Trade Thread, 2023-24 – (Offseason)

[snowman]

Please stop with the Trae Young trades. He would be terrible in Boston. He would take shots from Tatum, can't or won't play defense, and by mid-season people on here would be crying because Trae crosses the half court line and throws up a missed 3-pointer. No passing, or ball movement. Just a really bad idea.

Celts should absolutely sign Brown to the super max, and then same with Tatum as soon as possible. Keep White and Rob Williams in the starting lineup and look for a Horford replacement so you can allow Horford to come off the bench. White should be the starting point guard.

I would move Smart for another starter even if it required adding a protected first round pick. I have mentioned Collins, and he may or not be a good fit, but I think Smarts time in Boston has run its course as a starter, and we all know, as much as I would love it, he won't come off the bench again.

I really want Kabengele running next to Rob in a starting unit. Kabengele working with big Al and Rob on a daily basis would bring great improvements to his game. He's been on 3 teams in 3 years, but this year has arguably been his best yet. I know there are some that same he couldn't even beat out Kornet, but Brad knew he still had a year left of 2-way he could use on him and still have him under team control. Kornet was either sign or lose. The rebounding and defense with Rob and Kabengele on the floor together would be out of this world. He's even shot 34% from three in the G-League over the last three seasons. This would also make White at 28 our oldest starter with Brown, Tatum, Kabengele and Rob all 26 or under.

Horford and Brogdon running the 2nd team gives the much-needed vet presence to keep it a positive moving forward. We just need to get more athletic. Kabengele, as mentioned above would be a good start. However, we must upgrade Griffin, Gallo and Kornet. Muscala is fine as the 4th or 5th big, but we need to do something about the rest of our big men.

I would love to see Rob Williams and Kabengele starting and have Horford, Grant Williams, Muscala and another young athletic big as our big man rotation. Unless we trade him, Gallo will still be here because he will pick up his option.

Our guard rotation of White, Brogdon, Davision and a young guy works well to me. Pritchard will probably be moved, whether Smart is here or not, so we will need help here.

Our wings of Tatum, Brown and Hauser need a lot of help. We may be able to get help here with a "Smart" trade.

[Hal14]

Please stop with the Trae Young trades. He would be terrible in Boston. He would take shots from Tatum, can't or won't play defense, and by mid-season people on here would be crying because Trae crosses the half court line and throws up a missed 3-pointer. No passing, or ball movement. Just a really bad idea.

Huh? He was 2nd in the league in assist, with 10.2 per game !

And as for his defense, he showed improvement on that end after Snyder took over:

Read on Twitter

?s=20

Read on Twitter

?s=20

Just make sure you've got some strong defenders around Trae and we'll be fine.

[Hal14]

Trae Young in Boston makes no sense on any level

If you put him next to a lockdown defender to hide him it makes a lot of sense. You're never going to mistake him for Ron Artest or Gary Payton but hes only 24. Plenty of time to have him work on his D. You get him and Collins for Jaylen thats a no brainer and I really don't like Young or Collins.

But I wouldn't want Young since it would require Boston to keep Smart. Smart needs to go.

Toronto is the ideal trade partner. Give me Siakam and OG. Brown would resign there too. He'd be a god up in Canada, same fanbase that used to compare DeRozen to Kobe. Imagine what they would do for Browns ego?

Ok. I can see Siakam is a good option, too.

Rough averages over the past 3 years for him: 26% usage, 23% assist rate. That's much higher assist rate than JB at 16% and a much lower usage rate than JB at 30.5%.

Siakam also has a better BPM than JB. Last 2 years he's around a 3.3 BPM, compared to about 2.0 for JB.

Siakam would fit in nicely at the 4 (with ability to play some small ball 5), allowing Tatum to play at the 3.

And Siakam is less of a defensive liability than Trae.

The other thing I like about Siakam is that he's older - age 29. If we look at recent championship teams and the age of their 2 best players, we see that most of these teams win championships with stars who are much older than Tatum/Brown are now (25 and 26), which is the same ages Trae and Tatum would be next postseason (26 and 25)

2022 Curry, 34 Wiggins, 27
2021 Giannis, 26 Middleton, 29
2020 LeBron, 35 Davis, 27
2019 Kawhi, 27 Lowry, 33
2018 Durant, 29 Curry, 30
2017 Durant, 28 Curry, 29
2016 LeBron, 31 Kyrie, 24
2015 Curry, 27 Klay, 25
2014 Parker, 32 Duncan, 38
2013 LeBron, 28 Wade, 31
2012 LeBron, 27 Wade, 30
2011 Dirk, 32 Terry, 33
2010 Kobe, 31 Gasol, 29
2009 Kobe, 30 Gasol, 28
2008 Garnett, 32 Pierce, 30
2007 Duncan, 31 Parker, 25

Siakam is 29 now and will actually be 30 during next season's playoffs. So your best players being 26 and 30 (Tatum, Siakam) is much more in line with what we see above, in terms of the ages of the 2 star players who win titles.

The other advantage with trading JB for Siakam (rather than Trae) is that you don' end up with a crazy logjam in the back court. If you flip JB for Trae, we'd have way too many PG's (Smart, brogdon, white, pritchard, Trae) and would then have to figure out another move(s) to move 1 (or more) of our PG's. But if we trade JB for Siakam, that's much less of an issue..

And hopefully Udoka doesn't poach Ben Sullivan, so Sullivan can help smooth out Siakam's shooting. If he can get back to that 35-37% range from 3, then we're really looking good.

I mean, looking at these clips. A lot of these moves look an awful lot like JB. But imagine if JB was 6'9" instead of 6'6", had lower usage, much higher assist rate and was 3 years older (a team is much more likely to win a title led by stars who are 26 and 30 than they are if led by stars who are 26 and 27, per chart above.

Read on Twitter

Lastly, Siakam is a little more durable than JB, too. Last 5 seasons, Siakam has played 335 games, to 322 games for JB.

So, Siakam or Trae would work..

[Larry_Russell]

Please stop with the Trae Young trades. He would be terrible in Boston. He would take shots from Tatum, can't or won't play defense, and by mid-season people on here would be crying because Trae crosses the half court line and throws up a missed 3-pointer. No passing, or ball movement. Just a really bad idea.

Celts should absolutely sign Brown to the super max, and then same with Tatum as soon as possible. Keep White and Rob Williams in the starting lineup and look for a Horford replacement so you can allow Horford to come off the bench. White should be the starting point guard.

I would move Smart for another starter even if it required adding a protected first round pick. I have mentioned Collins, and he may or not be a good fit, but I think Smarts time in Boston has run its course as a starter, and we all know, as much as I would love it, he won't come off the bench again.

I really want Kabengele running next to Rob in a starting unit. Kabengele working with big Al and Rob on a daily basis would bring great improvements to his game. He's been on 3 teams in 3 years, but this year has arguably been his best yet. I know there are some that same he couldn't even beat out Kornet, but Brad knew he still had a year left of 2-way he could use on him and still have him under team control. Kornet was either sign or lose. The rebounding and defense with Rob and Kabengele on the floor together would be out of this world. He's even shot 34% from three in the G-League over the last three seasons. This would also make White at 28 our oldest starter with Brown, Tatum, Kabengele and Rob all 26 or under.

Horford and Brogdon running the 2nd team gives the much-needed vet presence to keep it a positive moving forward. We just need to get more athletic. Kabengele, as mentioned above would be a good start. However, we must upgrade Griffin, Gallo and Kornet. Muscala is fine as the 4th or 5th big, but we need to do something about the rest of our big men.

I would love to see Rob Williams and Kabengele starting and have Horford, Grant Williams, Muscala and another young athletic big as our big man rotation. Unless we trade him, Gallo will still be here because he will pick up his option.

Our guard rotation of White, Brogdon, Davision and a young guy works well to me. Pritchard will probably be moved, whether Smart is here or not, so we will need help here.

Our wings of Tatum, Brown and Hauser need a lot of help. We may be able to get help here with a "Smart" trade.

I am all for Kabengele, but idk about him starting Just yet.

But, for me, just start Grant and Timelord and have Kabengele and Horford off the bench.

I LOVE white, but I am just not sure about him as a starting PG. I am not convinced his playmaking is good enough for it.

If we move Smart, which I would hate but will get over it, I want a point guard who can distribute and break down a defense.

???/Brogdon
Brown/White
Tatum/???
GrantW/Kabengele
Timelord/Horford

I think backup sf is easy enough to find....but who is the PG.

Looking at assist rates for last season.

Dame
Harden
Killian Hayes
trey Jones
Josh Giddey
Conley
Tyus Jones
Dinwiddie
FVV
Kevin Porter Jr


Those are the players liste above Marcus' assist rating that arent 100% untouchable guys.



Obviously Dame is the best choice, but not geting him without moving Brown
Harden, no thanks

Killian Hayes is interesting since Detroit has Cade coming back. Hayes was much improved this past season.
Trey Jones could be a break out type of guy
Anfernee simons could be a breakout although currently sits as a worse playmaker than smart.


One that might be intriguing is Mike Conley. Expiring contract, IMO value league wide is below Smart.

And Minny NEEDS defense. Having Smart (DPOY) at point and Gobert (DPOY) at center REALLY helps.


Smart, Pritchard and Muscala (Protected future first)

for

Conley and McDaniels

Yes I know McDaniels is looking really good, but Conley is expiring which lowers his value, Smart is a better player and is greatly needed by Minny (which raises his value)

Conley/Brogdon/Davidson
Brown/White/Begarin
Tatum/XXX/Hauser
McDaniels/Kabengele/Gallo
Timelord/Horford/Kornet

Only really need a backup for Tatum.
Can Also Sign and Trade Grant for that spot as Gallo will be back.

[Larry_Russell]

Smart and Pritchard to Houston
for
Porter Jr and Eason

Porter Jr
Brown
Tatum
Eason
Timelord

[pac213up]

All the fake trade rumors are going to be fantastic this off-season. NBA gossip is insane.

[Larry_Russell]

Marcus Smart to Houston with a pick from Brooklyn

Kevin Porter Jr, Payton Pritchard and Gallinari to Brooklyn

Spencer Dinwiddie, Royce Oneal and Tari Eason to Boston

Dinwiddie/Brogdon/Davidson
Brown/White/Begarin
Tatum/Oneal/Hauser
Eason/Grant/Kabengele
Timelord/Horford/Kornet

[playa-hater]

Hunter and Trae would introduce a weak link in our defense but at the same time shore up the front court by letting Tatum slide up to 3 full time. Hunter is large.

Is that you talking or your Virgnia Connection?

[31to6]

Man, Smart trade proposals don't do it for me. I can see panic-trading Jaylen to try to get a Horford replacement/upgrade, but Marcus is one of a kind -- I *love* having a starting PG who takes playoff shifts against Joel Embiid -- and I'm giving him more time to become the 21st century DJ.

[playa-hater]

Please stop with the Trae Young trades. He would be terrible in Boston. He would take shots from Tatum, can't or won't play defense, and by mid-season people on here would be crying because Trae crosses the half court line and throws up a missed 3-pointer. No passing, or ball movement. Just a really bad idea.

Celts should absolutely sign Brown to the super max, and then same with Tatum as soon as possible. Keep White and Rob Williams in the starting lineup and look for a Horford replacement so you can allow Horford to come off the bench. White should be the starting point guard.

I would move Smart for another starter even if it required adding a protected first round pick. I have mentioned Collins, and he may or not be a good fit, but I think Smarts time in Boston has run its course as a starter, and we all know, as much as I would love it, he won't come off the bench again.

I really want Kabengele running next to Rob in a starting unit. Kabengele working with big Al and Rob on a daily basis would bring great improvements to his game. He's been on 3 teams in 3 years, but this year has arguably been his best yet. I know there are some that same he couldn't even beat out Kornet, but Brad knew he still had a year left of 2-way he could use on him and still have him under team control. Kornet was either sign or lose. The rebounding and defense with Rob and Kabengele on the floor together would be out of this world. He's even shot 34% from three in the G-League over the last three seasons. This would also make White at 28 our oldest starter with Brown, Tatum, Kabengele and Rob all 26 or under.

Horford and Brogdon running the 2nd team gives the much-needed vet presence to keep it a positive moving forward. We just need to get more athletic. Kabengele, as mentioned above would be a good start. However, we must upgrade Griffin, Gallo and Kornet. Muscala is fine as the 4th or 5th big, but we need to do something about the rest of our big men.

I would love to see Rob Williams and Kabengele starting and have Horford, Grant Williams, Muscala and another young athletic big as our big man rotation. Unless we trade him, Gallo will still be here because he will pick up his option.

Our guard rotation of White, Brogdon, Davision and a young guy works well to me. Pritchard will probably be moved, whether Smart is here or not, so we will need help here.

Our wings of Tatum, Brown and Hauser need a lot of help. We may be able to get help here with a "Smart" trade.

Agree 100% with the bold. Thought everything there was so obvious.. Yet people are not seeing it.

[playa-hater]

If Brown were to be traded, ESPN insider Zach Lowe believes there would be “robust demand” for his services. “There would be robust demand for Jaylen Brown from a lot of teams if Boston ever actually started making or listening or picking up the phone or whatever you do with your phone when you maybe investigate a trade,” says Lowe.
Source: Quenton Albertie @ Clutch Points


If above were to be true, Boston absolutely has to trade him. Paying a 300 million Dollar Ransom for someone who really doesn't affect winning anywhere near as much as people think is a No Brainer. People seemingly only see "All NBA teams" and not how his overall Dynamics are to the team both offensively and defensively.

He may be like a poor man's Camelo. He can score, at times, really well, but that's it. And please don't say Boston has made a deep playoff run for years BECAUSE of him. Tatum and overall team Talent is by far the bigger reason.

[31to6]

Please stop with the Trae Young trades. He would be terrible in Boston. He would take shots from Tatum, can't or won't play defense, and by mid-season people on here would be crying because Trae crosses the half court line and throws up a missed 3-pointer. No passing, or ball movement. Just a really bad idea.

Celts should absolutely sign Brown to the super max, and then same with Tatum as soon as possible. Keep White and Rob Williams in the starting lineup and look for a Horford replacement so you can allow Horford to come off the bench. White should be the starting point guard.

I would move Smart for another starter even if it required adding a protected first round pick. I have mentioned Collins, and he may or not be a good fit, but I think Smarts time in Boston has run its course as a starter, and we all know, as much as I would love it, he won't come off the bench again.

I really want Kabengele running next to Rob in a starting unit. Kabengele working with big Al and Rob on a daily basis would bring great improvements to his game. He's been on 3 teams in 3 years, but this year has arguably been his best yet. I know there are some that same he couldn't even beat out Kornet, but Brad knew he still had a year left of 2-way he could use on him and still have him under team control. Kornet was either sign or lose. The rebounding and defense with Rob and Kabengele on the floor together would be out of this world. He's even shot 34% from three in the G-League over the last three seasons. This would also make White at 28 our oldest starter with Brown, Tatum, Kabengele and Rob all 26 or under.

Horford and Brogdon running the 2nd team gives the much-needed vet presence to keep it a positive moving forward. We just need to get more athletic. Kabengele, as mentioned above would be a good start. However, we must upgrade Griffin, Gallo and Kornet. Muscala is fine as the 4th or 5th big, but we need to do something about the rest of our big men.

I would love to see Rob Williams and Kabengele starting and have Horford, Grant Williams, Muscala and another young athletic big as our big man rotation. Unless we trade him, Gallo will still be here because he will pick up his option.

Our guard rotation of White, Brogdon, Davision and a young guy works well to me. Pritchard will probably be moved, whether Smart is here or not, so we will need help here.

Our wings of Tatum, Brown and Hauser need a lot of help. We may be able to get help here with a "Smart" trade.

Agree 100% with the bold. Thought everything there was so obvious.. Yet people are not seeing it.

Among his other demerits, Trae Young is listed as the lightest player in the NBA at 164 pounds. I believe that's twenty pounds lighter than IT when he played for us, and Nate Robinson too. I just skip anything that mentions Trae -- hopefully we're done with small PGs who aren't good defenders for awhile.

[playa-hater]

Please stop with the Trae Young trades. He would be terrible in Boston. He would take shots from Tatum, can't or won't play defense, and by mid-season people on here would be crying because Trae crosses the half court line and throws up a missed 3-pointer. No passing, or ball movement. Just a really bad idea.

Celts should absolutely sign Brown to the super max, and then same with Tatum as soon as possible. Keep White and Rob Williams in the starting lineup and look for a Horford replacement so you can allow Horford to come off the bench. White should be the starting point guard.

I would move Smart for another starter even if it required adding a protected first round pick. I have mentioned Collins, and he may or not be a good fit, but I think Smarts time in Boston has run its course as a starter, and we all know, as much as I would love it, he won't come off the bench again.

I really want Kabengele running next to Rob in a starting unit. Kabengele working with big Al and Rob on a daily basis would bring great improvements to his game. He's been on 3 teams in 3 years, but this year has arguably been his best yet. I know there are some that same he couldn't even beat out Kornet, but Brad knew he still had a year left of 2-way he could use on him and still have him under team control. Kornet was either sign or lose. The rebounding and defense with Rob and Kabengele on the floor together would be out of this world. He's even shot 34% from three in the G-League over the last three seasons. This would also make White at 28 our oldest starter with Brown, Tatum, Kabengele and Rob all 26 or under.

Horford and Brogdon running the 2nd team gives the much-needed vet presence to keep it a positive moving forward. We just need to get more athletic. Kabengele, as mentioned above would be a good start. However, we must upgrade Griffin, Gallo and Kornet. Muscala is fine as the 4th or 5th big, but we need to do something about the rest of our big men.

I would love to see Rob Williams and Kabengele starting and have Horford, Grant Williams, Muscala and another young athletic big as our big man rotation. Unless we trade him, Gallo will still be here because he will pick up his option.

Our guard rotation of White, Brogdon, Davision and a young guy works well to me. Pritchard will probably be moved, whether Smart is here or not, so we will need help here.

Our wings of Tatum, Brown and Hauser need a lot of help. We may be able to get help here with a "Smart" trade.

Agree 100% with the bold. Thought everything there was so obvious.. Yet people are not seeing it.

Among his other demerits, Trae Young is listed as the lightest player in the NBA at 164 pounds. I believe that's twenty pounds lighter than IT when he played for us, and Nate Robinson too. I just skip anything that mentions Trae -- hopefully we're done with small PGs who aren't good defenders for awhile.

I also failed to mention that the one poster who proclaimed Trae's high ast total as "ball movement" is failing to recognize that a "ball dominant PG" can get his stats up, But that is Not ball movement. I mean Westbrick did that to the tune of multiple triple doubles for a season. That would force Tatum out so fast..

And that is all on top of having possibly the "worst defender" in the League on our team..

[165bows]

If Brown were to be traded, ESPN insider Zach Lowe believes there would be “robust demand” for his services. “There would be robust demand for Jaylen Brown from a lot of teams if Boston ever actually started making or listening or picking up the phone or whatever you do with your phone when you maybe investigate a trade,” says Lowe.
Source: Quenton Albertie @ Clutch Points


If above were to be true, Boston absolutely has to trade him. Paying a 300 million Dollar Ransom for someone who really doesn't affect winning anywhere near as much as people think is a No Brainer. People seemingly only see "All NBA teams" and not how his overall Dynamics are to the team both offensively and defensively.

He may be like a poor man's Camelo. He can score, at times, really well, but that's it. And please don't say Boston has made a deep playoff run for years BECAUSE of him. Tatum and overall team Talent is by far the bigger reason.

I've never thought of it that way but Melo is an interesting comp. Different guy obviously but may be a lot more similarities than is apparent at first glance. Anthony was always a huge name guy but Brown might be at least a Carmelo level player.

[31to6]

so to me Trae fits into the "maybe he's a 'star' but you don't want him" category
who else might be in that bin this summer? Washed guys like Chris Paul? Broken guys like PG? Bad 'fits' like Gobert? (not really a star) or Randle?

who is a star/maybe star available just because the team doesn't know what it's doing? That's where I'm interested in seeing if Siakam shakes loose.

We have a 'star' -- JB -- who might be available because people balk at giving him the largest supermax so far. That's understandable human nature. But it doesn't mean it's necessarily the best decision. The cap is going up, and soon what seems outlandish will be the norm.

[Hal14]

Please stop with the Trae Young trades. He would be terrible in Boston. He would take shots from Tatum, can't or won't play defense, and by mid-season people on here would be crying because Trae crosses the half court line and throws up a missed 3-pointer. No passing, or ball movement. Just a really bad idea.

Celts should absolutely sign Brown to the super max, and then same with Tatum as soon as possible. Keep White and Rob Williams in the starting lineup and look for a Horford replacement so you can allow Horford to come off the bench. White should be the starting point guard.

I would move Smart for another starter even if it required adding a protected first round pick. I have mentioned Collins, and he may or not be a good fit, but I think Smarts time in Boston has run its course as a starter, and we all know, as much as I would love it, he won't come off the bench again.

I really want Kabengele running next to Rob in a starting unit. Kabengele working with big Al and Rob on a daily basis would bring great improvements to his game. He's been on 3 teams in 3 years, but this year has arguably been his best yet. I know there are some that same he couldn't even beat out Kornet, but Brad knew he still had a year left of 2-way he could use on him and still have him under team control. Kornet was either sign or lose. The rebounding and defense with Rob and Kabengele on the floor together would be out of this world. He's even shot 34% from three in the G-League over the last three seasons. This would also make White at 28 our oldest starter with Brown, Tatum, Kabengele and Rob all 26 or under.

Horford and Brogdon running the 2nd team gives the much-needed vet presence to keep it a positive moving forward. We just need to get more athletic. Kabengele, as mentioned above would be a good start. However, we must upgrade Griffin, Gallo and Kornet. Muscala is fine as the 4th or 5th big, but we need to do something about the rest of our big men.

I would love to see Rob Williams and Kabengele starting and have Horford, Grant Williams, Muscala and another young athletic big as our big man rotation. Unless we trade him, Gallo will still be here because he will pick up his option.

Our guard rotation of White, Brogdon, Davision and a young guy works well to me. Pritchard will probably be moved, whether Smart is here or not, so we will need help here.

Our wings of Tatum, Brown and Hauser need a lot of help. We may be able to get help here with a "Smart" trade.

Agree 100% with the bold. Thought everything there was so obvious.. Yet people are not seeing it.

Among his other demerits, Trae Young is listed as the lightest player in the NBA at 164 pounds. I believe that's twenty pounds lighter than IT when he played for us, and Nate Robinson too. I just skip anything that mentions Trae -- hopefully we're done with small PGs who aren't good defenders for awhile.

164 lbs isn't ideal, but i wouldn't say it's a deal breaker. It hasn't held him back so far in his career - he's arguably been a better player than JB, who's 220 lbs. Trae has been more durable than JB. Last 3 years, Trae has played in 212 games. JB has played in just 191.

While Trae is 164 lbs, if you look at him out there on the court, he looks like he's built pretty solid. I don't look at him and think "oh gosh, he's so skinny - get him in the weight room!"

And lastly, Trae plays tough. He's physically tough and mentally tough, which helps to compensate for his lack of size.

[playa-hater]

so to me Trae fits into the "maybe he's a 'star' but you don't want him" category
who else might be in that bin this summer? Washed guys like Chris Paul? Broken guys like PG? Bad 'fits' like Gobert? (not really a star) or Randle?

who is a star/maybe star available just because the team doesn't know what it's doing? That's where I'm interested in seeing if Siakam shakes loose.

We have a 'star' -- JB -- who might be available because people balk at giving him the largest supermax so far. That's understandable human nature. But it doesn't mean it's necessarily the best decision. The cap is going up, and soon what seems outlandish will be the norm.

I have thought about Siakam as well. Would be all over that. Just don't see a way Brown agrees to a SnT to Toronto.

[Hal14]

so to me Trae fits into the "maybe he's a 'star' but you don't want him" category
who else might be in that bin this summer? Washed guys like Chris Paul? Broken guys like PG? Bad 'fits' like Gobert? (not really a star) or Randle?

who is a star/maybe star available just because the team doesn't know what it's doing? That's where I'm interested in seeing if Siakam shakes loose.

We have a 'star' -- JB -- who might be available because people balk at giving him the largest supermax so far. That's understandable human nature. But it doesn't mean it's necessarily the best decision. The cap is going up, and soon what seems outlandish will be the norm.

I have thought about Siakam as well. Would be all over that. Just don't see a way Brown agrees to a SnT to Toronto.

It wouldn't be a sign and trade. Brown is not a free agent this summer. He has 1 year left on his contract. He's just eligible to sign an extension this summer - which wouldn't kick in till the 2024-2025 season.

If we traded him this summer, we'd be trading his existing contract, which has 1 year left at about $31 mil. Now, of course, any team that agrees to trade for JB and take on that contract would would want to have some assurance that JB would sign an extension with them.

I don't see why he wouldn't give that assurance to Toronto. All we know about where JB would like to play is:

-He's had some negative things to say about living in Boston
-He's from ATL
-Went to college for 1 year in the bay area, where he still has some ties
-Likes to play meaningful games (so wants to go somewhere that will be a playoff team)
-Is a business man, so would want to go somewhere with a decent sized market
-Has hinted that he'd like to go somewhere he'd be THE man

He'd be the man in toronto, the go-to scorer. Good sized market - only team for the whole country of Canada. They missed the playoffs this year, but If they make some upgrades this offseason (and put the right pieces around JB + Barnes) they could certainly be a perennial playoff team..

[playa-hater]

so to me Trae fits into the "maybe he's a 'star' but you don't want him" category
who else might be in that bin this summer? Washed guys like Chris Paul? Broken guys like PG? Bad 'fits' like Gobert? (not really a star) or Randle?

who is a star/maybe star available just because the team doesn't know what it's doing? That's where I'm interested in seeing if Siakam shakes loose.

We have a 'star' -- JB -- who might be available because people balk at giving him the largest supermax so far. That's understandable human nature. But it doesn't mean it's necessarily the best decision. The cap is going up, and soon what seems outlandish will be the norm.

I have thought about Siakam as well. Would be all over that. Just don't see a way Brown agrees to a SnT to Toronto.

It wouldn't be a sign and trade. Brown is not a free agent this summer. He has 1 year left on his contract. He's just eligible to sign an extension this summer - which wouldn't kick in till the 2024-2025 season.

If we traded him this summer, we'd be trading his existing contract, which has 1 year left at about $31 mil. Now, of course, any team that agrees to trade for JB and take on that contract would would want to have some assurance that JB would sign an extension with them.

I don't see why he wouldn't give that assurance to Toronto. All we know about where JB would like to play is:

-He's had some negative things to say about living in Boston
-He's from ATL
-Went to college for 1 year in the bay area, where he still has some ties
-Likes to play meaningful games (so wants to go somewhere that will be a playoff team)
-Is a business man, so would want to go somewhere with a decent sized market
-Has hinted that he'd like to go somewhere he'd be THE man

He'd be the man in toronto, the go-to scorer. Good sized market - only team for the whole country of Canada. They missed the playoffs this year, but If they make some upgrades this offseason (and put the right pieces around JB + Barnes) they could certainly be a perennial playoff team..

Not sure if I agree, but you are giving me some hope..

[Hal14]

I also failed to mention that the one poster who proclaimed Trae's high ast total as "ball movement" is failing to recognize that a "ball dominant PG" can get his stats up, But that is Not ball movement. I mean Westbrick did that to the tune of multiple triple doubles for a season. That would force Tatum out so fast..

Trae is nothing like Westbrook.

Trae has averaged roughly the same usage rate as Curry over the past few seasons. Yet curry is typically right around a 30% assist rate, whereas Trae has been roughly around a 43% assist rate. That's a massive difference.

Trae has also averaged roughly the same usage rate as JB. Yet Trae has been averaging just about a 3x higher assist rate. Which guy do you think Tatum would rather play with - the guy with a 31% usage and only 16% assist rate (JB), or guy with a 32% usage and a 43% assist rate (Trae) ?

Which guy would make Tatum's life easier, the guy who has proven time and time again that he can take over a game in crunch time (to take the pressure off Tatum), who's proven he can lead an offense (THE guy running the show for the 3rd ranked offense in the league this year, with no other all-stars on his team), the guy who has more scoring gravity, demands more defensive attention (which means less defensive attention on Tatum, which means higher scoring efficiency and easier shots for Tatum) ? It's Trae, all day.

And that is all on top of having possibly the "worst defender" in the League on our team..

His defense got better once the Hawks hired Snyder. A lot of defense is effort, and clearly he got more motivated once they replaced McMillan (who Hawks fans universally hated) with Snyder.

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He was on a team with Bogdanovic, Collins, Gallinari, Huerter. A bunch of guys who couldn't defend. I bet if you put him on a team with Rob, Al, d-white and Tatum, he will pick it up on that end of the floor. Plus, having a bunch of stud defenders on the floor with him, makes it easier to hide a weaker defender - those stud defenders can clean up his mistakes.

He's still just 24, still getting better. Curry wasn't a good defender earlier in his career either, but as he got older he got much better on that end.

Both defense and offense are factored into a player's BPM. Over the past few years, Trae has had a much higher BPM than JB...higher than Siakam too.