Trade idea: Bos/Utah/Clippers

[Birdman]

Boston:
Walter Kessler
Norman Powell
Svi Mykhailuk
Colin Sexton

Utah:
Kristaps Porzingis
Bogan Bogdanovic
Derrick Jones
Many picks

Clippers:
Jru Holiday
Jordan Clarkson
Kenyon Martin

[aefgogreen]

Boston:
Walter Kessler
Norman Powell
Svi Mykhailuk
Colin Sexton

Utah:
Kristaps Porzingis
Bogan Bogdanovic
Derrick Jones
Many picks

Clippers:
Jru Holiday
Jordan Clarkson
Kenyon Martin

Sign me up - but I don't think the other teams would go for it.

[Vermont Green]

Boston:
Walter Kessler
Norman Powell
Svi Mykhailuk
Colin Sexton

Utah:
Kristaps Porzingis
Bogan Bogdanovic
Derrick Jones
Many picks

Clippers:
Jru Holiday
Jordan Clarkson
Kenyon Martin

Sign me up - but I don't think the other teams would go for it.

So we trade Holiday and Porzingis for:

Walter Kessler
Norman Powell
Svi Mykhailuk
Colin Sexton

I am not thrilled with the return.  I am not sure that Kessler would start over Kornet.  He seems like a decent depth big (nothing wrong with that), until you need to pay him.  I am guessing people like Powell and Sexton due to 3 pt shooting but both these guys scream one dimensional empty stats to me.  Both expiring contracts which does clear things up a lot in 2026-27.  Maybe they would be fine for the 2025-26 lost season, with the expectation that they move on after.

I kind of see this as basically trading Holiday for nothing (expirings) in order to gain cap flexibility in 2026-27 and then you are swapping Porzingis for Kessler who I hope would be resigned and part of the mix in 2026 and beyond.  Kessler is 24 in July.  Could still have some ceiling.  Not sure where the draft picks come from but I would not want to add any from BOS.

[aefgogreen]

Boston:
Walter Kessler
Norman Powell
Svi Mykhailuk
Colin Sexton

Utah:
Kristaps Porzingis
Bogan Bogdanovic
Derrick Jones
Many picks

Clippers:
Jru Holiday
Jordan Clarkson
Kenyon Martin

Sign me up - but I don't think the other teams would go for it.

So we trade Holiday and Porzingis for:

Walter Kessler
Norman Powell
Svi Mykhailuk
Colin Sexton

I am not thrilled with the return.  I am not sure that Kessler would start over Kornet.  He seems like a decent depth big (nothing wrong with that), until you need to pay him.  I am guessing people like Powell and Sexton due to 3 pt shooting but both these guys scream one dimensional empty stats to me.  Both expiring contracts which does clear things up a lot in 2026-27.  Maybe they would be fine for the 2025-26 lost season, with the expectation that they move on after.

I kind of see this as basically trading Holiday for nothing (expirings) in order to gain cap flexibility in 2026-27 and then you are swapping Porzingis for Kessler who I hope would be resigned and part of the mix in 2026 and beyond.  Kessler is 24 in July.  Could still have some ceiling.  Not sure where the draft picks come from but I would not want to add any from BOS.

We would get a young double-doubule center for an oft-inured older one, and get two scoring guards for one that had his weakest season since his rookie year and has about $130 million left over three years? Sign me up please

[Goldstar88]

Boston:
Walter Kessler
Norman Powell
Svi Mykhailuk
Colin Sexton

Utah:
Kristaps Porzingis
Bogan Bogdanovic
Derrick Jones
Many picks

Clippers:
Jru Holiday
Jordan Clarkson
Kenyon Martin

Sign me up - but I don't think the other teams would go for it.

So we trade Holiday and Porzingis for:

Walter Kessler
Norman Powell
Svi Mykhailuk
Colin Sexton

I am not thrilled with the return.  I am not sure that Kessler would start over Kornet.  He seems like a decent depth big (nothing wrong with that), until you need to pay him.  I am guessing people like Powell and Sexton due to 3 pt shooting but both these guys scream one dimensional empty stats to me.  Both expiring contracts which does clear things up a lot in 2026-27.  Maybe they would be fine for the 2025-26 lost season, with the expectation that they move on after.

I kind of see this as basically trading Holiday for nothing (expirings) in order to gain cap flexibility in 2026-27 and then you are swapping Porzingis for Kessler who I hope would be resigned and part of the mix in 2026 and beyond.  Kessler is 24 in July.  Could still have some ceiling.  Not sure where the draft picks come from but I would not want to add any from BOS.

We would get a young double-doubule center for an oft-inured older one, and get two scoring guards for one that had his weakest season since his rookie year and has about $130 million left over three years? Sign me up please

Kesslers going to be expensive to extend. Feel like that shouldn?t be left out of the equation. He also doesn?t space the floor, so he?s not really a replacement for Al or KP.

[aefgogreen]

Boston:
Walter Kessler
Norman Powell
Svi Mykhailuk
Colin Sexton

Utah:
Kristaps Porzingis
Bogan Bogdanovic
Derrick Jones
Many picks

Clippers:
Jru Holiday
Jordan Clarkson
Kenyon Martin

Sign me up - but I don't think the other teams would go for it.

So we trade Holiday and Porzingis for:

Walter Kessler
Norman Powell
Svi Mykhailuk
Colin Sexton

I am not thrilled with the return.  I am not sure that Kessler would start over Kornet.  He seems like a decent depth big (nothing wrong with that), until you need to pay him.  I am guessing people like Powell and Sexton due to 3 pt shooting but both these guys scream one dimensional empty stats to me.  Both expiring contracts which does clear things up a lot in 2026-27.  Maybe they would be fine for the 2025-26 lost season, with the expectation that they move on after.

I kind of see this as basically trading Holiday for nothing (expirings) in order to gain cap flexibility in 2026-27 and then you are swapping Porzingis for Kessler who I hope would be resigned and part of the mix in 2026 and beyond.  Kessler is 24 in July.  Could still have some ceiling.  Not sure where the draft picks come from but I would not want to add any from BOS.

We would get a young double-doubule center for an oft-inured older one, and get two scoring guards for one that had his weakest season since his rookie year and has about $130 million left over three years? Sign me up please

Kesslers going to be expensive to extend. Feel like that shouldn?t be left out of the equation. He also doesn?t space the floor, so he?s not really a replacement for Al or KP.

We're lucky if KP plays so I don't think we'll miss his outside shooting that much.  And we would bring in two more guards that shoot at a 40% clip.  I could live with Kessler's contract.  He would give us a solid big for years to come.

[Who]

How much would Kessler cost?

$20mil per season?
$25mil per?

I don't think he gets as high as $30mil. I don't think there will be enough competition for his services to get there. Lack of offensive game. Not a high end athlete for the rim roller / alley oop plays that separate great rim finishers from good rim finishers.

[Goldstar88]

How much would Kessler cost?

$20mil per season?
$25mil per?

I don't think he gets as high as $30mil. I don't think there will be enough competition for his services to get there. Lack of offensive game. Not a high end athlete for the rim roller / alley oop plays that separate great rim finishers from good rim finishers.

Hartenstein is getting $30M/year. I expect Kessler to get between $30-35M/year once his rookie deal is up.

[Who]

How much would Kessler cost?

$20mil per season?
$25mil per?

I don't think he gets as high as $30mil. I don't think there will be enough competition for his services to get there. Lack of offensive game. Not a high end athlete for the rim roller / alley oop plays that separate great rim finishers from good rim finishers.

Hartenstein is getting $30M/year. I expect Kessler to get between $30-35M/year once his rookie deal is up.

Hartenstein has more offense. He is a very good passer. You can run your offense through him in the high post like you could with Joakim Noah. Kessler cannot do that. He is a limited passer. Hartenstein also has that floater that makes him more effective in space. Kessler doesn't have that. Kessler is just a rim finisher.

Passing stats

Hartenstein = 3.7apg to 1.7 turnovers
Kessler = 1.7apg to 1.5 turnovers

Shooting stats

Kessler = 197-256 FGA at rim finishes, 75-126 within 10 feet, 0-3 from 10-23 feet, 1-17 3PTA
Hartenstein = 164-222 FGA rim finishes, 117-216 within 10 feet, 74-145 10-15 feet, 0-2 15-23 feet, 0-18 3PTA

You can see there the difference in volume in shots 3-10 feet with Hardenstein having almost double the number of attempts. And then the huge difference in shots 10-15 feet. Kessler a complete non-threat whereas Hartenstein is still a scoring threat out to 15 feet.


Hartenstein is levels above Kessler as an offensive weapon and consequently as an overall player.

[Vermont Green]

We would get a young double-double center for an oft-inured older one, and get two scoring guards for one that had his weakest season since his rookie year and has about $130 million left over three years? Sign me up please

I am not following you regarding the guards.  If we don't extend or resign Powell and/or Sexton, then you have traded Holiday for nothing after the 2025-26 lost season.  If you pay one or both, then you have money tied up in players that are not as good as Holiday.  I have seen plenty of Powell over the years.  He is a one dimensional empty stat guy that plays no D and doesn't pass (I concede he can score).  Sexton is younger, I am less sure how he has developed, but I fear he is kind of the same.  And he is small (6'-3").  You may end up paying even more for these guys than you are paying Holiday over the 3 seasons, if you extend or resign them.

I would be more interested in a deal of Holiday for Sexton and Kessler and let Utah figure out a deal of Holiday to LAC for something.  Then keep Porzingis.  I would much rather have Porzingis than Norman Powell.  So my version of the deal could be:

Celtics:  Sexton, Kessler
Utah:     Bogdanovic, Powell, Picks (from LAC)
LAC:      Holiday, KJ Martin

This actually works on Spotrac trade machine.  Utah could then flip Powell or Bogdanovic.  I think the flaw in this is that there is not a whole lot of reason for Utah to do this.

[Who]

If the team was to pay Kessler $30-35mil per season then we would have D White at around $30mil so around $60mil for these two who would be our 3rd and 4th best players. We would have Tatum & Jaylen on those big max contracts paying around $60mil each. So that takes us to around $180 million for these 4 players. Then building a supporting cast around them with $20-30mil to split between the rest of the roster.

It is a tough ask to pay Kessler that much money. Is he really worth it? Is he enough of a difference maker?

I like him. He is a good player. But it is those centers in that 15th-20th best centers range that can kill your cap and not provide enough quality to justify it. Poeltl is a guy who gets that rap in Toronto at $20mil. How much does Poeltl provide over an MLE center? How much does Kessler provide above and beyond an MLE center?

Is that superior contribution of Kessler worth $30-35mil versus what you could get out of an MLE center at $14mil?

I can justify $20mil for Kessler. I can't justify $30-35mil.

[Goldstar88]

How much would Kessler cost?

$20mil per season?
$25mil per?

I don't think he gets as high as $30mil. I don't think there will be enough competition for his services to get there. Lack of offensive game. Not a high end athlete for the rim roller / alley oop plays that separate great rim finishers from good rim finishers.

Hartenstein is getting $30M/year. I expect Kessler to get between $30-35M/year once his rookie deal is up.

Hartenstein has more offense. He is a very good passer. You can run your offense through him in the high post like you could with Joakim Noah. Kessler cannot do that. He is a limited passer. Hartenstein also has that floater that makes him more effective in space. Kessler doesn't have that. Kessler is just a rim finisher.

Passing stats

Hartenstein = 3.7apg to 1.7 turnovers
Kessler = 1.7apg to 1.5 turnovers

Shooting stats

Kessler = 197-256 FGA at rim finishes, 75-126 within 10 feet, 0-3 from 10-23 feet, 1-17 3PTA
Hartenstein = 164-222 FGA rim finishes, 117-216 within 10 feet, 74-145 10-15 feet, 0-2 15-23 feet, 0-18 3PTA

You can see there the difference in volume in shots 3-10 feet with Hardenstein having almost double the number of attempts. And then the huge difference in shots 10-15 feet. Kessler a complete non-threat whereas Hartenstein is still a scoring threat out to 15 feet.


Hartenstein is levels above Kessler as an offensive weapon and consequently as an overall player.

Hartenstein is also 27. Kessler is only 23. Walker has a lot more upside. Especially from a defensive standpoint. He?s getting more than twice the number of blocks per game. Better rebounder too. He was a first round draft pick for a reason.