Facts:
He is not a top 10 player.
He is barely a top 10 PG in a league rich with them.
Our incoming franchise player plays his position.
Those are stark facts that lead to an obvious conclusion.
He just combined scoring + effiency in a way that only six players in the history of the NBA have. All are current of future HOFers. The only guard to ever score as many points with as high a TS% is Steph Curry.
So what? The regular season really doesn't matter. In the playoffs against better teams, IT's offense becomes less effective and his defense becomes more of a liability. The question is can we build a true contender with IT and Horford using nearly 60% of cap. I don't think just adding Hayward, George or Butler would get us there. I think we'd need to add one of them and Cousins (with all the risks involved) to get us there. If Ainge can't see a path for us to be a contender with IT, he needs to trade IT or just let him walk after next season.
It's not just that. IT gives us 29 points and 6 assists per game. In order for him to score 29 points he has to take 19.5 shots per game. If we sign a second star via the free agency, it's only logical to assume that IT would take less shots (let's say 16-17 shots). If we had a legit big 3 he would take even less than that (let's say 13-14). Would you play him 34-35 minutes per game in order for him to take 13 shots and give us a few assists? Because that's pretty much everything he does. He is a score-first point guard, his defense is abysmal and he can't rebound the ball.
In other words, IT has to be the go-to guy otherwise he won't be a net positive any more. Problem is, with IT as our go-to guy we ll never win a championship. It's a vicious cycle. You can't win with him leading the way, you can't win with him as a 2nd-3rd option either. That's the number one reason I want him traded.
Its entirely possible that Isaiah could continue to take a high volume of shots even with additionally stars surrounding him.
Steph took 20 shots a game last year and added the best offensive player in the world. This year Steph took 18 shots a game.
I think you make a good point but its not as black and white as you present it.
Isaiah maxed out his value this year in my opinion. However, Isaiah added MVP-type value to this team. He can be less valuable than he was this year and still be a top 3 piece on a contender.
He can be your 3rd best player in a big 3 and still be the best or second best scorer and thus get his touches and shots.