Kawhi AND Paul George to...Clippers:WOJ(merged threads)

[jpotter33]

Awesome. They’ll be a great pairing together in LAC, abd a fun team to root for against LAL. That’s a hell of a haul to pay for George, though.

[footey]

For all I'm concerned

the West can beat each other up to pulps

Lakers, Clippers, Warriors..... have fun

Celtics have a nice opportunity to get past the Bucks and 76ers

I agree. While you have to put the Bucks and 76ers ahead of us, I don't think the disparity is  insurmountable. I think our new team will execute Brad Steven's game plan much better. I actually think the loss of Horford could open more play-making opportunities for Hayward.  Al will be missed, but unexpectedly good things can come out of it. More opportunities for Robert Williams, which can give us a better inside presence on the defensive end. I look forward to watching how we put this together.  The NBA is wide open.

[cman88]

For all I'm concerned

the West can beat each other up to pulps

Lakers, Clippers, Warriors..... have fun

Celtics have a nice opportunity to get past the Bucks and 76ers

I agree. While you have to put the Bucks and 76ers ahead of us, I don't think the disparity is  insurmountable. I think our new team will execute Brad Steven's game plan much better. I actually think the loss of Horford could open more play-making opportunities for Hayward.  Al will be missed, but unexpectedly good things can come out of it. More opportunities for Robert Williams, which can give us a better inside presence on the defensive end. I look forward to watching how we put this together.  The NBA is wide open.

I think Hayward will play alot of point forward for the celtics next year. with Kemba playing off the ball. SOmeone will have to take over al's passing

[footey]

Wild. Woj said Toronto was given a chance to trade for PG13 as well, maybe even including Westbrook. Toronto refuses to give up Siakim.

If Kawhi was willing to give them a 3 year commitment why wouldn't they do that? Too many picks for Massai?

He didn’t get into it, other than that Siakim was a sticking point.

I don't think Leonard was guaranteed to return if they did that, is what I read.

[BudweiserCeltic]

Wild. Woj said Toronto was given a chance to trade for PG13 as well, maybe even including Westbrook. Toronto refuses to give up Siakim.

If Kawhi was willing to give them a 3 year commitment why wouldn't they do that? Too many picks for Massai?

He didn’t get into it, other than that Siakim was a sticking point.

I don't think Leonard was guaranteed to return if they did that, is what I read.

If the trade was materialized Leonard would've stayed (if the premise is true), it was no coincidence that the George trade with the Clippers coincided with Leonard's decision.

[footey]

Don't know if it was mentioned here. According to Woj, Kawhi first asked KD to join him on the Clips, but KD, who was flattered, declined, already committed to Benedict Arnold er, I mean, Kyrie Irving.

I'm amazed how this complicated transaction involving the PG trade as a condition to Kawhi signing with Raptors was kept under wraps.  All of the reporters speculated the Lakers or the Raptors. I mean, how on earth did they manage to keep this quiet? 

[alt]

The sad thing is that we could have had George and kawhi teaming here plus possibly Kyrie and Horford or even butler ... their prices were that low the last 2/3 summers...
but Danny was in love with Hayward and the Js ... such a waste of assets by the man that always make the “right” move

where did you read that either of those players had the slightest interest in playing for boston?

Indiana and San Antonio were both shopping those players after trade requests. They were traded for relatively cheap prices. Players don't need to agree to trades.

The philosophy of only trading for high-level players when they commit to signing an extension will greatly limit the ability to sign any superstars whatsoever with the current CBA in place. Especially considering that, as Irving case showed, those commitments aren't worth anything.

The sad truth is that Boston is badly geographically handicapped and that is a major obstacle with many free agents. There is no way this Celtics team is in contention the next few years unless somehow another major star is added.[/b]The Bucks will still be brutally good and Philly has improved with the addition of Horford. The Nets add Durant next year which only makes the East that much tougher.

I don't think that's true at all.

Boston has signed three max free-agents in the last 4 years. Horford, Hayward and Kemba Walker.

In fact, whenever they had cap space available, Boston never failed to draft a top free-agent.

[CelticsElite]

[CelticsElite]

The sad thing is that we could have had George and kawhi teaming here plus possibly Kyrie and Horford or even butler ... their prices were that low the last 2/3 summers...
but Danny was in love with Hayward and the Js ... such a waste of assets by the man that always make the “right” move

How? George told the NBA teams "don't trade for me. I'm going to LA.."
Kahwi said the same thing. Fast forward to now and you have 2 teams who did the gamble trade and it didn't pay off

[alt]

The sad thing is that we could have had George and kawhi teaming here plus possibly Kyrie and Horford or even butler ... their prices were that low the last 2/3 summers...
but Danny was in love with Hayward and the Js ... such a waste of assets by the man that always make the “right” move

How? George told the NBA teams "don't trade for me. I'm going to LA.."
Kahwi said the same thing. Fast forward to now and you have 2 teams who did the gamble trade and it didn't pay off

What teams would those be?

Because Toronto are the current NBA champions (can't have a better pay off for a trade) and OKC just traded Paul George for a huge haul - a record number of draft picks, a good young prospect and a solid veteran on an expiring.

[SparzWizard]

YESSS!! THANK GOD!

What amazing news to wake up to! 

SCREW THE LAKERS. And the East is wide open as well!

Won't be a cakewalk for us but it's become more unpredictable out East...gotta take into consideration Embiid's health...MIL's lost Brogdon...Indy's got tougher...

As Fafnir alluded to - Danny Ainge didn't mortgage our future for a rental. This is perhaps the best thing to come out of this all.

The Sixers also lost some pieces in the trade for Butler, plus Butler himself, and Redick.  And then added an aging Al Horford.  The team that just lost to the Raptors in the 2nd round is definitely weaker.

Milwaukee loses Brogdon but adds another twin big man. They’re a tad weaker than before.

Toronto is going to be a shell of their former selves.

Indiana definitely improved with Brogdon and no major losses.

The Celts are similiar to the Sixers. Lost two key starters, replaced only one with a comparable replacement. If we had been able to access the MLE I would have been pleased. But we’ve still got a lot of assets for a trade. One move and we could be the beasts of the East.

I smell Serge Ibaka, right? 

[SparzWizard]

Wild. Woj said Toronto was given a chance to trade for PG13 as well, maybe even including Westbrook. Toronto refuses to give up Siakim.

Of course you HAVE to offer Siakam for proven talent like Paul George.

[Pvictor11]

The sad thing is that we could have had George and kawhi teaming here plus possibly Kyrie and Horford or even butler ... their prices were that low the last 2/3 summers...
but Danny was in love with Hayward and the Js ... such a waste of assets by the man that always make the “right” move

How? George told the NBA teams "don't trade for me. I'm going to LA.."
Kahwi said the same thing. Fast forward to now and you have 2 teams who did the gamble trade and it didn't pay off

I think it did pay off, but in different ways. Toronto got their 1st championship ever and the Thunder got a giant haul

[SparzWizard]

West just got bigger balls than Uri or Ainge .  Fact .

Yeah, sometimes you need to be willing to “overpay” to get something you really want.  Success if measured in titles, not in “winning” trades.

I'm sitting here wondering if the Celtics really wanted Al Horford because they could have overpaid him too like the 76ers. That would have seen some success short-term, but long-term, unpredictable.

[SparzWizard]

Hats off the the Clips for blocking the craziness in Lakerville

https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/27131637/sources-fear-lakers-dynasty-drove-clips-deal

As fears mounted that the Los Angeles Lakers had pushed to the cusp of creating an unprecedented Big Three, the LA Clippers made a blockbuster trade for Oklahoma City's Paul George -- and cleared the path for free agent Kawhi Leonard to sign a four-year, $141 million contract with the Clippers, league sources told ESPN.

The Clippers became the last line of defense for the balance of power in the NBA -- never mind the franchise's own future. The Clippers had come to believe that, without a deal for George, Leonard was prepared to sign with the Lakers and create a Staples Center partnership of LeBron James, Anthony Davis and Leonard, sources said.

Good on Jerry West, Lawrence Frank AND Steve Ballmer for blocking the Lakers.

Clippers and Pelicans are easily going to be cheered for in the West. That is, to obscure the LA Lakers.

Plus I don't really like the Jazz, James Harden, the Warriors, and any of those guys so why not.