No denying it now ,the trade was/is too much of a risk(sorry DA)

[clover]

My main complaint with DA is not the trade itself - he felt size at the wing off the bench a greater risk than center depth. If Delonte was out right now and Shaq playing just ten minutes a game, he'd probably look like a genius. (A scenario that's somewhat likely.) And despite the teams play in games 1 & 2, I'm not convinced the team would really be playing that much better with say Perkins, Parker, and Nate instead of Kristic, Green, and Arroyo. Realistically the trade was made for the next series against Miami.

So what is my complaint with DA? It's his complete missing on several opportunities to build depth through the draft. Obviously JR Giddens over Deandre Jordan burns, but so does Pruitt and Baby over Gasol. I have had a lot of faith in DA's drafting, but in retrospect maybe that's been misplaced. The misses on these big men are what forced the Celtics to rely on MLE big men for their championship runs last year and this, which is also partly why they had a whole to fill with Green.

The Celts are often compared to the Spurs - already armed with David Robinson the Spurs lucked into Duncan, got a championship and have been competitors since. Similarly the C's armed with Pierce were in a position to get Allen and KG and win a championship. Rondo may be the piece that lets them extend that window, like Duncan in SA (not that Rondo is of the same caliber) - but the other thing SA did was get a couple late great draft picks in Manu and Parker.

(and sure I know its hindsight)

Fair points.  That's part of why I wouldn't really mind someone like McHale coming in to replace Doc next year.  The Doc and Danny combo has too much of a guard/wing emphasis IMO.  They could use some good old-fashioned low-post thinking.

[dlpin]

Doing it as two separate trades would allow the C's to send more $$ Cleveland's way.  If they really wanted a first round pick, you could send them enough cash so they could buy one, plus you needed to send them the money to pay for Quis's salary.  Doing it as separate trades essentially lets you bump the cash considerations above the $3M max.

1- Considering how many teams were looking for wing help and were rumored to be interested in Parker, the fact that he didn't go anywhere I think is pretty indicative that simply "cash" wouldn't get it done.

2- It is a mistake to evaluate a trade based on alternative trade scenarios that exist purely within our heads.

[Jon]

Let's see what happens if Shaq gets back.

[IanMello]

Celtics are up 2-0 in the first round. There's no indication that the trade didn't work.

The reality is that anti-trade people use two large assumptions as major points for why they are against the trade.

1) that this team was a championship favorite with Perkins and that the recent average-ish play is a result of missing Perkins.

2) that inexpensive and effective alternatives were available at the backup 2-3 spots.

I think in both cases those assumptions are untrue. I think that this team performed at a ridiculously high and unsustainable level early in the season with Rondo, Ray, Paul and Shaq playing extraordinarily well. The absence of Shaq and the fall back to the norm for Ray-Paul and to some extent Rondo has been the bigger reason for the less the stellar play of late. Secondly, Perkins IS not the Perkins of last year and frankly his impact RIGHT NOW is overstated.

In terms of point 2 I don't think that the Celtics could've realistically acquired a single player that Doc would've trusted enough to play ANY minutes behind Ray and Paul. With Doc showing no trust in Wafer and Sasha and with Parker NOT being moved there were no realistic options to improve that spot. Jeff Green has had two subpar games. I guarantee he'll play better in the upcoming games and his impact will be felt.

[jdpapa3]

1- Considering how many teams were looking for wing help and were rumored to be interested in Parker, the fact that he didn't go anywhere I think is pretty indicative that simply "cash" wouldn't get it done.

I have to agree with this. Cleveland held onto a 35 year old expiring guy that teams were knocking on the door for. If I were Gilbert, I'd have let him go for expirings and a 2nd rounder if no one had offered me anything. Gilbert had some sort of ego trip where he wanted to leave the teams out in the cold, thought his team needed the veteran presence, or thought he would look like a pushover if he came down from his demand of a 1st rounder. It's all speculation, but they definitely didn't make him reasonably attainable.

[SHAQATTACK]

TRUE.

[Who]

The Cavaliers kept Anthony Parker because they thought he added value to the team. They liked him in the locker room and thought he provided good steady play out there on the court. They are interested in bringing him back next season if he decides to continue to play.

They were willing to give him up if they got offered enough in return (a first round pick or solid prospect) but nobody was willing to meet that asking price. So they held onto him because they liked what he brought to the table.

[anthony83]

I thought the trade benefited us, but now I dont think the same as before.
Green and Kristic are providing little, we need a center, the O'Neals are injured.
Hopefully Shaq back and JO is not injured.