know…he could have a huge game for us in the playoffs….between he and rondo…we will have the speed to contend with the hawks and bobcats and other athletic teams. We lost to a horrible dallas team who decided to only play one half of basketball..I would trade Scal, Walker, Giddens, shelden williams for nate robinson….keep TA….even more speed and defense…dont mess with a 5-for2 deal…that is ludacris…make it sweet and simple, between nate…ehouse….marquis daniels..TA, Sheed..big baby…thats a pretty good second unit
Jeffries is the third best player on the Knicks behind Gallinari and Chandler. When he is on the floor their defense improves significantly. They would really like to keep him and just get rid of Curry, but no one is stupid enough to take Curry this year. Next year he is an expiring so teams will be willing to take a chance on him, since his expiring will have value itself.
Celts would do well to get Jeffries and Robinson for a first and some filler. They aren’t in the FA mix so having Jeffries on the books for another year doesn’t really hurt them. Robinson is Vinnie Johnson when he is on.
@Chief
Did you forget David Lee? He’s not in the top three?
David Lee….Me likey likey. 20 pts 11+ rebounds 1 steal per game 56%FG 79%FT. Mr Hustle. Mr Grit. Tough. He LOVES playing INSIDE (has only shot three— 3 pointers this year!!! knows his limitations plays within his means, is not racking up Ts).
Please, oh please, Mr. D’Antoni, I’ll write good things about you for 1 year. I’ll become a temporary Knick fan (when they are not playing the Cs). How about David Lee for Sheed & Shelden, 2 leprechauns, a free harbor tour, clam chowder for 1 yr, & a small pot of gold plus you can lead the St. Patrick’s Day parade & have all the green beer you want, please??????????
SCOTT BROWN RULES !!!!!
OBAMACARE DOA
GOD BLESS AMERICA !!!!!!
The chances of the Knicks trading David Lee to the Celtics are roughly the chance of me ever sweeping Mila Kunis off her feet.
Zach, Mila doesn’t know what she is missing….it is her loss, silly girl. When I saw the Pau “trade” I immediately went to the KG ‘anything is possible’ philosophy. David Lee would look great in green. He is our kind of tough, in your face player. Perhaps we would have to throw in another leprechaun, a few shamrocks, a dinner date with the Celtic women (singing Irish lasses), but it never hurts to make offers which favor our team. The worst thing that will happen is they will say no, but there’s gotta be another Pau moment out there somewhere just waiting to happen. It is Danny’s job to try & find that opportunity before someone else beats us to it.
I also still like the 7′ Brendan Haywood. I think the deadline is today for that dude to buy the Wiz. If the Wiz have a fire sale then Danny should get this guy to help rebound & shore up the D. I’ve also seen Brendan have some great games vs the Cavs. I don’t think Bron likes him in the lane.
Go for Nate plus a #1….don’t want to get rid of old timers……need to do something…..
More power to you.i have actually bookmarked it to show some of my friends
nice article mate please carry on the good work