Stein: Celtics Highly Interested in Trading For J.J. Redick

Posted by Brian Robb on Jan 25, 2013 3428717 commentshttp%3A%2F%2Fcelticshub.com%2F2013%2F01%2F25%2Fstein-celtics-highly-interested-in-trading-for-j-j-redick%2FStein%3A+Celtics+Highly+Interested+in+Trading+For+J.J.+Redick2013-01-25+16%3A03%3A32Brian+Robbhttp%3A%2F%2Fcelticshub.com%2F%3Fp%3D34287

When you are dealing with two five-game losing streaks over a course of a month, and are still attempting to make one last gasp at a deep playoff run, trade season tends to gets going a little bit early. As currently composed, the C’s are a team that is struggling mightily yet again to put the ball in the basket first and foremost.

Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett are dealing with slight, but expected declines in their offensive games, and the team’s revamped supporting cast is failing to provide any consistent support, especially from the 3-point line, where the C’s now rank 27th (33%) in the NBA. With the season potentially starting to slip away, Marc Stein of ESPN.com informs us the Celtics are taking a hard look at probably the best shooter on the trade block.

 

Hearing Celts, even before season-worst 7-for-32 shooting from 15+ feet in NYK loss, have ramped up their interest in Magic’s J.J. Redick

— Marc Stein (@ESPNSteinLine) January 25, 2013

 

Size obviously Celts’ priority if they do deal before Feb. 21 trade deadline but word is they hope to work way into Redick mix if they can

— Marc Stein (@ESPNSteinLine) January 25, 2013

 

The Celtics’ interest in Redick should come as no surprise. He’s having a career year shooting 45.8 percent from the field, 39.7 percent from downtown and posting a 14.7 points per game despite lacking a strong supporting cast in Orlando. He also is in the final year of his contract, making a reasonable $6.2 million. Of course the C’s would love to have him.

The bigger question remains though. Is there any possible way the C’s can trade for Redick, without having to give up their main “tradable” assets in Avery Bradley or Jared Sullinger?

The short answer is highly unlikely, unless the C’s are willing to take back some excess baggage from the Magic along with J.J or deal away their own draft picks, two things Danny Ainge has been very leery of doing in the past. The C’s situation right now is pretty dire though when it comes to trades. They are straddling a $74 million hard tax, making big deals challenging. All of their players that are struggling (Brandon Bass, Jeff Green, Jason Terry) are on varying levels of unattractive long-term deals for most other teams around the league.

Courtney Lee’s long-term deal is a bit more reasonable, but for a team like Orlando trying to rebuild, locking up Lee for $5 million+ for the next few years is not a sure investment, unless the C’s are willing to include a pick to sweeten the deal. Even that might not be enough for Orlando, who already has Arron Afflalo locked up long-term

In all likelihood the Magic are going to ask for Bradley in any deal for Redick and the C’s will say no, for understandable reasons. Danny could try to get creative and turn it into a multi-player deal, taking back some of Orlando’s excess contracts (Al Harrington, Hedo Turkoglu, :gulp: Glen Davis?!?) while dealing away some of his own, but that’s not an appealing option either. In all likelihood, depending on how strong the trade market is for Redick, Lee and a protected first round pick might be able to get it done but given how much the Celtics value their draft picks, that might be a tough deal to justify.

We’ll have plenty of more time to break down the possibilities in the coming weeks, but for now, the C’s really have no valuable trade chips outside of Sullinger, Bradley, Pierce (for a contender) and Rajon Rondo. If the C’s want to make a run at it this year, they won’t want to give up any of these pieces.

Finding an offer to satisfy a rebuilding and smart front office like Orlando’s will be a tall task and there’s no guarantee the C’s are willing to part with the necessary pieces to get it done. Hoping the C’s supporting cast is able to turn the corner and get back on track is probably the best (and smartest) thing Ainge can do for the time being. If the team drops any further below .500 though, it will become especially challenging to remain patient.