Celtics get: Kyle Anderson, DeJounte Murray, Spurs 2021 first round pick, Spurs 2020 second round pick
Spurs get: Isaiah Thomas
Why the Celtics do it
- We would only do this if we determined that we were building for the future. Realistically, even adding Gordon Hayward AND Paul George this summer would not make us much more than cannon fodder for the Warriors. It may make sense to recalibrate around our young players while eyeing a move for Anthony Davis in 2020. If we want to do that, we can't pay IT a max contract.
- Given the legendary season he just had it will be very difficult emotionally to move IT on, even if the numbers make sense. Almost the only way you could justify it would be to move him to a team that 1) fits his play style; and 2) would be a legit title contender with him. In my opinion, there is only one such team in the NBA: the San Antonio Spurs.
- We get free looks at two decent young rotation players, and the spare draft picks give us loose assets that we will need when we push all in for a title in 2020 and beyond. Having the Nets picks every year has spoiled us a bit, but normally it's pretty useful to have some random first rounders lying around if only to be liquid assets for a trade. This is admittedly not a great return for IT4, but it may not be too far off the best we can get given that he is on an expiring deal and most agree that his next contract will be a bad one. The alternative may be letting him walk for nothing.
Why the Spurs do it
- It's a point-guard driven league, and if they miss out on Chris Paul and Kyle Lowry, the Spurs need a long-term replacement for Parker who can take them to the next level. Murray has shown flashes, but this team needs to be good now while Kawhi is in his prime and Popovich is setting his sights on one last dynasty before riding off to the sunset.
- The Spurs are basically the perfect spot for IT4. They already have over a decade's-worth of organizational experience covering for a small PG who plays very little defense. IT would have a backcourt-mate who could take the more challenging guard assignment (Green), an all-galaxy defender who can clean up any of his mistakes (Kawhi), and probably some simulacrum of rim protection from whatever European center/undrafted rookie I've never heard of that they'll turn into a rotation player next. In return, IT would give them one of the top creators in the entire NBA, giving them a viable offensive gameplan beyond "Go Kawhi Go!"
- Because IT's contract is so small this year, the Spurs would still be able to use the remainder of their cap space, which would be somewhere in the neighborhood of 25m if Gasol declines his option. Even if, say, Gordon Hayward or Blake Griffin is a pipe dream, they could easily add someone like Paul Milsap or Serge Ibaka. An IT-Green-Kawhi-Milsap-Aldridge lineup would be a legit challenger to the Warriors.
Topic: Crazy idea: IT4 to SAS (Read 2590 times)