Official Speculation Thread (Pt. L "Trade Deadline" Edition)

[troybiles]

Yes, sorry. not feeling too well lately and meds are making it hard to think. I still like to keep up with sports, so I am a trooper.

[glennathan]

Cliff Lee is a pitcher on the Phillies. He means Courtney, give the guy a break

I was just giving him a hard time. I know he meant Courtney.

[glennathan]

Yes, sorry. not feeling too well lately and meds are making it hard to think. I still like to keep up with sports, so I am a trooper.

Hey we need all the dedicated fans we can get.

Besides I know what you mean with medicine and hard to think. Been on NyQuil for 3 days

[glennathan]

“@KBergCBS: If tenor of agent meeting today is any indication, it's over for Billy Hunter. "Hunter is done," one person in meeting said.”

[BaunceyChillups]

Smart is an intriguing prospect. He has the potential to be an impact 2-way player.

But I can't help but think that Burke is getting slept on. This kid has all the potential to be a great offensive pg in this league. He will probably be drafted in the 7-12 range, which is a bit out of our range, but trading down (I would say trade for a pick in that range but, unlikely) may be the right move. I think this kid could become our Ty Lawson. May not sound great for the kind of year we're having but with the draft starting to look the way it does I think you take Burke and run (just because he fits a position of need and has a lot of offensive talent that translates well). This is all a moot point of course if we cannot get fair compensation for trading down.

Unlike Ty Lawson, Burke does not have ridiculous speed or explosiveness. There's a chance he may not be able to reliably get into the paint at the NBA level. A Jameer-type player is what he'll likely be, a solid starter. Maybe if everything goes right he can be Mike Conley. What makes Smart a more intriguing prospect is that as a freshman he's already so physically imposing at 6'4 225lbs and has demonstrated great scoring instincts and defensive intangibles.

[Blue_and_Whte]

why is Burke still projected in the 20 range? he plays well but goes nowhere or backwards, maybe he isn't that special, or they see his flaws? you'd think he would sky rocket to the top

Burke's a good pg no doubt what I'm confused about is, with all the people that cried and moaned about jameer being too short and having a "star player" with .no offensive game why people would want noel and Burke.

McLemore, and Smart, should be hennigans targets imo. Bennett is starting to grow on me.
BPA should be the focus not need especially on a rebuilding team. Imo its McLemore, Smart, Bennett,

EDIT: didn't mean to add Burke at after Bennett. My stupid android phone auto added his name. I think burke is top 15 max.

[Viper1500]

^Agree 100%

McLemore and Smart seem to have the most upside, I can see them growing very well with this team during its current state.

[londoncollin]

I'm not sure if I want him, but everybody seems to be sleeping on Shabazz. I think he's got great upside, attitude and personality aside.

[Def Swami]

I'm not sure if I want him, but everybody seems to be sleeping on Shabazz. I think he's got great upside, attitude and personality aside.

I think the "attitude" and "personality" stuff is a bit overblown. On the floor, he has his pros and cons like every prospect.

[Cigamodnalro]

I'm not sure if I want him, but everybody seems to be sleeping on Shabazz. I think he's got great upside, attitude and personality aside.

I think the "attitude" and "personality" stuff is a bit overblown. On the floor, he has his pros and cons like every prospect.

Agree, totally overblown. He didn't react the right way to that game winner, admittedly, but by all indications Shabazz is a very hard worker and is hungry for success--both individual and team.

His game is a bigger issue than his attitude. The guy can only dribble with one of his hands, and that's a problem in the NBA.

[Cigamodnalro]

Been doing some research, and I really like Orlando Johnson (out of UCSB, now on Pacers). Love his offensive game, and after reading his backstory it's impossible not to root for the guy. If a JJ to Indiana trade does happen (for the record, I think/hope there are better deals out there), he's one guy I wouldn't mind seeing in Magic blue.

[pogiro]

Why are the Celtics going after Bledsoe? They have Rondo. We definitely need to try to get in on that and try to give the Celtics pieces that would be more useful to them. I'd give whoever outside Vooch, Nicholson, Harkless, and picks. Bledsoe with those 3 is a damn nice core to add a high draft pick and free agents to.

[londoncollin]

Why are the Celtics going after Bledsoe? They have Rondo. We definitely need to try to get in on that and try to give the Celtics pieces that would be more useful to them. I'd give whoever outside Vooch, Nicholson, Harkless, and picks. Bledsoe with those 3 is a damn nice core to add a high draft pick and free agents to.

I assume it's because they've seen how they play without Rondo and that's made them consider all their options. If they can get Bledsoe and Jordan, they could flip Rondo for somebody else and have a quick core change.

I don't think any of it happens though.

[Bensational]

Lakers/Celtics deal wouldn't happen. No team is gonna trade for Rondo when he's just gone down and it could potentially have serious repercussions on the rest of his career.

Lakers might consider moving Howard if they think he'll walk, though. I just can't imagine who they'd move him for. They'll probably just hold on to him and hold his bird rights over his head to discourage him signing anywhere else.

[MagicFan41]

Lakers/Celtics deal wouldn't happen. No team is gonna trade for Rondo when he's just gone down and it could potentially have serious repercussions on the rest of his career.

Lakers might consider moving Howard if they think he'll walk, though. I just can't imagine who they'd move him for. They'll probably just hold on to him and hold his bird rights over his head to discourage him signing anywhere else.

Saying "no team will" is ridiculous. This is an all-star PG who leads the league in assists and is a triple double threat every night. Don't be silly. I'd much rather take a chance on Rondo with an ACL injury that didn't seem all that bad to begin with as opposed to Bynum and his horrid knees (yet Philly traded for him....sure "no team will"?) If I were the Celtics, I would do the Bledsoe/Deandre deal for KG....and then try to flip Rondo for Josh Smith. Yes, Deandre is overpaid, but it's not like they have a center of the future anyways. At least Deandre is athletic and young. They have a core of Bledsoe, Josh Smith, Deandre to build around....plus Melo & Sullinger. They could have quite a bit of cap space as well to fill out their SG position with another possible star. A quick rebuild with some nice young pieces to build around.

Bledsoe/Bradley
Terry/C Lee
Pierce/Green
JSmoov/Sullinger
Jordan/Melo

Then when Pierce retires they can get a young guy to replace him.

[Bensational]

Lakers/Celtics deal wouldn't happen. No team is gonna trade for Rondo when he's just gone down and it could potentially have serious repercussions on the rest of his career.

Lakers might consider moving Howard if they think he'll walk, though. I just can't imagine who they'd move him for. They'll probably just hold on to him and hold his bird rights over his head to discourage him signing anywhere else.

Saying "no team will" is ridiculous. This is an all-star PG who leads the league in assists and is a triple double threat every night. Don't be silly. I'd much rather take a chance on Rondo with an ACL injury that didn't seem all that bad to begin with as opposed to Bynum and his horrid knees (yet Philly traded for him....sure "no team will"?) If I were the Celtics, I would do the Bledsoe/Deandre deal for KG....and then try to flip Rondo for Josh Smith. Yes, Deandre is overpaid, but it's not like they have a center of the future anyways. At least Deandre is athletic and young. They have a core of Bledsoe, Josh Smith, Deandre to build around....plus Melo & Sullinger. They could have quite a bit of cap space as well to fill out their SG position with another possible star. A quick rebuild with some nice young pieces to build around.

Bledsoe/Bradley
Terry/C Lee
Pierce/Green
JSmoov/Sullinger
Jordan/Melo

Then when Pierce retires they can get a young guy to replace him.

i can pretty confidently say "no team will", because teams hardly ever trade for injured players who are owed big money and who have suffered a season ending injury in the first half of the season.

maybe you can go back through and list all the allstars that have been traded straight after suffering an ACL injury, and who were locked into large deals that paid them $25M over the course of the next 2 seasons?

and if any teams have done so, how well has it panned out for them? well enough that it would give more teams confidence in taking that kind of a risk?

if you don't think this injury raises a major question mark over Rondo's future, then you're a damn fool. his game is based on his speed and athleticism. but, no.... an ACL injury shouldn't make a difference, should it?

[MagicFan41]

Lakers/Celtics deal wouldn't happen. No team is gonna trade for Rondo when he's just gone down and it could potentially have serious repercussions on the rest of his career.

Lakers might consider moving Howard if they think he'll walk, though. I just can't imagine who they'd move him for. They'll probably just hold on to him and hold his bird rights over his head to discourage him signing anywhere else.

Saying "no team will" is ridiculous. This is an all-star PG who leads the league in assists and is a triple double threat every night. Don't be silly. I'd much rather take a chance on Rondo with an ACL injury that didn't seem all that bad to begin with as opposed to Bynum and his horrid knees (yet Philly traded for him....sure "no team will"?) If I were the Celtics, I would do the Bledsoe/Deandre deal for KG....and then try to flip Rondo for Josh Smith. Yes, Deandre is overpaid, but it's not like they have a center of the future anyways. At least Deandre is athletic and young. They have a core of Bledsoe, Josh Smith, Deandre to build around....plus Melo & Sullinger. They could have quite a bit of cap space as well to fill out their SG position with another possible star. A quick rebuild with some nice young pieces to build around.

Bledsoe/Bradley
Terry/C Lee
Pierce/Green
JSmoov/Sullinger
Jordan/Melo

Then when Pierce retires they can get a young guy to replace him.

i can pretty confidently say "no team will", because teams hardly ever trade for injured players who are owed big money and who have suffered a season ending injury in the first half of the season.

maybe you can go back through and list all the allstars that have been traded straight after suffering an ACL injury, and who were locked into large deals that paid them $25M over the course of the next 2 seasons?

and if any teams have done so, how well has it panned out for them? well enough that it would give more teams confidence in taking that kind of a risk?

if you don't think this injury raises a major question mark over Rondo's future, then you're a damn fool. his game is based on his speed and athleticism. but, no.... an ACL injury shouldn't make a difference, should it?

His game is based on his speed and athleticism?? WHAT? Not really. You've clearly gone delusional and think that Rondo is Derrick Rose. Tons of athletes have come back from ACL injuries and been OK recently.

[MagicFan41]

Lakers/Celtics deal wouldn't happen. No team is gonna trade for Rondo when he's just gone down and it could potentially have serious repercussions on the rest of his career.

Lakers might consider moving Howard if they think he'll walk, though. I just can't imagine who they'd move him for. They'll probably just hold on to him and hold his bird rights over his head to discourage him signing anywhere else.

Saying "no team will" is ridiculous. This is an all-star PG who leads the league in assists and is a triple double threat every night. Don't be silly. I'd much rather take a chance on Rondo with an ACL injury that didn't seem all that bad to begin with as opposed to Bynum and his horrid knees (yet Philly traded for him....sure "no team will"?) If I were the Celtics, I would do the Bledsoe/Deandre deal for KG....and then try to flip Rondo for Josh Smith. Yes, Deandre is overpaid, but it's not like they have a center of the future anyways. At least Deandre is athletic and young. They have a core of Bledsoe, Josh Smith, Deandre to build around....plus Melo & Sullinger. They could have quite a bit of cap space as well to fill out their SG position with another possible star. A quick rebuild with some nice young pieces to build around.

Bledsoe/Bradley
Terry/C Lee
Pierce/Green
JSmoov/Sullinger
Jordan/Melo

Then when Pierce retires they can get a young guy to replace him.

i can pretty confidently say "no team will", because teams hardly ever trade for injured players who are owed big money and who have suffered a season ending injury in the first half of the season.

maybe you can go back through and list all the allstars that have been traded straight after suffering an ACL injury, and who were locked into large deals that paid them $25M over the course of the next 2 seasons?

and if any teams have done so, how well has it panned out for them? well enough that it would give more teams confidence in taking that kind of a risk?

if you don't think this injury raises a major question mark over Rondo's future, then you're a damn fool. his game is based on his speed and athleticism. but, no.... an ACL injury shouldn't make a difference, should it?

His game is based on his speed and athleticism?? WHAT? Not really. You've clearly gone delusional and think that Rondo is Derrick Rose. Tons of athletes have come back from ACL injuries and been OK recently. By your logic, nobody would accept a trade for Derrick Rose either right now right? Gimme a break...

[darthmerrick]

Damn Celtics. The rich keep getting richer. I would love to swap Reddick for Bledsoe. Got a potential scenario for everyone.

Let's say we don't win the McLemore or Shabbaz sweepstakes and we end up with Smart in the draft. There is one free agent that sticks out to me as being a possible Tracy McGrady type steal. Bear with me folks. Al-farouq Aminu I thought he was a bust and he's sucked his first two years in the league and is kinda been streaky lately because they haven't been giving him the ball, but every time he's given enough shots he goes off. He's showing he could be a 20PPG 10 reb 2 stl guy and could be had for pretty cheap on the open market. The hornets screwed up and didn't pick up his option, might be worth a look this summer.

PG Smart/Jameer
SG Affalo/Jones
SF Aminu/Harkless
PF Nicholson/Davis
C Vucevic/Oquinn/Ayon

[MagicTime1]

I would love to do this trade..

Boston Trades: Kevin Garnett, Courtney Lee, Jason Collins
Boston Receives: Deandre Jordan, JJ Redick, Willie Green and 2nd rd picks from the Magic

LA Clippers Trade: Deandre Jordan, Eric Bledsoe, Lamar Odom, Willie Green
LA Clippers Receive: Kevin Garnett, Aaron Afflalo, Jason Collins and future 1st rd pick from Celtics

Orlando Trades: JJ Redick, Aaron Afflalo
Orlando Receives: Eric Bledsoe, Courtney Lee, and Lamar Odom

Boston Lineup:
PG: *Rajon Rondo* , Avery Bradley, Jason Terry
SG: JJ Redick, Willie Green, Jason Terry
SF: Paul Pierce, Jeff Green
PF: Brandon Bass, Jason Sullinger, Chris Wilcox
C: Deandre Jordan, Fab Melo

LA Clippers Lineup:
PG: Chris Paul, Chauncey Billups
SG: Aaron Afflalo, Jamal Crawford, Grant Hill
SF: Caron Butler, Matt Barnes, Grant HIll
PF: Blake Griffin, Trey Thompkins, Ronny Turiaf
C: Kevin Garnett, Ryan Hollins, Jason Collins

Orlando Lineup:
PG: Jameer Nelson, Eric Bledsoe, Ish Smith
SG: Courtney Lee, Etuan Moore, DQ Jones
SF: Mo Harkless, Lamar Odom, Hedo Turkoglu
PF: *Big Baby Davis*, Andrew Nicholson, Josh McRoberts, AL Harrington
C: Vucci Mane, Goose, Kyle O Quinn


I think this would be a great deal for all teams, if especially Orlando finds a suitor for AL Harrington or Big Baby. Clippers become title contenders with Garnett, and AA in their lineup, and Boston finds a way to rebuild with youth but still have enough talent to make some noise in the playoffs.