The Long Game: Trade Brown for First Overall Pick & Sign Beal in 2022

[GreenlyGreeny]

By all accounts, Cade Cunningham is almost surely going to be a solid NBA starter, if not a transcendental guard like Doncic or, if he really grows, Magic.

It is excruciatingly difficult to build a Big 3 of superstars in the current era. Like it or not, the Nets have done it. It seems unlikely we can overcome them this year or even next year. Not without building a Big 3. So what do we do?

Build a Big 3 with one move and patience: Jaylen Brown for the first overall pick, which is to be used on Cunningham.

Folks say, “oh, well, Tatum will be unhappy and demand a trade so what then?” Well, what if Tatum is told of the plan beforehand: Get Cunningham now and once his lifelong buddy Bradley Beal hits free agency in 2022, that’s our new Big 3. Why would Tatum have an issue with having 2021-2022 all to himself in terms of scoring, showing Cunningham the ropes, helping our youth grow, knowing that in no time his best basketball buddy is joining a Big 3 with him and Cade?

Move Walker and Smart this off-season as well for picks and bad contracts for 2021-2023, and think about the roster we could have in 2022-2023:

Cunningham/Pritchard/Madar
Beal/Langford
Tatum/Nesmith
Free Agent PF or Theis/G. Williams
R. Williams
 
Our own 2021 1st and 2022 1st in addition to Cunningham, too, so hopefully another solid forward and solid center prospect.

In two years, the Nets’ Big 3 will be approaching their mid 30s (with Kyrie over 30) and our Big 3 is ready to stop that dynasty and build our own dynasty to rule the 2020s just like how the Bulls ruled the 1990s after stopping the two-time championship Pistons.

It is hard being patient, but I firmly believe of all the paths we can take, this is the best one to take...

[nickagneta]

Posted this elsewhere but it bares repeating here:

If Cade Cunningham is supposed to be as good as he is, what GM is going to trade that #1 pick away and not take him?

Sure, it's great and easy to say Danny has to trade Brown or Tatum to get Cunningham and be angry if it doesn't happen, but if any of us, non-basketball professionals can see Cade's greatness, don't you think a real life NBA GM could see it too and know enough to not trade away the opportunity to add a "transcendent" talent?

In 2003 if someone went to the Cleveland GM and said, I'll trade you one of these All-Stars; Stephon Marbury or Chris Webber or Peja Stojakovic or Shawn Marion and 4 low first round picks, do you think that GM would have made the trade? This is the same thing.

Danny would be sacrificing years of title contention to make the Brown for #1 pick swap but the GM of that pick would get fired about 2 seconds after making that trade with Boston.

In other words, I don't see either team making that trade, so there is zero chance of it happening.

[seancally]

Only teams that would consider that are ones who end up with the No. 1 unexpectedly because of injuries, like Golden State. Would be unlikely but if they say, alright, we got a few more years of peak Steph/Klay/Dray, Wiseman is good, maybe JB is that next piece to keep them in contention while still pivoting forward. Frankly if I was GS and got the No. 1 pick I’d be shopping it. Now... is JB the best piece on offer? I think he fits there but another team might be able you outbid. Who knows. That’s about the only scenario I can think of that MIGHT work.

[nickagneta]

Only teams that would consider that are ones who end up with the No. 1 unexpectedly because of injuries, like Golden State. Would be unlikely but if they say, alright, we got a few more years of peak Steph/Klay/Dray, Wiseman is good, maybe JB is that next piece to keep them in contention while still pivoting forward. Frankly if I was GS and got the No. 1 pick I’d be shopping it. Now... is JB the best piece on offer? I think he fits there but another team might be able you outbid. Who knows. That’s about the only scenario I can think of that MIGHT work.

Golden State's Minny pick is top three protected, so GSW getting the #1 pick would rely on them missing the playoffs and landing the top pick in the lottery from the 11-14 spot or so.

In other words, chances are near zero for the Warriors to get that pick. And even then, they might not do it.

[Ogaju]

Celtics will be lucky to keep Brown at the end of his contract because he has now experienced what it is like to play with real NBA players. If Ainge wants to keep Brown and Tatum he better get some real ballers on the team.

[NKY fan]

Celtics will be lucky to keep Brown at the end of his contract because he has now experienced what it is like to play with real NBA players. If Ainge wants to keep Brown and Tatum he better get some real ballers on the team.

You want ballers on the team you have to overpay for them via trading the untouchables or sending multiple unprotected picks.
You can't overpay because you mortgage the future.
You can't mortgage the future because it's the right thing to do.
Danny always should do what's the right thing to do lol.

[Roy H.]

How are we to guarantee Beal signs here?

And do we want to pay him $45 million for his age 30 to 34 seasons?

[Ogaju]

Celtics will be lucky to keep Brown at the end of his contract because he has now experienced what it is like to play with real NBA players. If Ainge wants to keep Brown and Tatum he better get some real ballers on the team.

You want ballers on the team you have to overpay for them via trading the untouchables or sending multiple unprotected picks.
You can't overpay because you mortgage the future.
You can't mortgage the future because it's the right thing to do.
Danny always should do what's the right thing to do lol.

Is what he is doing now working for you?

[NKY fan]

Celtics will be lucky to keep Brown at the end of his contract because he has now experienced what it is like to play with real NBA players. If Ainge wants to keep Brown and Tatum he better get some real ballers on the team.

You want ballers on the team you have to overpay for them via trading the untouchables or sending multiple unprotected picks.
You can't overpay because you mortgage the future.
You can't mortgage the future because it's the right thing to do.
Danny always should do what's the right thing to do lol.

Is what he is doing now working for you?

I can be talked into a lot of different positives of what he is doing. However his views on drafting and building a roster have been baffling to me more often than not. So i would say the current state of the team is not satisfactory in my view and further the current state of the team was perfectly predictable given the staggering amount of draft picks he was "forced" to make.

[NKY fan]

How are we to guarantee Beal signs here?

And do we want to pay him $45 million for his age 30 to 34 seasons?

There is no guarantees in the NBA. Also sometimes you have to overpay - see Michael Jordan and Rozier and Hayward

[Vermont Green]

Highly touted first round picks crash and burn all the time.  See Markelle Fultz.  Brown is a proven all star level player who is a solid citizen.  My opinion is that it is a really bad idea to trade Brown for a draft pick.  It makes no sense to me at all.

And I don't think trading Brown allows for signing Beal.  Not sure there is a scenario where we free up enough cap space for that.

[NKY fan]

Highly touted first round picks crash and burn all the time.  See Markelle Fultz.  Brown is a proven all star level player who is a solid citizen.  My opinion is that it is a really bad idea to trade Brown for a draft pick.  It makes no sense to me at all.

And I don't think trading Brown allows for signing Beal.  Not sure there is a scenario where we free up enough cap space for that.

we can free up space if we salary dump Kemba.

[gouki88]

How many of these kinds of ideas are you going to throw out?

Cunningham is a strong prospect. Brown is already an All-Star. That’s a loss in the short term and if Cunningham is a bust it’s a loss long-term. He’s also not a point guard. This myth is ridiculous! He’s not even a college point guard

[rocknrollforyoursoul]

Hasn't Danny already been playing the long game since 2013?

[NKY fan]

Hasn't Danny already been playing the long game since 2013?

the long game is long.. you know