Thoughts on the Clippers-Celtics Deal Nearing Completion

It's been a weekend filled with rumors and rumblings about a proposed trade between the Los Angeles Clippers and the Boston Celtics.  The exact details of the deal have fluctuated wildly over the past few hours and days with talks going through absurd cycles of stalling and picking up again but the basic framework looks like this: the Celtics would receive a package revolved around DeAndre Jordan as well as a future first round draft pick and possibly Caron Butler's 8 million dollar contract and cash considerations.  The Clippers would receive "The Big Ticket", Kevin Garnett, the rights to Coach Glenn "Doc" Rivers, and the 5 million dollar contract of either Jason Terry or Courtney Lee.  The Celtics had originally also wanted the Clippers to include exciting young point guard Eric Bledsoe in the deal but, as of today, backed down on that front given that the Clippers absorb the contract of either Lee or Terry.  Now talks have stalled again because the Clippers seem to be unwilling to do just that.  Regardless, this proposed trade has been one of the more intriguing ones in recent memory.

The reason this proposed Clippers-Celtics deal is so intriguing is that it makes sense for both sides.  In the last decade or so of NBA trades, we have seen deals that are so completely one-sided.  For one, Pau Gasol to the Lakers for a pupu platter of crap: the rotting corpse of Kwame Brown, jailbird Javaris Crittenton, the came-out-of-retirement-just-to-get-traded Aaron McKie, and the rights to Marc Gasol whose blossoming makes this deal a little less despicable but still no one thought anything of him at the time.  For another, Kevin McHale gift-wrapping KG to Boston and even the Dwight Howard to the Lakers where all the Lakers had to give up was some picks, Christian Eyenga, Josh McRoberts, and the local aspiring Jesus Quintana.

And yes I am bitter because I picked Andrew Bynum in my fantasy
basketball league this year.  My worst pick ever narrowly edging out
Troy Murphy over Kevin Love in Love's 30-30 season. 

Anyway back to the issue.  We have seen deals where teams have had to get rid of quality players for salary cap purposes such as James Harden to the Rockets and Rudy Gay to the Raptors.  We have seen useless trades where NBA GMs inexplicably find a need to trade for the likes of Alexis Ajinca, Hamed Haddadi, Nathan Jawai, Beno Udrih, Dahntay Jones, and Cole Aldrich.  Finally, we are about to see a trade between two legitimate contenders swapping key components of their rosters in ways that will benefit both of them.  

From the Clippers' side of things, this trade makes a lot of sense for many reasons.  First and perhaps most importantly, the Clippers need a coach.  Vinny del Negro has been canned whiles candidates like the inexperienced Brian Shaw and the "in my best year as a coach, my team still got swept in the Conference Finals" Lionel Hollins simply do not seem to be the right fit for this organization.  Getting Rivers will mean that the Clippers get get a top-tier coach who has won it all before and knows how to make the most out of the pieces that he has.  Rajon Rondo was a nobody coming out of Kentucky but he flourished into one of the best playmakers in the NBA in Rivers' system.  Same with Kendrick Perkins.  The absence of Kendrick Perkins was the reason why the Celtics narrowly lost Game 7 of the 2010 Finals.  That's how much he meant to the team.  Now he has a coach in OKC who doesn't know how to utilize his strengths and as a result, he's a complete non-factor, he's barely scratching at the surface of 20 minutes a game, and he's probably going to get replaced by a young big man like a Kelly Olynyk, an Alex Len, or a Cody Zeller that the Thunder in all likelihood are going to target with the 12th pick in this year's draft.  Tony Allen developed some of his strengths that helped make him one of if not the top one-on-one defender in the league.  Even Leon Powe developed into a factor for the Celtics and consequently faded back into Bolivian (to take a page out of the book of the great Mike Tyson) once he left the C's.  

Why do you think I haven't smiled since I left Boston?

Also, Rivers' emphasis on defense (after all, remember that one of the best current defensive coaches in the league Tom Thibodeau was an assistant on Rivers' staff) would inject some much needed life into the Clippers defense, which outside of Chris Paul was mediocre at best last year, and his reputation as a one of the best Xs and Os coaches and one of the most passionate coaches in the league will fit right in with the Clippers.  Garnett also makes a ton of sense as he's been there before and it's an understatement to say that he's one of the best leaders and teammates that you'll ever find in the NBA.  Even if it will only be for a couple of years at the most, the presence of Garnett will ensure that the Clippers have a championship window in the short-term. KG, a master at creating his own shot, will be able to teach Blake Griffin, a guy who surprises everybody when he takes a shot outside of the paint, a thing or two about that.  His mid-range game will stretch defenses for CP3 to pick apart even further and it will open up lanes to get Griffin to take it to the hole, one of his biggest strengths.  And when KG departs, this trade opens up a ton of financial flexibility after unloading the semi-crippling contracts of Caron Butler and DeAndre Jordan.  Even if the Clippers are forced to take on the salaries of Courtney Lee and Jason Terry, either of them would be an upgrade over one-trick pony Willie Green and fossil Chauncey Billups who might not even be back with Lob City next year.  In addition, the draft pick consideration would probably fall to about the late teens to early twenties in a 2014 draft that only has Andrew Wiggins, Jabari Parker, and Marcus Smart to get excited about at this point in time.  Finally, Chris Paul has gone out and said, according to multiple reports, that getting Rivers and Garnett would convince him to re-sign with the Clippers.  And even if CP3 proves to not be a man of his word and bails on Lob City, not having to give up Eric Bledsoe would allow a fallback plan for the Clippers.  The Clippers look to be in tremendous shape should they pull the trigger on this deal. 

What if I were to tell you that in 10 years, your Big 3 would be
Chris Paul, Blake Griffin, and Kevin Garnett instead of these clowns?

This deal would also be tremendously beneficial for the Celtics as well.  The team isn't getting any younger and a change of scenery is in order after all these years of greatness.  With Rivers, Garnett, and consequently in all likelihood Paul Pierce on their way out of Beantown, Danny Ainge can start the rebuilding process immediately.  He could hire a young coach ready to kickstart this team like Brian Shaw, who I mentioned before as inexperienced, but would do great starting fresh with a team in rebuilding mode.  Ainge already has two incredibly talented young pieces to build around in Rajon Rondo and Jeff Green and adding a third in DeAndre Jordan who is a legitimate threat down low in the right situation has got to have him high-fiving himself.  Jordan's talent wasn't fully realized in Los Angeles where he had to compete with Blake Griffin for touches and rebounds.  Season after season, just when you thought he was about to make "the leap" he disappointed.  His offensive arsenal seemed to be restricted to within two feet of the rim, he never left his feet for a rebound, his free throw shooting made Shaq look like Steve Nash, he looked like a dunker and not much else, and he wasn't getting consistent minutes.  But seriously, let's face it: DeAndre Jordan is a tremendous, albeit raw, talent and he just needs the right situation to harbor that talent.  That situation is definitely not in Los Angeles as we've seen over the last few years and it might just very well be in Boston.  Instead of having to compete with Blake Griffin, he'll get to compete with Brandon Bass.  He'll finally get consistent minutes (perhaps in the range of 33-35) and we many finally witness the DeAndre Jordan so many expected to blossom with the Clippers.  Plus, the addition of Caron Butler would allow veteran depth off the bench behind Jeff Green and/or the flexibility to start Butler at the 3 and slide Green over to the 4.  Throw in the unloading of Terry or Lee's contract to free up the logjam at guard a bit and you have a winner!

The highlight of  DeAndre's career thus far.  Hopefully, he'll go places in Beantown.

This is definitely one of the most intriguing NBA deals in recent memory and while the details of the deal are still being worked out, let's hope as NBA fans that this deal goes through because it will benefit both sides in the short and in the long term.  But until then, hold onto your seats, because in the words of a great man: