Boston

[V]

Mavs needs:

backup PG, SG/SF, and backup big man

Payton + Pierce + Blount for Finley + Harris + Bradley

[dirno2000]

I don't want Payton or Blount but I'd do it to get Pierce...I doubt Boston would.

[Mavs414]

Originally posted by: dirno2000
I don't want Payton or Blount but I'd do it to get Pierce...I doubt Boston would.

yea same here but why would boston do it

[V]

1. Pierce is not happy with the youth movement in Boston
2. Blount is unhappy that coach O'brien is gone so he didn't try last year. Celts want him gone.
3. Payton will not resign with Boston but Ainge is willing to talk sign-and-trade for the right deal

Fin will provide leadership to the young players that Pierce will not. Pierce is not a natural leader, he needed Walker for that. Fin can pick up some of the scoring load too. Whether you remember or not Fin was good for 17-20 pts on 45% shooting beore he got hurt last year. Davis and Jefferson can pick up the rest of the scoring load. It's certainly not an even deal "Pierce for Fin" ... but if Boston wants to trade Paul Pierce than you add the other "no brainer" elements and you have to be in the hunt.

Bradley erases the Blount contract. No brainer for the Celts;

Harris would be the Celts PG of the future to go with Jefferson, Green, etc. Add to that the fact that they're basically getting him for a Payton S&T and that's a no brainer.

[dirno2000]

1. Pierce is not happy with the youth movement in Boston

true but he's a borderline superstar...I would think they could get more.

2. Blount is unhappy that coach O'brien is gone so he didn't try last year. Celts want him gone.

I don't want him here because he didn't try last year.

3. Payton will not resign with Boston but Ainge is willing to talk sign-and-trade for the right deal

Payton is done...I can't imagine anyone would sign and trade for him

I don't doubt that Boston could use Fin's leadership but is it worth them paying $52MM when they have Tony Allen, Gerald Green, Ricky Davis and Ryan Gomes?

As for they're PG of the future, Delonte West and Marcus Banks did a nice job of running the club while Payton was in ATL...in fact, I thought resigning Payton hurt them more then it helped them.

[V]

Pierce is a top 10 swing man in a league stocked with good swingmen. Who is going to offer more than a very solid veteran scorer who plays the same position AND a lottery pick many have compared to Kevin Johnson AND cap relief?

What you mean't to say is that Payton is done as a 35 minute starter. Gary Payton would be outstanding backing up Terry and our point forwards. Don't forget AJ wants JHo to work on his handle and M Daniels has been running point all summer while most players "play up" a spot in Summer Leagues e.g. most threes play the four spot. Besides this trade isn't about Payton. It's for Pierce.

If you don't have a dominant big man you need at least four quality swing players to win in this league. Ricky Davis is a perfect 6th man for Boston so you have one. (There is no way he starts. Celts love history and they have a legacy of top 6th men.) Tony Allen and Ryan Gomes are not starters yet. If you've read the reports from Vegas you will know that Gerald Green is not close to being ready. He does have tremendous explosiveness but he's not ready to play in the NBA. So yes, the Celts need Finley. And they would be happy to pay the price of his contract on the condition they get rid of the Pierce and Blount contracts and also net Devin Harris.

Banks and West are nice players but one is a 40% shooter and the other is a 6'3" two guard. Harris profiles as a franchise point guard.

[dirno2000]

Payton is the worst kind of veteran in that his skills are diminishing, but he doesn't realize it. He's now a god awful defender and a shell of his former self on the offensive end. He'd be ok to back up Terry...I was just saying that no GM in his right mind will give him more than $2.5MM or sign and trade for him.

We're just not going to agree on the Finley thing. In my mind $52MM is too much to pay for veteran leadership. Gerald Green may not be ready but if I'm Ainge, I don't want Fin taking his or Tony Allen's minutes. You say that you need 4 swingmen to win but as soon as you trade Pierce it's no longer about winning, it's about development and winning is a bonus.

I also thought that West was a SG last year (that's what he played at St. Joe's) but he handled himself nicely at the point.

Harris profiles as a franchise point guard.

Interesting comment since earlier this week you were hinting that he may be a bust who benefited by entering the draft at the right time. While you didn't use that term, you were beating around that bush.


Edit: I do agree that they'd love to dump Blount

[V]

I was trying to be thought provoking when I pitched the idea that Harris might be a bust. He might be. I don't think we can know yet.

As for the $52 mil on Fins deal ... I don't think you're thinking in terms of the big picture of the deal I'm proposing. Let's start with a rumored Pierce deal that many folks thought was doable on both sides. The rumor from the Chicago predraft camp had the Blazers and Celtics talking about a deal that would send Pierce to Portland for the No. 3 pick and Nick Van Exel. The Celts would have traded for his $12.7 million contract, and essentially waive him without owing him a penny. In other words, the Celtics would get the draft pick and cut their cap by $13 million.

I don't know if it was Boston or Portland who nixed the deal but considering how well Portland did I would expect they liked the picks more than Pierce and his salary.

The point is I don't think it's inconceivable that a lotto pick and cap relief gets a deal done for Pierce. The central question is is whether or not the Blount contract AND netting Finley provides enough incentive for Boston. Obviously the Van Exel deal would have saved the Celtics more money more quickly than "Bradley for Blount" but the difference is not as far off as you might think. Pierce has $45 mil left on his deal while Blount has $34 million. So the net difference in the "Van Exel + pick" proposal and the "Fin, Harris, Bradley" proposal is $11 million more to Boston. But in the Mavs deal they basically get Finley for three years for that $11 mil difference.

Obviously lots of IFs ... And lots of assumptions (like, you have to assume Boston likes Harris as a lotto pick) ... but I don't think this deal is crazy for either side. In fact, I doubt Boston gets a better offer.

[EricaLubarsky]

A draft pick of a team that destined to miss the playoffs yet again is worth a lot more than the draft pick of a perrenial playoff team.

[V]

[D-town funkadellic]

I really wish people would stop talking about trading Devin Harris. I guess I'm the only one who realizes he'll be better than Paul Pierce someday...

[alby]

whoa there.

[EricaLubarsky]

Devin Harris is a mediocre backup point guard with a whole lotta unactualized potential. Pierce is a guy that puts the star in starter. Pierce is a guy that would start over all but 2-3 players in the league and if he was on the same team as those guys, would either push a guy out of position or would play out of position himself just to start both.

[Lebanese_Fan]

Pierce is one of the most complete players in this league. He rebounds, scores, goes consistently to the foul line which is something I love about him. He can shoot the three. He is excellent on defense. If we can trade Devin for pierce, I will be that happiest mav fan.

[alby]

If Danny Ainge gave up Paul Pierce for Devin Harris, he wouldnt make it out of Boston alive.


literally..