Would the Lakers say no to this?
Celtics Out: Rondo, Wallace
Celtics In: Nash, Lin, Randle
Unless the Lakers think they can get Marc Gasol and Rondo in free agency next summer, not a bad idea for them. Wallace will still be off the books when Kobe expires and before they need cap space to go after Durant, Westbrook, etc.
Celtics would say no and rather emphatically. what is the incentive for the C's to do this other than to become incredibly bad for the next several years with no all-star caliber player on the roster nor any incentive for an all-star to want to sign here just so they can be on a chronically rebuilding team during their next contract?
You think the Celtics are going to get a haul better than Julius Randle plus shedding Wallace for Rondo? I don't. I won't hold my breath while you are waiting for those all star free agents. Face it, this team needs to build through the draft and not bank on free agency.
you'd be the only one.
let's break this down shall we.
Rondo - all star PG on a reasonable deal
Wallace - overpaid SF that can still defend and hustle and can be used as an expiring deal in a trade for a well-paid player next year.
FOR
Nash --> broken down player that will not play this year --> negative asset
Lin --> overpaid and overhyped PG that probably could not beat out Smart and Turner for time at PG --> negative asset
Randle --> Rookie PF that has shown no defensive abilities that would be stuck behind Sully, KO and Bass on the depth chart --> pointless acquisition.
I'm not moving Rondo for anything less than a better player in a trade. Taking back another team's crap to make them better is no reason to make a deal. The concept that Wallace has to be moved is a fallacy. As an expiring next year, his deal provides the salary balance to bring in a player making big money allowing us to send out less good prospects (as opposed to picks) should this type of deal become available.
Consider this, there's few top FAs next year so having cap space doesn't have a lot of advantages-->no immediate need to unload Wallace to get a FA. The likeliest best option for Danny to acquire a top player is via a trade. need a contract to balance that out financiall -- voila, Wallace, who becomes more palatable as an expiring deal after this year.
you're downplaying the value of nash and lin's expirings, then saying in the next breath that wallace's expiring next year is really valuable. with nash and lin, the odds of ainge making a trade this year increase.
and no-one is saying we HAVE to get rid of wallace now, but it would be a nice bonus. he'd be a minimum salary guy if he were a free agent today. having him gone gives us flexibility, it helps when you're making a trade if the guys involved aren't total stiffs.
and while i'm not that impressed with randle, he has a lot of value, and could be flipped to a third team, maybe we swap him for vonleh, for instance.
and, in my proposal above, we also land houston's 1st-rounder this year (probably 18-22 range), and the lakers 2019 pick, which could be a lotto pick, considering how badly jim buss is running that team. kelly has some value too.
i think rondo will leave in free agency if we don't trade him, i don't see how he fits in after drafting smart. and considering he's coming off an injury, is on an expiring deal, and has some character concerns, his value isn't as high as some here think it is.
do you think rondo fits in with the c's future plans? do you think he's a max player? or do you just think we can get a better trade? if so, what would you suggest?