Clippers would consider trading the #1 Pick?

[fantankerous]

The idea that the Celtics can pry the #1 from the Clippers is delusional. The Clippers asked Memphis to absorb Baron's contract in order to move up 1 spot! There is no way that the Clippers take a package centered around Rondo. Griffin is a better prospect on a reasonable contract for several years. The Clippers would lose most of the financial savings of moving Baron after one season since they would be forced to sign Rondo to a long-term contract.

It's not only about financial savings with Davis. They just don't want him there. If Davis and the Clippers had a good relationship, they wouldn't be worried about his contract.

They don't dislike Baron enough to dump the #1 for a lesser prospect who is a year away from a big, long-term contract of his own.

A year from now do the Clippers want Griffin and Baron, with his large contract, or do they want Rondo and his large contract? The Clippers would have to believe that Baron is a bigger cancer than Ron Artest with rabies to sacrifice that much value.

[BudweiserCeltic]

Well from where I'm sitting, the Clippers are quite soured with Davis. And you may also be forgetting that the first pick comes with a $4million+ price tag per year. Then next year is the famous 2010 free-agency, and the Clippers simply aren't at the moment in a good position to be a major player in it if they wished to be.

All of these are motivations for them. At the moment they're at about $43 million next year, without considering Gordon, Thornton, Collins, and any other free-agent they might aquire.

So, they might be giving up an opportunity with the first pick, but they also gain a chance to pair up Rondo with a proven player next year and have the means to do so.

So no, it's not delusional. There is plenty of reasonable motivations for both teams to work out a trade.

[fantankerous]

Well from where I'm sitting, the Clippers are quite soured with Davis. And you may also be forgetting that the first pick comes with a $4million+ price tag per year. Then next year is the famous 2010 free-agency, and the Clippers simply aren't at the moment in a good position to be a major player in it if they wished to be.

All of these are motivations for them. At the moment they're at about $43 million next year, without considering Gordon, Thornton, Collins, and any other free-agent they might aquire.

So, they might be giving up an opportunity with the first pick, but they also gain a chance to pair up Rondo with a proven player next year and have the means to do so.

So no, it's not delusional. There is plenty of reasonable motivations for both teams to work out a trade.

The Clippers would have to be blithely ignorant of reality to believe that narrative. Neither Lebron nor Wade are putting on a Clippers' uniform. Especially considering the tremendous competition for FAs that summer it's a crap shoot at best for the Clippers to land someone like Bosh. Not even the Clips are desperate enough to sacrifice a franchise player prospect just to dump Baron Davis' contract. 

[timepiece33]

I could see a Ray Allen, Rajon Rondo, and JR Giddens for Baron Davis, Marcus Camby, and the #1 pick. 

That said, I'd prefer to keep this team together and add complements.  I believe that the Garnett, Pierce, and Allen composition is a major plus.