Snow Day Notebook: The Trade Machine Explodes, Doc Is Gettin’ Upset
Posted by Zach Lowe on Feb 10, 2010
• Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer on Chris Broussard’s Baby-Augustin report (hat tip: CB):
The Celtics need another guard who can knock down shots, which brings D.J. Augustin (or possibly Flip Murray) to mind. Obviously, the Bobcats would love to get Rasheed Wallace, a longtime favorite of coach Larry Brown, who hasn’t played particularly well of late in Boston.
Is it that obvious the Bobcats would “love” to get Rasheed Wallace? Have they seen him play this season? If they really want him, wouldn’t the Celtics have to at least try to make a deal work, even with concerns about front-line depth? I mean, if they’re really willing to deal Davis and his $3 million salary, shouldn’t the team jump over mountains to deal Wallace and the contract that will pay him $6.7 million in (gulp) 2012? Hey, Sheed for Nazy Mohammed straight up works…
Seriously, if the Bobs ownership, supposedly so concerned about finances, allows Larry Brown to take on his personal pet project, the Celtics owe it to themselves to explore trades that would rid themselves of Sheed’s deal.
• The Globe’s Gary Washburn reports that the Baby-Augustin talks are in their infancy:
According to NBA sources, the talks have not reached the serious stage, and Ainge told the Globe Saturday that the team is satisfied with its frontcourt depth.
Side note: I love “NBA sources.” What does that mean? Taken literally, it means anyone with any connection to the NBA. Am I an NBA source?
• Washburn also reports that a Ray Allen deal seems unlikely, though Danny Ainge will listen to offers:
If the Celtics trade Allen, the only way he could return is on a mid-level exception deal – approximately $5.8 million – because the Celtics still would be over the salary cap. According to the sources, Ainge is not eager to move Allen and would do so only if he could get a proven scorer with a manageable contract who is considerably younger.
In other words, Ainge won’t deal Ray Allen unless the trade brings back a good young scorer with a decent contract. (In other news, I want someone to give me $10 million in cash today. Any takers?). That would seem to eliminate any deals in which Kirk Hinrich or John Salmons would be the best players coming back to Boston.
• But it doesn’t necessarily eliminate a deal for Sacramento’s Kevin Martin, something we discussed at length yesterday with help from Tom Ziller and Paul Flannery. Here’s the Sacramento Bee’s Sam Amick—one of the league’s best beat guys—on a possible Martin deal:
The Kings remain quiet, at least as it pertains to Martin. There is no reason to think basketball presidentGeoff Petrie is motivated in the slightest bit to move him before the Feb. 18 deadline. Translation: “Dead as Chelsea’s nuts.”
That’s how Petrie answered my question about Martin and potential trade talks in late January, when I knew the gist of what he meant but had to chuckle at how he so consistently finds confusing ways to say simple things.
Dead as Chelsea’s nuts? Huh?
Amick adds:
Boston is legitimately interested in Martin, but that scenario doesn’t look likely to go anywhere at the moment. A source close to the Celtics said they have not spoken to the Kings, but the two teams will likely talk soon. If the Kings were to accept a deal giving them Ray Allen and sending the Celtics Martin and Andres Nocioni, the deal could very well get done… I don’t see Petrie doing that, however… It doesn’t bring back talent beyond this season, obviously, as Allen’s contract is expiring.
Washburn also reports that Danny Ainge isn’t thrilled with the idea of taking on Nocioni’s deal, which will pay him nearly $7 million in each of the next two seasons:
According to Celtics sources, the organization is not interested in taking on “bad contracts’’ that could hurt salary cap space.
You have to love the NBA eight days before the trade deadline. If you put all of this reporting together, you get this: The Celtics want a stud young scorer on a reasonable contract but they don’t want to take on any unfavorable contracts to get him. Well, duh. The real situation is surely more complicated, with lots of feints, three-team proposals and talks for minor deals that don’t involve Ray Allen.
But I’ve said from the beginning that any deal involving Allen is unlikely unless a) the C’s are willing to accept a package centering around one or more Bulls that, individually, represent an obvious downgrade from Ray Allen; b) the team is willing to absorb a problematic contract; c) teams get so desperate to unload good players with hefty long-term teals (Martin, Iguodala) that they are willing to trade them without getting anything of value in return other than Ray’s expiring deal.
And this doesn’t even mention the playbook rewriting that would have to happen if the C’s deal one of the centerpieces of nearly all of their offensive sets.
Ray (almost certainly) is staying. Like it or not.
• Non-Celtic trade report #1 from Adrian Wojnarowski: The Rockets, Wizards and Knicks are discussing a three-team trade that would send Tracy McGrady to the Knicks, Caron Butler to Houston and Al Harrington (and much more) to Washington. There are many more pieces involved. I only link to it here because any movement of McGrady’s deal is big news, and it would blow up the four-team trade Bill Simmons pitched (half-heartedly) yesterday.
• The Heat want Amare Stoudemire, Wojnarowski reports on Yahoo! They likely don’t have the pieces to get him, but Pat Riley apparently wants to do something now that could satisfy Dwyane Wade and make Miami a peskier first-round out in the playoffs.
• Oh, there’s a game tonight! The Celtics play the Hornets, and Doc Rivers, still simmering from Sunday’s disaster against Orlando, is making some serious public threats. (Via Steve Bulpett in the Herald):
“Offensively, the only thing I told them is that if the ball gets stuck once, you’re getting subbed,” Rivers said. “That’s just clear.
“We’re not playing any games here. If the ball’s not moving, you’re coming out.”
This will be interesting to watch. Doc has been on the team for weeks to stick with the offensive sets. Let’s see if he’s really willing to yank players who don’t do that.
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