Players You Won’t See C’s Acquire at Trade Deadline
Posted by Brian Robb on Feb 20, 2011
These couple weeks in February are a fun time of year for Celtics fans, as we try to throw together various scenarios to help put our team over the top in its latest title run. Yet, despite the fun of these exercises, it bothers me when there are journalists (quality ones at that) throwing names out there as trade targets, when realistically, there is nearly no chance of this team making a move for said players for a variety of reasons. (roster spots, future salaries, lack of assets to acquire, etc.)
With that in mind, it’s time for us to put the clamps on some of the names supposively being brought up in prospective Celtics trade talks.
Players That The Celtics Will Not Acquire Via Trade
Tayshaun Prince: Two problems here. Number one, he makes 11.1 million dollars this year, and the C’s don’t have the players they are willing to trade to make the numbers work. Second, not only do the numbers not match, the C’s don’t have the tradeable assets anyway the Pistons will be looking for a guy that averages nearly 15 points and 5 rebounds per game. It’s a non-starter. I’d love to see Prince on this team, it’s just not going to happen.
Richard Hamilton: Another popular name in prospective trade talk. There’s a oh-so-slim chance the C’s will acquire him, but will only do so if he gets bought out. Similar to Prince, he makes 12.5 million dollars this year and has an additional year left on his contract at that same number. The numbers simply don’t work. Don’t count on a buyout either, since the Pistons would have to pony up a lot to send him backing. With the CBA due to expire, Rip won’t leave too much money and security on the table for a chance to win, especially considering he probably won’t make even half of that 12.5 million dollar amount in his next deal. Plan on him staying put in Motown.
Josh Childress: The Suns signed Childress to a five year 33 million dollar contract this season, and now he’s out of the team’s rotation as they battle for one of the final spots in the west. Do the Suns want to deal him? Probably. Is there anyway Danny Ainge takes on that kind of money in a long term deal right now, given the team’s future salaries committed already? No chance in hell. Let’s move on.
Troy Murphy: Again, we run into a dollars and cents problem here. The veteran power forward is making 12 million dollars in the final year of his deal. His trade value is at rock bottom given he hasn’t seen the floor since December. New Jersey probably couldn’t have handled his situation any worse, but that’s a story for another day.
Is he still a useful player? His size (6-11) and outside shooting (39 percent career 3-point shooter) make that a resounding yes. He’s an option for Boston if he’s bought out, which seems inevitable, unless he’s dealt as rumored to Golden State. Boston will not be seeking his services however, unless it’s for the veteran’s minimum for the rest of the year, and quite honestly I’m not sure Danny would cut Luke Harangody to bring him in.
Charlie Bell: The 31-year old undersized swingman (6-3) has played just 18 games for the Golden State Warriors and is shooting a putrid 27 percent from the field while taking just 43 shots total. He also was arrested for DUI a few weeks back. The Warriors have started playing Bell again the past couple games, likely to try to entice some squad to take him and his bad contract (4.1 million for next year). The C’s won’t be that team though, since it doesn’t have that kind of money to waste for next year. They certainly wouldn’t swap a guy like Nate Robinson for him straight up.
So there you have it. Five names that won’t be coming to the C’s via trade. There are plenty of reasonable targets out there Ainge and Doc will be considering and we’ll go over those in-depth starting tomorrow. Here’s a few for now to keep you satisfied.
Likely Targets: Jamario Moon, Anthony Parker, Rasual Butler,
Good Fit, Bad Contract: James Posey, Michael Pietrus, Dahntay Jones, Eduardo Najera, Andres Nocioni
Dream Pickups, but Asking Price Is Probably Too Much: Josh Howard, Shane Battier
Cheap Stopgap: Quinton Ross
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