C’s Have Made Offer for Nate Robinson

Posted by Brian Robb on Jan 19, 2010 547229 commentshttp%3A%2F%2Fcelticshub.com%2F2010%2F01%2F19%2Fcs-have-made-offer-for-nate-robinson%2FC%27s+Have+Made+Offer+for+Nate+Robinson2010-01-19+20%3A40%3A35Brian+Robbhttp%3A%2F%2Fcelticshub.com%2F%3Fp%3D5472

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.