Nice to seem a well written thread stopping the 76er thread. The embiid idea in particular does not make much sense. One year of Noel's rookie deal is a factor many also have overlooked
one year of Noel's rookie deal might be one of the key factors that gets them to sell low on him by trading for a guy like Marcus smart.
LB, you offer more for Okafor than die hard Sixer fans expect to get. Chad Ford said Sixers should grab offer of just the 3 pick, indicating that alone is an overpay. I think you are too focused on his 17 point average as a reason to justify the high price. I think the market has in fact moved a bit away from him. You are trying to price him like a new car rather than one that has already been driven a year whose short comings are more evident.
Neither I or sixer fans are sure of what the price for Okafor will be. We do know that ainge built a package around the Brooklyn pick and offered it for Okafor at the deadline, but philly backed out. So I guess the question is - has the Brooklyn pick increased or decreased in value now that we know it's 3rd? On one hand, at the deadline there was still a reasonable chance the pick could end up 1st. On the other hand, at the deadline there was still a reasonable chance it could have fallen out of the top 5. So it's hard to say if Phillys interest was based on the potential to land top 2 or not.
We *know* this?
Link? One that isn't a rumor based on anonymous sources, please. For once I'd like absolute proof that that is real, since you stated it as an assertion of fact. Thanks.
its been covered a bunch. Ainge was asked if he came close to trading the Brooklyn pick at the deadline. He said that yes, he had offered a large package including the Brooklyn pick for a player he liked... That it would have had some risk for both teams. And the other team backed out. It was later reported that he was referring to Okafor. Multiple sources have since reported that it was Okafor. Nobody has denied it.
Bostons interest in Okafor is pretty out in the open at this point.
It was also reported numerous times that we inquired about every single high profile player that was thought to be any where remotely close to the trading block.
It goes without saying that Ainge would inquire about dozens of players. This is a no-brainer. It's the job of the GM. As such, it's been reported that they inquired about Horford, inquired about Kevin Love, and inquired about Jimmy Butler. We can speculate he also inquired about Paul George, DeMarcus Cousins, Dwight Howard and probably several others. That's literally what a GM is supposed to do. You make offers hoping for an upgrade. That doesn't mean any of those offers come close to being accepted.
Don't confuse this obvious aspect of being a GM with what we know. We know that Ainge was literally asked in an interview if he came close to acquiring anyone with the Brooklyn pick. Ainge confirmed that he did indeed come close to acquiring a player for a large package involving the Brooklyn pick. Ainge himself said that the other team backed out last second. That player was later reported to be Jahlil Okafor. Some fans don't want to believe it, so they are trying to associate it with guys like Jimmy Butler. Nobody has reported Boston came close to acquiring Jimmy Butler.
The Boston Celtics came "very close" to including the Brooklyn Nets pick in a blockbuster trade before the other team backed out at the "very last minute," team president of basketball operations Danny Ainge revealed Friday morning.
"One story I probably can share with you is -- I can't tell you the team or the name -- but it was very close," Ainge said in a interview with 98.5 The Sports Hub, according to Mass Live's Jay King. "It's something that we had been deliberating on for two days straight. The other team was doing that, and we were wrapping ourselves around a big package to do a deal. And at the very last minute they just said they did not want to do it. They just backed out. So it was a deal that was talked about, thought about, and that was probably the closest that we came."
Later was confirmed by the Boston Herald that he was referring to Okafor: http://www.bostonherald.com/sports/celtics/2016/02/bulpett_celtics_made_the_smart_choice_at_trade_deadline
The trade could have been massive. The 2016 unprotected first-round draft pick the Brooklyn Nets owe the Celtics -- one of the league's best assets because the Nets are one of the worst teams in the league -- was involved in the package that was discussed, according to WBZ Newsradio 1030' Adam Kaufman. Ainge said the other front office, which we now know is Philadelphia, decided to keep the player, even if the offer increased.
Nobody has denied it was Okafor. The only person (Bulpett) to even report that Boston inquired about Jimmy BUtler is the same person who confirmed Ainge was referring to Okafor. It was Okafor. And there's a reason why we continued to be linked to Philly in a potential trade for Okafor - it's widely known we almost traded for him at the deadline and Ainge himself said the talks might be revisited.
This seed was planted even before the trade deadline. Prior to the 2015 draft it was reported that Ainge was prepared to make a godfather offer for Okafor if he fell to #3: http://nesn.com/2015/06/report-celtics-could-make-godfather-offer-to-get-jahlil-okafor-at-no-3/
He's been our target. Ainge wouldn't let a single underwhelming season in Philly dissuade him from getting his target. This is the same guy who traded the #7 pick in 2006 for Sebastian Telfair, because he believed in Telfair's potential more than what was available at #7.
Lets break this down.
First, right before the draft its reported Boston will make a big offer for Okafor. At this time i dont think the Brooklyn pick had half the value it has today, and Id say Smarts value was probably a bit higher, but not that much (I think the playoffs really helped Smart recoup a lot of his lost value over the course of what was a dissapointing season. When a 21 year old kid takes over an absolute must win playoff game on both sides of the ball it helps your value a lot).
At this point in time its also worth noting that Okafors value was higher.
When drafted, there were concerns about how hed fit in the NBA along with his defense, rebounding, and ability to really do anything other than score in the post. Since then he has alleviated exactly 0 concerns, revealed himself as a potential character problem, and actually didnt even help the offense of the worst team in the league, then hurt his knee. He still has potential etc etc, but you simply cannot argue with a straight face his value has not dropped since then.
SOrry for the non sequitor, I hope I didnt lose anyone. Point is, Philly was reportedly looking to trade out, we were willing to make a big offer. It was reported Orlando and New York were also looking to move their picks, but none of them did. In fact, after the draft we heard about Ainges attempts to move up to 4 and then famously 9, but there were no reports of actually trying to get to 3. If I recall correctly Ainge even said they tried to get every pick from 4 to 10 when Winslow was selected.
That is all largely irrelavant.
Now, there is one piece of evidence that we actually know, that points away from Okafor.
At the day of the draft Philly supposedly was looking to move Okafor. Just the other day it was reported that Philly was going to move Okafor, but then at the deadline, the other team in this mystery deal backed out saying they wanted to keep their guy regardless of price. This sounds a lot more like Jimmy Butler or Blake Griffin or Kevin Love, than it does Jahlil Okafor.
These 3 players also fall much more in line with the significant risk for both sides line as well.
So basically, the Herald reported it, Ainge didnt deny it, but Ainge doesnt deny many things, and he has in the past denied a lot of things that have ended up being more or less true, often he denied we were shopping rondo, so I wouldnt use his denials as much of a factor.
In conclusion, we definitely made offers for a ton of high profile guys, Ainge said we came close to getting one guy, the Herald reported it, it made sense, everyone ran with it.
This doesnt make it true. Only likely.
Stop using the word "know" because you dont know, simple as that.