Woj Bomb: Kemba, 1st Rounder, & '25 2nd Rounder to OKC for Horford, Brown, 2nd

[tazzmaniac]

Soon after reports that Boston starting point guard Kemba Walker and the Celtics were “likely to move forward” from their relationship this coming offseason, pushback began to bubble up from sources who would know the mind of the former UConn star.

One of them was his cousin Kedow Walker in fact, who tweeted his derision of the story published by Bleacher Report’s Farbod Esnaashari. He tweeted “[dang]nnn who in the camp nomore than me?? Man … these ppl really be bogus as hell” Wednesday afternoon, seemingly in response to the Bleacher Report story suggesting his brother Kemba and Boston mutually wanted a fresh start.


He would later tweet “the ppl can do or believe what they want. We gone stay solid like we ALWAYS been!!”]

Hmmm

Kemba may have been open to being traded but I doubt OKC would have been one of his acceptable destinations.  No doubt OKC will be looking to flip him for another 1st as soon as they can. 

[jambr380]

Has anyone done a podcast yet After the new trade? I was hoping Bill Simmons or Zack low would do an emergency podcast but so far nothing.

Any suggestions?

Not sure how you feel about the CLNS Team (and I haven't watched it yet), but there is this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1fQ2DqyeAX0

Forsberg and Scal also had a 20-25 minute segment that you can find on YT, too.

[nickagneta]

So after this trade, does the trade make you(Collective You, not any one particular You) rethink your opinion on Stevens, such that you thought that he hated big men and only wanted small centers?

First trade sends out a very small PG and brings back an average sized starting caliber center and a very tall(7'2") and long, athletic center.

I gotta think just that comment alone is making a lot of the game thread posters very, very happy.

[tazzmaniac]

The hyping of Brown is typical but silly.  No GM would give up the #16 pick for Brown.  Maybe you could get a late 1st for him but I doubt it.  Putting up decent numbers on a bad team doesn't mean much.  Putting up really good numbers in the last game of the season against 2nd and 3rd stringers doesn't mean anything.  Presti has seen Brown for 2 years.  If he thought Brown had significant upside, he wouldn't have traded Brown. 

[Tr1boy]

The hyping of Brown is typical but silly.  No GM would give up the #16 pick for Brown.  Maybe you could get a late 1st for him but I doubt it.  Putting up decent numbers on a bad team doesn't mean much.  Putting up really good numbers in the last game of the season against 2nd and 3rd stringers doesn't mean anything.  Presti has seen Brown for 2 years.  If he thought Brown had significant upside, he wouldn't have traded Brown.

But that is not the trade... there is potential.

I think Brown is already as good as Jarrett Allen. Or close/less experience

The trade includes...the money saved factor

And having a big like Horford ... that works better with the lineup

[tazzmaniac]

So after this trade, does the trade make you(Collective You, not any one particular You) rethink your opinion on Stevens, such that you thought that he hated big men and only wanted small centers?

First trade sends out a very small PG and brings back an average sized starting caliber center and a very tall(7'2") and long, athletic center.

I gotta think just that comment alone is making a lot of the game thread posters very, very happy.

This trade was about moving on from Kemba and getting some cap relief.  We don't know why Brown was included and how long he'll be here.  Stevens could have been trying to get one of the other OKC young prospects and had to settle for Brown. 

[cltc5]

Love the deal.  Kemba is gone and we bolster the center position with a vet who already knows the team.  Who cares about the 16th pick which has yet to produced anything of value except another stinking pg.  we have enough young players.  Bring on Sam cassel.

[nickagneta]

The hyping of Brown is typical but silly.  No GM would give up the #16 pick for Brown.  Maybe you could get a late 1st for him but I doubt it.  Putting up decent numbers on a bad team doesn't mean much.  Putting up really good numbers in the last game of the season against 2nd and 3rd stringers doesn't mean anything.  Presti has seen Brown for 2 years.  If he thought Brown had significant upside, he wouldn't have traded Brown.

No, Brown's value wasn't that of a 16th pick in this draft, but part of the pick is also payment for saving the Celtics $10 million this season and maybe even more next season. It also is part payment for taking on a tough contract to move right now(though maybe will be easier to move at the deadline this season).

You also have to add into the equation of whether the Celtics could have gotten a better center or even player than Brown at 16? I do not doubt that there will be players taken after #16 that will have better careers than Brown. But there will be a whole bunch that won't and there's every chance in the world that Brad's first 1st round pick could be bad. So bird in hand is good here for me. Brown showed enough to get the 3rd string job and be the backup if Timelord isn't available.

I like the Moses Brown pickup. He is world's better than Kornet, Grant Williams and Tacko and still has a high upside.

[cltc5]

I’ve read through all 15 pages of this thread and frankly, the negative comments about this trade seem to be nit-picky.  To me, this solves so many issues with cap flexibility, front court improvement, leadership improvement, building on our two young all-stars, etc.

So, I’ll throw out a new angle: I LOVE the fact that this was done quickly.  This gives the entire team some certainty on next season.  Even without another move, the roster is improved.  The key players on the roster now pretty much know where they stand and can prepare to go into training camp with some real optimism.

The coaching decision is next and then everyone in the organization can start working towards next season.

A good bit of the naysayers know little  about basketball outside of their data points and Celtic colored glasses.  The game is not played on paper.  Anyone that has watched this team knows kemba did not fit and horford is a better fit on many levels.  Getting a young second year big to help develop in an area of need instead of using that 16th pick on someone that you have no idea what you’ll get was a smart move. 

[johnnygreen]

One possible benefit that shouldn't be overlooked is the goodwill this will give Brad Stevens among other GM's. This trade shows that he was not looking to "win" the trade, but wanted fair compensation. There was a stigma among GM's to not deal with the Celtics because Danny was looking to screw them over.

[Who]

Kemba and SGA will be a nice combination for OKC in the backcourt. They could create a pretty interesting team there.

[Birdman]

Glad didn’t trade for Porzingis

[Who]

So after this trade, does the trade make you(Collective You, not any one particular You) rethink your opinion on Stevens, such that you thought that he hated big men and only wanted small centers?

First trade sends out a very small PG and brings back an average sized starting caliber center and a very tall(7'2") and long, athletic center.

I gotta think just that comment alone is making a lot of the game thread posters very, very happy.

No.

CBS brought in an undersized center who plays on the perimeter and shoots 3s. That is exactly the type of center he has most valued in the past. History repeating itself.

Moses Brown - let's see. I want to see a press conference or interview where they talk about how much they value this guy. If they come out and say they have high hopes and plans for him, that will change my mind somewhat as to how big a future he figures to have here. At this moment in time, my mind sees Moses as more of a career backup who may pan into something more if we are very very lucky.

[Neurotic Guy]

The hyping of Brown is typical but silly.  No GM would give up the #16 pick for Brown.  Maybe you could get a late 1st for him but I doubt it.  Putting up decent numbers on a bad team doesn't mean much.  Putting up really good numbers in the last game of the season against 2nd and 3rd stringers doesn't mean anything.  Presti has seen Brown for 2 years.  If he thought Brown had significant upside, he wouldn't have traded Brown.

There is somewhat of "two in the bush" is better than a bird in hand mentality when it comes to 1st round picks.  Every GM sees their mid-1st rounder as that possible diamond even though history says otherwise.  Therefore in many cases a current player who doesn't appear to be that diamond (though may look like a future rotation/role player) is valued somewhat less than that chance of hitting a winner.  I do believe that is the mindset of a lot of GMs (and fans) and isn't always the practical route.  If Moses Brown looks to GMBS as player in a position of need with upside who has already proven he belongs in the league, it might be a statistically better "risk" than whoever is selected at 16.   Looking at Nesmith and Langford as 2 players who could go either direction, it's smart not to place too much stock in that 16th pick.   

Just as no GM would trade a mid-first for Brown, I don't think too many would take Romeo or Aaron straight up for #16.   I say that even though I think either or both could end up really solid. 

[hwangjini_1]

I looked at Brown's game log for 2020-2021. He is a total nobody, racking up DNPs with abandon for the first 36 games of the season.

Then, after a long time being "inactive" he reappears on March 11th and begins a nice string of games. In the final 36 games of the season, he:
- scores 20 or more points 4 times,
- scores in double digits 18 times,
- rebounds in double digits 16 times, and
- has 14 rebounds or more 9 times.

The kid is still 21 years old. Let's see what the Celtics can do with him.

https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/b/brownmo01/gamelog/2021