Grading Brad's first trade

[Mahk E Mahk]

b+ based on the following:

-kemba had to go. his playing style was a bad fit for this team (mainly the j’s) and he’s a huge defensive liability. all this was true prior to his lack of availability. add the injuries and the missed games, all on top of a max contract, and a move had to be made.

two interesting articles today possibly provided additional fodder: blake griffin allegedly told a reporter that after his release from detroit, he called an active c’s player to inquire about joining the team and was told to avoid it due to internal dysfunction.

second unrelated article mentioned a material rift between kemba and brad. i’m definitely conflating the two stories but it could explain why brad made this move so quickly. as c’s fans, we knew there was serious dysfunction but it wasn’t clear from whom. if it was kemba, this was a great move by brad, especially the message it sent to the team by making it happen so quickly. he’s settled into his new role quickly and confidently, which i like to see.

-this trade instantly makes the team better defensively.

-we returned a well respected leader to the team, which was desperately needed.

-many folks are judging this trade in an unrealistic context. it’s quite possible that there was little interest in kemba due to his contract/size/age/recent health issues. i’m certain brad was smart enough to shop him and got the best deal he could. look up stats on 6’ and under guards over thirty years of age. there’s a serious decline in performance, especially when you add chronic injuries from the knees down.

-agree with others that the next move with the reclaimed cap space will be critical in judging this trade.

-the only markdown was the 16th pick. with a relatively deep draft, it seems we could have pushed for more value but i do think unloading kemba’s max was a significantly limiting factor. in spite of the 16, kudos to brad for making a tough decision, even if he had to overpay to make it happen.

[86MaxwellSmart]

A+....no more Grant Williams playing Center for crying out loud.

[Rikibellevie]

C
Some positiv : a good 3 big lineup, good mentoring for Timelord, no more Kemba interrogations,Quick decision, improve in lenght and teamdefense 9M less to sign Fournier

The negativ : another bad contract that we refused to extend when 2 years younger ,no potential earned for the future, no real room or money to make real change further, a need to find a correct PG with only MLE or 11M TPE, à too weak team in création, the miss of à better deal for Walker without maybe loosing the 16 pick which could have been usefull on an offensive trade with Thompson + TPE,

[rogueandpoet]

I give it an A. I was thinking that getting rid of Kemba was going to be impossible. Love the guy but he was not a player who added much to the Celtics. Mo Barnes is the interesting part of this trade. I can imagine Mo and Rob going back and forth swatting shots and dunking endlessly. We all saw how effective Rob could be and Mo is even taller. As for Al and Tristan neither excite me. They are solid pros and you gotta respect that but they are notthe future, or even the present.

[Bobshot]

I'm a spoiled guy. I've lived through every Celtics Championship right from the 50s, and I pretty much know what the successful ingredients are. They include talent up front--which has been missing on Ainge-Stevens teams. Danny got it right in '08 with that well-balanced team,  but then seemed to throw the book away rebuilding after Doc left.

The trade is a good one, because it brings back the one decent up front guy, Horford, they've had in Stevens coaching tenure. Rob Williams is like the 7 foot kid Moses Brown they just got in the deal. Up and down every game. You just hope Moses is more durable. Rob needs help. More consistency up front is needed.

The way the playoffs are going, it's clear there is age in a lot of those stars on the contenders which is affecting their durability. Especially the Nets and the Lakers. And even the Sixers, where Embiid has knees that can't play every game. Even Kounmpo has balky knees. And Leonard and George...

The Celtics, with youthful stars Tatum and Brown, have an advantage in durability. If they can improve their interior defense and get bigger up front , they will be back in contention. They'll need a coach those young stars will buy into.

[tstorey_97]

A lot of the grade is if Moses Brown can fit.

Further research into the OKC end of the trade revealed why Presti traded Brown.

Aleksej Pokusevski 7' - 208 pounds

They are high on this skinny Russian center (who can shoot threes) and thus the skinny kid from NYC (Brown) gets traded to Boston.

[gouki88]

A lot of the grade is if Moses Brown can fit.

Further research into the OKC end of the trade revealed why Presti traded Brown.

Aleksej Pokusevski 7' - 208 pounds

They are high on this skinny Russian center (who can shoot threes) and thus the skinny kid from NYC (Brown) gets traded to Boston.

Poku is more of a point forward than a real big. He's also one of the most inefficient players I've ever seen