HOT TAKE: Consider Trading Marcus Smart

[Oakmont_4]

An efficient shot maker who checks the coach's defensive boxes is likely +20M player. What assets are you sending out to acquire that guy - if it's not through FA?

Udoka said it best: the White trade was about consolidating Richardson and Schroder into one player (i.e., DW better offensive player than JR [allegedly], better defensively than DS - pare down lineup and make rotations easier). Shooting was always part of the trade consideration.

Yes DW is 100% a better defensive player than DS

DW and JR have insignificant differences as far as shooting efficiency. DW started out awful when he first arrived. Got better as he acclimated but still not great - serviceable at least.

3 point shooting has been an issue with this team since last offseason. I’ve posted about it numerous times. Grant shooting great helped immensely but we still need another shooter on the wing. (White is not a wing)

Using the $17m TPE to bring in that shooter would be the most obvious choice.

Guys I would consider at that range of money
Gary Trent Jr
Marcus Morris
Terrence Ross
DFS
TJ Warren
Larry Nance Jr
Christian Wood
Malik Beasley

That’s just off the top of my head. Or you move for a guy with the TPE and add Theis to go up another tier on money. Can be done.

[elements1985]

Yes DW is 100% a better defensive player than DS

DW and JR have insignificant differences as far as shooting efficiency. DW started out awful when he first arrived. Got better as he acclimated but still not great - serviceable at least.

3 point shooting has been an issue with this team since last offseason. I’ve posted about it numerous times. Grant shooting great helped immensely but we still need another shooter on the wing. (White is not a wing)

Using the $17m TPE to bring in that shooter would be the most obvious choice.

Guys I would consider at that range of money
Gary Trent Jr
Marcus Morris
Terrence Ross
DFS
TJ Warren
Larry Nance Jr
Christian Wood
Malik Beasley

That’s just off the top of my head. Or you move for a guy with the TPE and add Theis to go up another tier on money. Can be done.

TPE's are just fillers to make money work on Celtics end. I'm asking about outgoing assets used to make these attractive deals to opponents.

Like Gary Trent Junior: locked in for 3 more seasons @ age 23 w/ a conference rival. Christian Wood another one. How do these trades make sense for opposing teams? What assets are Celtics sending out?

To me, when you see how many questions there are on Celtics roster (shooting depth + front court uncertainty) + criteria of Ime's system (any shooter acquired will have to play defense - which = +20M player) + how little tradeable assets Celtics have. It A) shatters the idea that this team has a 5-7 year window, B) puts a spotlight on overpaying for relatively inconsequential players like White.

[Oakmont_4]

TPE's are just fillers to make money work on Celtics end. I'm asking about outgoing assets used to make these attractive deals to opponents.

Like Gary Trent Junior: locked in for 3 more seasons @ age 23 w/ a conference rival. Christian Wood another one. How do these trades make sense for opposing teams? What assets are Celtics sending out?

To me, when you see how many questions there are on Celtics roster (shooting depth + front court uncertainty) + criteria of Ime's system (any shooter acquired will have to play defense - which = +20M player) + how little tradeable assets Celtics have. It A) shatters the idea that this team has a 5-7 year window, B) puts a spotlight on overpaying for relatively inconsequential players like White.

Again you overvalue players. Your view of trades ignores reality and any sense of creativity. Christian Woods was literally just traded for a pile of trash. Trades in the NBA are less about the players involves and more about contracts, roster construction and future trade packages.

Your inability to realize lopsided trades happen literally all the time in the NBA. There are plenty of players making under $20m that qualify. And any player in the NBA is available save for a few untouchables.

Draft picks are near worthless to contending teams. I’ll trade as many as it takes to build the roster appropriately. We have a handful of guys available as contract fillers that aren’t in our top 7 rotation. Other teams can be added to trade to make it work as well. It’s not nearly as impossible as you make it out to be

[Oakmont_4]

TPE's are just fillers to make money work on Celtics end. I'm asking about outgoing assets used to make these attractive deals to opponents.

Like Gary Trent Junior: locked in for 3 more seasons @ age 23 w/ a conference rival. Christian Wood another one. How do these trades make sense for opposing teams? What assets are Celtics sending out?

To me, when you see how many questions there are on Celtics roster (shooting depth + front court uncertainty) + criteria of Ime's system (any shooter acquired will have to play defense - which = +20M player) + how little tradeable assets Celtics have. It A) shatters the idea that this team has a 5-7 year window, B) puts a spotlight on overpaying for the relatively inconsequential players like White.

Jeremi Grant traded for a 2025 first rounder into a TPE.

But clearly not possible according to Elements

[Oakmont_4]

Christian Wood

Traded for
First round pick
Boban
Marquiss Chriss
Trey Burke
Sterling Brown

Impossible to get these players according to Elements

[elements1985]

Again you overvalue players. Your view of trades ignores reality and any sense of creativity. Christian Woods was literally just traded for a pile of trash. Trades in the NBA are less about the players involves and more about contracts, roster construction and future trade packages.

Your inability to realize lopsided trades happen literally all the time in the NBA. There are plenty of players making under $20m that qualify. And any player in the NBA is available save for a few untouchables.

Draft picks are near worthless to contending teams. I’ll trade as many as it takes to build the roster appropriately. We have a handful of guys available as contract fillers that aren’t in our top 7 rotation. Other teams can be added to trade to make it work as well. It’s not nearly as impossible as you make it out to be

I feel really good that we're planning on 'hope' as a strategy to build around 2 young players. That's just awesome man.

You're not hearing me out:
The Celtics set the bar high on rotation players (defense + shooting - from wings/guards). Either you keep the rotations short and burn out the core like this year's team; or do a controlled selloff with either Rob, Al or Smart (which leads to a worse defensive team).

Or in your case, package Sam Hauser with Malik Fitts plus 2026 2nd -- and just keep playing with NBA Trade Machine until the deal works.

[elements1985]

Jeremi Grant traded for a 2025 first rounder into a TPE.

But clearly not possible according to Elements

More like Detroit turned a 6th-7th man on a really good team into a lotto pick.

[Oakmont_4]

More like Detroit turned a 6th-7th man on a really good team into a lotto pick.

That’s exactly the type of player we’re talking about - role players. That you state can’t be had. Yet you can’t refute the real world cases that line up exactly with what I have stated. Laughable man. Really is

[Oakmont_4]

I feel really good that we're planning on 'hope' as a strategy to build around 2 young players. That's just awesome man.

You're not hearing me out:
The Celtics set the bar high on rotation players (defense + shooting - from wings/guards). Either you keep the rotations short and burn out the core like this year's team; or do a controlled selloff with either Rob, Al or Smart (which leads to a worse defensive team).

Or in your case, package Sam Hauser with Malik Fitts plus 2026 2nd -- and just keep playing with NBA Trade Machine until the deal works.

Are the GM of the Thunder? Your ideology is exactly what happened in OKC that led to them losing 3 HOF players on the roster and not winning a title

But hey! Get those draft picks boi!!!.

[elements1985]

That’s exactly the type of player we’re talking about - role players. That you state can’t be had. Yet you can’t refute the real world cases that line up exactly with what I have stated. Laughable man. Really is

The deal was Grant for TPE + top 4 protected 1st in 2025. Pistons wagering that Portland will suck in 3 years - with Grant and/or Lilliard gone. It's not even remotely comparable/applicable to Celtics.

[elements1985]

But hey! Get those draft picks boi!!!.

Draft picks don't matter ... then cites a TPE deal in which draft pick is main feature.

[hugepatsfan]

The deal was Grant for TPE + top 4 protected 1st in 2025. Pistons wagering that Portland will suck in 3 years - with Grant and/or Lilliard gone. It's not even remotely comparable/applicable to Celtics.

It’s a MIL pick, not POR’s own. MIL originally traded that pick to NO in the Holiday trade and NO sent it to POR in the McCollum trade.

[hugepatsfan]

I feel really good that we're planning on 'hope' as a strategy to build around 2 young players. That's just awesome man.

You're not hearing me out:
The Celtics set the bar high on rotation players (defense + shooting - from wings/guards). Either you keep the rotations short and burn out the core like this year's team; or do a controlled selloff with either Rob, Al or Smart (which leads to a worse defensive team).

Or in your case, package Sam Hauser with Malik Fitts plus 2026 2nd -- and just keep playing with NBA Trade Machine until the deal works.

I’m confused what you mean by this post. I think I follow though. Are you saying that Ime is too strict to let anyone who isn’t well rounded play? So our only way to improve offensively is by trading key defensive pieces because that’s the only way to get enough value to get someone Ime values enough to play? Since guys who can be had for scraps won’t match his standards to actually play?

If that’s the case, I wouldn’t worry. I think he used a short rotation because we only had 9 NBA caliber players last year. Nesmith is a total bust and sucks at everything. Hauser is nothing right now. Stauskas/Fitts/Morgan/Kornet we’re bums we signed to fill out the roster to pro rated minimum deals and duck the tax.

This year we’ll be a tax team so you don’t have to pinch Pennie’s like that to duck it. We’ll get some legit depth.

Pritchard is too small to play in the playoffs and Theis just isn’t good enough to justify playing if the other 3 better bigs were healthy. Between TPE and MLE I’m confident we can get some shooters who are good enough to play. Guys like Alec Burks, Otto Porter Jr., Gary Harris, etc. could be had. We just need a few more guys (one wing, one forward) to give you 15 minutes a night to space the floor.