A lot of Celtics Trash rumors part 3

[Disinformation]

And, personal opinion, you guys who think giving up both Brooklyn picks to get Russ and Blake is too much are nuts. 100% nuts. There is about a 1% chance either of the BRK picks becomes better than Russ or Blake. You would have to convinced they aren't staying to consider that too much.

Agreed. My biggest worry would be them not staying. I wasn't terribly surprised LeBron left Cleveland. Their coach and GM were not championship caliber and he had very little help. But after Durant left OKC after 7-8 years? I don't think it's worth the risk of giving up those picks and assume we can keep them here after only one year. I mean OKC had a top tier GM and what turned out to be a surprisingly good coach imo with a very good cast around him and he peaced out. Could be different with these guys but don't believe that's gonna be the case.

However, I have seen enough from Danny to trust him if he believes this is the best course of action. I just seriously hope we aren't only shooting for Banner 18 but also considering Banners 19, 20, etc. if all this goes down

Not to disagree with the concern, but the Durant situation, reportedly, had a LOT to do with him and Westbrook really not getting a long. Plus, I doubt there will be a situation anywhere near as good as GSW this year when Westbrook and Griffin are FAs next year.

[DK-All Day]

When does Danny Ainge sleep?

[max215]

Ok so a few things to address:

I'm not in Las Vegas anymore but text and DMs still work here in FL just fine.

Also, I have NO sources with Boston. Everything I am getting is coming from other places. But I trust all of them. I just don't have enough confirmation to take it public.

The Griffin trade is far more likely than the Westbrook trade, but Boston is attempting to go big and put together a team that can compete with Cleveland and Golden State.

So Ainge would be willing to deal for Griffin without Westbrook? If so, that's good news.

[Smitty731]

That's fair. You would think with all this smoke there would eventually be fire. I'm sure you've been told rumors before, has there ever been a situation like this where you kept hearing the same information/rumours for something that never ended up happening?

Super interesting stuff Smitty.

No, but I am very new at this. The only two things I was rock solid on that happened were the Durant stuff and the Magic thinking very little of Tobias Harris and regretting the contract they gave him.

Oh and I got the Sullinger stuff first, but that was just a matter of checking the transaction wire before anyone else.

1. Dont worry, I wont share anything on twitter even though Im an outsider here
2. Thank you for sharing all this info, I know you dont benefit in any way from this
3. Do you think its possible that "actual" NBA media knows something about this, but cant share because of their relationships with front offices?
4. Are you hearing anything about what happened with Sacramento, or what is going on with Sixers bigs?

3. It could be. I don't know. Part of what I am getting is not coming from teams. There are sources that talk a lot more than teams do.
4. It seems like the SAC part is over. Not sure why or what happened. And my guys tell me the Okafor/Noel stuff was just a smokescreen to keep them off what the team is really trying to do.

[Andrew McCeltic]

Amir/Avery/LAC pick, BOS '19 for Blake I'd do too, replacement 3&D shooting guards to be a fourth option on loaded teams, easy to get. Jaylen steps up, Smart could slide over.

We're keeping Rozier in all this?

Neither LAC or OKC is overly interested in Rozier from what I've been told. OKC would hand the reins to Payne. LAC has Paul and a million backup PGs.

Rozier was of major interest to SAC, but that entire part of the deal seems to have fallen apart or out of favor entirely.

So Payne, Smart at the 2, Oladipo.. Not awful.

Rozier could be a chip to Philly or SAC, ok.. Can deal with that.

[Smitty731]

When does Danny Ainge sleep?

At this time of the year, sleep is a precious commodity for all NBA guys. But they aren't insane like NFL guys. The league actually paid a bunch of scientists and educators to come in and teach the teams about sleep. It was talked about at Summer League and sounded cool.

FWIW, Ainge has publicly said he sleeps just fine and does his work during normal hours. I don't think he stresses even 10% as much as we do about this stuff. Of course, he's partially in control so...

[Bar Fight]

I think it's pretty easy to understand why people are hesitant about giving up the Brooklyn picks. We probably never win a title with Blake/Russ, and we'd be giving up on a golden opportunity to build a great young core for the future. Not rocket science. Westbrook/Blake's window coincides with the Cavs (who have a potential top 5 GOAT) and the Warriors (who have 2 players better than both Westbrook and Blake, and a better supporting cast).

[Smitty731]

Ok so a few things to address:

I'm not in Las Vegas anymore but text and DMs still work here in FL just fine.

Also, I have NO sources with Boston. Everything I am getting is coming from other places. But I trust all of them. I just don't have enough confirmation to take it public.

The Griffin trade is far more likely than the Westbrook trade, but Boston is attempting to go big and put together a team that can compete with Cleveland and Golden State.

So Ainge would be willing to deal for Griffin without Westbrook? If so, that's good news.

They've always been willing to go get Griffin without Westbrook.

[London2Boston]

Interesting. I thought getting Westbrook would be easier if anything given the certainty that he won't be signing in OKC. There must be serious movement in the Blake talks then..

[illmatic24]

If anyone shares thia on twitter your basically a huge dick and i hope your genitals get burned off in a fire and someone puta lemon juice and salt in your wounds.

I've seen people sharing it, I don't know if they've mentioned Smitty by name however

I think he has some cover, this account tweeted about this possibility before

[tweet]https://twitter.com/StatisticsNBA/status/754015567770636289[/tweet]

[tweet]https://twitter.com/StatisticsNBA/status/753775388938018816[/tweet]

That would be a fantastic starting five but they would be in desperate need of shooting off the bench. Plus depending on who is traded away, the bench could be scary young. You can't rely on a bench like that when a team is in win now mode so they would have to sign a player or two for cheap.

I do like the thought of it, though. You have to go for it at some point and it's rare that the stars align to give you a chance at a guy of Westbrook's caliber. It's either that or sit on the picks and basically pray that one of them turns into a star... and hope that Brown does too.

[Andrew McCeltic]

I think it's pretty easy to understand why people are hesitant about giving up the Brooklyn picks. We probably never win a title with Blake/Russ, and we'd be giving up on a golden opportunity to build a great young core for the future. Not rocket science. Westbrook/Blake's window coincides with the Cavs (who have a potential top 5 GOAT) and the Warriors (who have 2 players better than both Westbrook and Blake, and a better supporting cast).

We could win, we'll be better.. But 48 wins to 60 is an easier leap than the one to all-cylinders favorite.

BKN picks aren't just about the players we'd take but the trade flexibility. Depending on deal, we could be "capped out" talent/improvement-wise, same way the Clippers are now.

[OFWGKTA]

I think it's pretty easy to understand why people are hesitant about giving up the Brooklyn picks. We probably never win a title with Blake/Russ, and we'd be giving up on a golden opportunity to build a great young core for the future. Not rocket science. Westbrook/Blake's window coincides with the Cavs (who have a potential top 5 GOAT) and the Warriors (who have 2 players better than both Westbrook and Blake, and a better supporting cast).

We could win, we'll be better.. But 48 wins to 60 is an easier leap than the one to all-cylinders favorite.

BKN picks aren't just about the players we'd take but the trade flexibility. Depending on deal, we could be "capped out" talent/improvement-wise, same way the Clippers are now.

Who else are we gonna use those picks for with trade flexibility? Cousins maybe, that's it.

[Smitty731]

If Blake and Westbrook stay, their window is longer than the Cavs. By at least a couple of years. LeBron James is amazing, but that team isn't likely to be any better than they were this year at any point coming soon.

[Smog]

I'm probably in the minority but I don't like going after both guys. I'd rather push half the chips in for one and leave the rest for development. I'm almost as excited about the Brown/Smart/Rozier/BKN picks future as I am about the present. We can have the best of both worlds if, say, we grab one of the Sixers' bigs, make a nice leap this year, then sign a FA next year with high lottery picks coming.

[Andrew McCeltic]

http://www.gq.com/story/god-bless-russell-westbrook

Interesting take there

[Smitty731]

I am literally blown away that people wouldn't trade two unknown picks for two top 10 guys in the league. That is borderline insane to me. I can't understand that mindset at all.

Also, FWIW, the Celtics owners have indicated they will pay the tax without an issue to build and keep a title contender together and to add to it. That isn't news. That is publicly reported, but some people are ignoring.

[OFWGKTA]

If Blake and Westbrook stay, their window is longer than the Cavs. By at least a couple of years. LeBron James is amazing, but that team isn't likely to be any better than they were this year at any point coming soon.

Yeah they're both 4 years younger than Lebron, and if (please) Jaylen stays, he'll be able to take more of the load off them in years 4/5/6 etc as they decline and Jaylen heads towards his prime (hopefully a superstar)

[mademan]

I think it's pretty easy to understand why people are hesitant about giving up the Brooklyn picks. We probably never win a title with Blake/Russ, and we'd be giving up on a golden opportunity to build a great young core for the future. Not rocket science. Westbrook/Blake's window coincides with the Cavs (who have a potential top 5 GOAT) and the Warriors (who have 2 players better than both Westbrook and Blake, and a better supporting cast).

We could win, we'll be better.. But 48 wins to 60 is an easier leap than the one to all-cylinders favorite.

BKN picks aren't just about the players we'd take but the trade flexibility. Depending on deal, we could be "capped out" talent/improvement-wise, same way the Clippers are now.

Cmon man, lets be serious here. Youre not getting 2 top 10 talents in the league without gutting your team. Keeping IT/Horford/Crowder and one or 2 role players would be a coup

[mademan]

A Westbrook/Crowder/Blake/Horford (with some random SG) and IT as 6th man would put the Celtics right there with CLE with a shot against GSW

[Bar Fight]

I think it's pretty easy to understand why people are hesitant about giving up the Brooklyn picks. We probably never win a title with Blake/Russ, and we'd be giving up on a golden opportunity to build a great young core for the future. Not rocket science. Westbrook/Blake's window coincides with the Cavs (who have a potential top 5 GOAT) and the Warriors (who have 2 players better than both Westbrook and Blake, and a better supporting cast).

We could win, we'll be better.. But 48 wins to 60 is an easier leap than the one to all-cylinders favorite.

BKN picks aren't just about the players we'd take but the trade flexibility. Depending on deal, we could be "capped out" talent/improvement-wise, same way the Clippers are now.

I don't see it happening. The Warriors have better, more efficient, higher IQ stars and championship pedigree. Westbrook is a monster talent but if I had to count on him leading the team past the Warriors (or even the Cavs), I would not feel good about my chances. Blake is nice, but he's injury prone and hasn't been deep enough in the Playoffs for me to trust him. It'd be a fun team to watch for 2-3 years maybe, then after that we're in the position Houston was in after the Harden/Howard combo didn't pan out.

Even if the Nets picks doesn't build a championship core, I'd rather see a good young team with budding stars develop into potential contenders over the next 7-10 years than 2-3 years of contending before we're back at square one.