Harden adds Cs to preferred trade destination list

[gouki88]

Celtics should relish the fact that Harden has the Cs on his list. This guy is a tremendous player. If he wants to be a Celtic, you probably have to make it happen.

Honestly, I think I'm coming around to this point of view given the fact that no other teams have appeared to offer their young guys (Simmons, Adebayo, etc.). If it was at all possible to get Harden without giving up Brown you do it 100%. Trade Kemba to a third team, then assets from the third team goes to Houston alongside some young players and picks from us to Houston. That would be ideal.

I'd even give up Kemba and Brown if we could turn that into a big man upgrade + Harden. Something along the lines of this kind of megadeal: https://tradenba.com/trades/OUujxryzx

Boston receives: James Harden, Julius Randle

Houston receives: Jaylen Brown, Robert Williams, Romeo Langford, NYK 2021 1st, Boston 2021 1st, Boston 2023 1st

New York receives: Kemba Walker

Our rotation would then be:

James Harden / Jeff Teague
Marcus Smart / Payton Pritchard
Jayson Tatum / Semi Ojeleye / Aaron Nesmith
Julius Randle / Grant Williams
Tristan Thompson / Daniel Theis

Deep bench of Edwards, Waters and Green. Could still try and use the TPE for someone too.

[Rikibellevie]

Posted by: Ogaju
At some point Cs will have to decide whether they want to win NBA championships or groom gentlemen that all their fans approve.
 

Harden has an incredible talent and ego to make such a performance in his situation with almost 10 kilos too much. But I don't get why you affirm that he will or even can be the leader of an NBA champion... He never crossed the conference finals and get there just 2 times... And you complain every time about our team that went 3 times in the last 4 years at the same stage! Showing the limits of a duo of stars of 22 and 24 who are jsut soft gentlmens...  If your objectiv is to win an NBA MVP in Boston then yes I get your position, but you have 0 argument to say he will bring more (more production OK but not more sucess) or less problems than Kirie 3 years ago... There is still one ball only. As I say many times, we tryed the diva win now with Kirie and approaching Davis. We lost a little bit our face then and also a 7 picks which would have turned in Sexton or Gilgeous Alexander.
Houston did everything to put him in the best solution, building evtgh around him and they were never real contenders (just on the paper). It is not winning basketball and not the ID of our team at all.

Can't wait our big 2 progression which is still way over what we could hope 2/3 years ago and eventually lead us soon in an NBA final. And then see your reaction.

If the price is Kemba or Smart + a bunch of end 1st round picks then of course let's go, but it won't be that price. So stop to pseak each days after each regular season perf of Harden about him beeing the key to our success.

[LilRip]

Step back and think about the question at hand:

Is a talented wing who’s 24 and played out his rookie contract without an all-star appearance worth trading with a number of our first-round picks for an MVP, first-ballot HOFer who is 31 and coming off three straight scoring titles? BTW, Harden had more assists last year than all but six players, too (second most among non-PGs, behind only Doncic if you consider LeBron a PG). I know a lot of us live on the east coast, so really only get to watch the Rockets twice per year against us, but Harden is perhaps the best offensive player of his generation. And he’s still only 31 and hungry for a title so he does not join Malone, Stockton, Miller and Ewing.

Now if the Rockets insist on including Smart, that’s a different question because we need a backcourt where the best defender is always handled by Smart so Harden can focus his energies winning his fourth straight scoring title, and hopefully averaging a double-double as a PG again.

Frankly, everyone but Tatum and Smart should be on the table. Let us know, Houston. We’re ready for Harden.

Thanks for putting this into words. TP to you. I’m of the same perspective

We love JB because 1) he has terrific potential and (perhaps more importantly) 2) he’s someone you want to root for. I personally love it that the C’s are represented by such an outstanding role model.

But if we’re talking purely basketball, Harden is an MVP-level talent. This reminds me of Big Al for just-past-prime KG. Granted the talent disparity is much closer between Brown and Harden but many of us (me, at least) thought Big Al was on his way to becoming something special.

The deal I’d do is: Kemba + Brown for Harden and role players (from Rockets and a 3rd team) like PJ Tucker or Robert Covington.

Harden
Smart
Tucker
Tatum
Thompson

Bench: Teague, Theis, and a role player or TPE wing player. Then whatever combination of Semi/Pritchard/Nesmith/Williams that CBS is feeling that night.

[Somebody]

If Brown's last two games are his new normal (obviously with some regression to the mean, but say he averages 28-30 points per 75 on +3-4% rTS with All-League defence and moderate playmaking for a wing) I would trade Tatum before even thinking of moving him - that's an All-NBAish wing on a bargain contract.

[gouki88]

If Brown's last two games are his new normal (obviously with some regression to the mean, but say he averages 28-30 points per 75 on +3-4% rTS with All-League defence and moderate playmaking for a wing) I would trade Tatum before even thinking of moving him - that's an All-NBAish wing on a bargain contract.

He also could potentially fit better alongside Harden. He’s the better man defender, has (to me at least) shown better off-ball capability - at least getting open in the corner. I also think SF has always been Brown’s natural position. It might not be a crazy idea...

Wonder what Ainge thinks

[Jvalin]

If Brown's last two games are his new normal (obviously with some regression to the mean, but say he averages 28-30 points per 75 on +3-4% rTS with All-League defence and moderate playmaking for a wing) I would trade Tatum before even thinking of moving him - that's an All-NBAish wing on a bargain contract.

He also could potentially fit better alongside Harden. He’s the better man defender, has (to me at least) shown better off-ball capability - at least getting open in the corner. I also think SF has always been Brown’s natural position. It might not be a crazy idea...

Wonder what Ainge thinks

No matter what Ainge thinks, I believe we cannot trade Tatum for 1 year.
 
''If a player signs a Designated Veteran Player Extension or a Designated Veteran Player Contract, he cannot be traded for 1 year from the date the contract is signed''.

Not sure why he's trade eligible on the ESPN trade machine. I guess they haven't updated their database yet.

[RodyTur10]

With that poison pill it's almost impossible to meet the salary criteria for matching salaries I think. (haven't tried it yet)

Personally I like Brown more than Tatum, despite Tatum being the better player.

[Birdman]

Tatum, to me, is untouchable..except for Giannis or Davis, and that’s it

[Csfan1984]

C's aren't on Harden's list without Tatum and Brown on the roster.

[Phantom255x]

Celtics should relish the fact that Harden has the Cs on his list. This guy is a tremendous player. If he wants to be a Celtic, you probably have to make it happen.

He added the C's and Blazers after initially listing like 6-7 other teams including 4 other East Contenders.

Boy he really wants to come here or go to Portland!

I don't want him.

[Birdman]

Thinking a lot of teams does not want him on their team or he been traded by now

[tazzmaniac]

If Brown's last two games are his new normal (obviously with some regression to the mean, but say he averages 28-30 points per 75 on +3-4% rTS with All-League defence and moderate playmaking for a wing) I would trade Tatum before even thinking of moving him - that's an All-NBAish wing on a bargain contract.

He also could potentially fit better alongside Harden. He’s the better man defender, has (to me at least) shown better off-ball capability - at least getting open in the corner. I also think SF has always been Brown’s natural position. It might not be a crazy idea...

Wonder what Ainge thinks

No matter what Ainge thinks, I believe we cannot trade Tatum for 1 year.
 
''If a player signs a Designated Veteran Player Extension or a Designated Veteran Player Contract, he cannot be traded for 1 year from the date the contract is signed''.

Not sure why he's trade eligible on the ESPN trade machine. I guess they haven't updated their database yet.

The 1 year trade restriction applies to Designated Veterans not Designated Rookies.  Tatum signed a Designated Rookie extension so he is eligible to be traded.  Designated Veteran is for star players who have played 7 or 8 seasons with the team that drafted them.  Giannis signed a Designated Veteran extension so he can't be traded for 1 year. 

[SparzWizard]

Posted by: Ogaju
At some point Cs will have to decide whether they want to win NBA championships or groom gentlemen that all their fans approve.
 

Harden has an incredible talent and ego to make such a performance in his situation with almost 10 kilos too much. But I don't get why you affirm that he will or even can be the leader of an NBA champion... He never crossed the conference finals and get there just 2 times... And you complain every time about our team that went 3 times in the last 4 years at the same stage! Showing the limits of a duo of stars of 22 and 24 who are jsut soft gentlmens...  If your objectiv is to win an NBA MVP in Boston then yes I get your position, but you have 0 argument to say he will bring more (more production OK but not more sucess) or less problems than Kirie 3 years ago... There is still one ball only. As I say many times, we tryed the diva win now with Kirie and approaching Davis. We lost a little bit our face then and also a 7 picks which would have turned in Sexton or Gilgeous Alexander.
Houston did everything to put him in the best solution, building evtgh around him and they were never real contenders (just on the paper). It is not winning basketball and not the ID of our team at all.

Can't wait our big 2 progression which is still way over what we could hope 2/3 years ago and eventually lead us soon in an NBA final. And then see your reaction.

If the price is Kemba or Smart + a bunch of end 1st round picks then of course let's go, but it won't be that price. So stop to pseak each days after each regular season perf of Harden about him beeing the key to our success.

Harden went to the NBA Finals in 2011-2012 season with OKC, with Durant and Westbrook

[nickagneta]

Posted by: Ogaju
At some point Cs will have to decide whether they want to win NBA championships or groom gentlemen that all their fans approve.
 

Harden has an incredible talent and ego to make such a performance in his situation with almost 10 kilos too much. But I don't get why you affirm that he will or even can be the leader of an NBA champion... He never crossed the conference finals and get there just 2 times... And you complain every time about our team that went 3 times in the last 4 years at the same stage! Showing the limits of a duo of stars of 22 and 24 who are jsut soft gentlmens...  If your objectiv is to win an NBA MVP in Boston then yes I get your position, but you have 0 argument to say he will bring more (more production OK but not more sucess) or less problems than Kirie 3 years ago... There is still one ball only. As I say many times, we tryed the diva win now with Kirie and approaching Davis. We lost a little bit our face then and also a 7 picks which would have turned in Sexton or Gilgeous Alexander.
Houston did everything to put him in the best solution, building evtgh around him and they were never real contenders (just on the paper). It is not winning basketball and not the ID of our team at all.

Can't wait our big 2 progression which is still way over what we could hope 2/3 years ago and eventually lead us soon in an NBA final. And then see your reaction.

If the price is Kemba or Smart + a bunch of end 1st round picks then of course let's go, but it won't be that price. So stop to pseak each days after each regular season perf of Harden about him beeing the key to our success.

Harden went to the NBA Finals in 2011-2012 season with OKC, with Durant and Westbrook

A Finals where he completely no showed. He was a just terrible in those Finals shooting 37.5% from the field and 31.8% from three while averaging 4 points below his season PPG and had just 3.6 assists to his 2.4 turnovers per game. The numbers are bad but don't tell the whole story of just how terrible Harden was in that series.

[Phantom255x]

Thinking a lot of teams does not want him on their team or he been traded by now

Yeah it has more to do with teams not wanting to make a lateral move (ex. Simmons for Harden, Irving for Harden,  or Brown for Harden, etc.). It's not because those guys are at Harden's level, but in terms of team construction and the rosters, teams probably don't think they can win a championship with Harden if they also have to give up another big key piece to acquire him.

I still think a Simmons-Harden swap makes sense for PHI-HOU, so yeah I'm a bit surprised it hasn't been done. But keep in mind, Morey left Houston and is now with Philly and idk, could there be some animosity there between Morey-Harden that developed in recent years with Houston?