I know the main talk is the playoffs but, for what it's worth, Tim Bontemps of the Washington Post discussed some potential moves by the Celtics this summer on
Chris Mannix's podcast. He predicts Jimmy Butler will be traded to Boston. Here is the transcript :
Starting at 14:00 : Mannix : "Boston has been in the mix for Bradley Beal, for Jimmy Butler and Jahlil Okafor. If they can go to Chicago and put an offer for Jimmy Butler before signing Durant..."
Bontemps : "
I think Jimmy Butler is gonna be a Celtic. You saw that press conference at the end of the season with Gar Forman and John Paxson, they took some pretty unveiled shots at Butler."Mannix : "I got killed for writing Butler was on the trading block!"
Bontemps : "To me, with the way their season went, they have to choose between Fred Hoiberg and Jimmy Butler and they are not choosing against Hoiberg after they got rid of Thibodeau to bring him and make him their guy.
If you are them, after the season they had, you trade Jimmy Butler to the Celtics for the boatload of picks Danny Ainge has been trying to trade like for Justise Winslow. You trade all those picks and you say we're rebuilding with all these youngs guys and Fred Hoiberg so we can grow together. From the Celtics standpoint, if they get a guy like Jimmy Butler to go with that team, then maybe, yeah, something changes a little bit and he [Durant] goes there. But I've still got to see a free agent sign there."
Mannix : "Yeah I think you've got the guy in trade, almost like KG and Ray Allen in 2007. I think the key for everybody is to convince Durant you are in "win now mode", not 2 years from now".
They also discussed Dwight Howard at the very end of the podcast :
Chris Mannix : "Dwight is gone. I wouldn't give him a max deal. But if he is taking less, on the right team, I would take him."
Tim Bontemps : "Where is he going? Boston ? I don't think that he does but I can see that, that would make sense. That's a team that should go for him."
Chris Mannix :
"They would have taken him last year. I don't think Danny Ainge dislikes Dwight."Bontemps : "I think the Celtics should go after Dwight. I think he is going to end with the Bucks or the Hornets [because they have money and he has a good relationship with Steve Clifford]. [...] "
Bontemps then suggests having a "maintenance plan" for him like the Heat did with Wade playing only 55-60 games.
Both Mannix and Bontemps think Dwight has been underutilized and would play with a lot more motivation/fire if he is involved in the offense.
Mannix : "You've got to be careful with Dwight and young players because of the example he sets. That's why I think of Boston too because they are kind of at that point where their young guys are formed. Isaiah is formed, Avery Bradley is formed."
Bontemps counters by asking if Isaiah could have the same problems than Harden has with Dwight on the court. But Mannix thinks it's Isaiah's team and Dwight would be OK with that.