I bet Jokic is the big fish.....

[Celtics2021]

I think there is no big fish.

There will likely be a fish of some size because of how big George's contract is, but I can't imagine the Celtics having enough ammo for someone like Jokic or Ant. And I doubt Stevens would even want Ant given his desire to desperately ship off Jaylen.

It'll likely be somebody that has good advanced stats and fits well within our system. That's what we'll be told anyway. I wouldn't even be surprised if George has a decent season, and then declines his option next year to sign a 3yr contract at lesser aav.

Your second paragraph is something I find more likely than your first paragraph.  I do not think that after George we are going to have a second $50+ million contract, at least not until inflation makes $30 million the new $50 million.

[slamtheking]

I think there is no big fish.

There will likely be a fish of some size because of how big George's contract is, but I can't imagine the Celtics having enough ammo for someone like Jokic or Ant. And I doubt Stevens would even want Ant given his desire to desperately ship off Jaylen.

It'll likely be somebody that has good advanced stats and fits well within our system. That's what we'll be told anyway. I wouldn't even be surprised if George has a decent season, and then declines his option next year to sign a 3yr contract at lesser aav.

at this point, I suspect there's better odds that Tatum will get traded for "optionality" in several years when the C's don't reach another conference finals and they try to cash him in for something than the odds the C's are built back up into a real contender while Tatum is in his prime.

[Boston Garden Leprechaun]

"at this point, I suspect there's better odds that Tatum will get traded for "optionality" in several years when the C's don't reach another conference finals and they try to cash him in for somethin"


that i can easily see happening. agreed. odds wise that is most likely to happen.

[Goldstar88]

Jokic already won a championship in Denver and he loves it there. He does not strike me as a player that would ask to be moved.

I do not think Anthony Edwards would be willing to be a #2 option on a team. I don?t see that move either.

[LilRip]

I think the big fish Brad will be shooting for is a decent player who is an analytics darling like a Trey Murphy or something. Plus a half decent player in the trade to make salaries work.

I would be very surprised if we get an all star or former MVP back. Management clearly believes in Tatum and it seems like whoever we get will be meant to complement him. Management also clearly believes in depth so I do not think they will go the route of another max-ish player.

I would think this means in terms of roster, the team wants a big defensive center (like a Mitchell Robinson), a change-of-pace microwave scorer (like a Pritchard), and a lockdown 3D who can take on the tough matchups. Very Nowitzki-like in terms of roster construction when I look at it

[Boston Garden Leprechaun]

mike felger quote:

" they did NOT want JB on that contract....i fully undertand it. i just think it's the wrong move because the return is so wretched"

exactly how most celtics fans feel here. bingo.

[Vermont Green]

I think the big fish Brad will be shooting for is a decent player who is an analytics darling like a Trey Murphy or something. Plus a half decent player in the trade to make salaries work.

I would be very surprised if we get an all star or former MVP back. Management clearly believes in Tatum and it seems like whoever we get will be meant to complement him. Management also clearly believes in depth so I do not think they will go the route of another max-ish player.

I would think this means in terms of roster, the team wants a big defensive center (like a Mitchell Robinson), a change-of-pace microwave scorer (like a Pritchard), and a lockdown 3D who can take on the tough matchups. Very Nowitzki-like in terms of roster construction when I look at it

BOS was willing to trade for Giannis so I wouldn't rule out anything.  BOS was fine with (2) supermax deals if the second one was Giannis but apparently not so much if the second one is Brown.

If they could trade Paul George and 4 firsts for Jokic, I suspect they do it.  That would be the (2) picks they were willing to throw in with Brown for Giannis plus the (2) picks they got from PHI.  Maybe the seconds too for Jokic.  I am not holding my breath that Jokic will be traded.

[Phantom255x]

Jokic isn't leaving Denver. It's kind of smart for him to wait a year, instead of signing a 4/278M deal now he can be eligible for 5/360M in a year. Jokic doesn't strike me as someone who would want to leave Denver either. If things go sour with the coach and/or the roster around him, they'll work to appease him but DEN will do everything they can to keep him at least in the next few years and try.

I have a feeling what they are gonna try to do is add multiple high-end role players or starters (not superstars) next summer, and then hope 1-2 of their young guys (Pritchard, Queta, Hugo, Baylor) can take a leap into legit stardom. When I say high-end role players, I mean guys similar to Jrue/Horford/White/Porzingis. Yes I add Porzingis to that because lets face it, he had injury risks here even in 2024 and wasn't a consistent superstar starter either. Now it was better in 2024 because they had Jaylen and Tatum already established, but even so I think they feel Pritchard can take a leap and 1 of their young guys this next season, and they still have Tatum and White and probably Queta around as a core.

I do like @Who's thought, maybe a team like Orlando becomes an interesting trade partner if things don't work out for them this year too. Banchero maybe. His contract isn't bad at all the next 4-5 years (around 45-50M AAV) and he's turning 24, still young. Or you can pivot back and see if Sengun and another player are available from Houston if they want to shake things up. Same with the Pelicans and Trey Murphy + another player. The Clippers pick will also hold a ton of potential value, with it likely being a Top-10 pick, and even the 2031 Sixers unprotected likely after Jaylen, Embiid and others leave. I would say Cleveland as well, but I don't see why they'd trade Jaylen only to add Mitchell at his nearly 70M a year new contract. And Mobley seems like someone they will keep around for a while.

[Celtics4ever]

I too, we might make a play for him.    But if we did we are right back to the two guys making 70% of the team's money if not more.

[Who]

I think there is no big fish.

agreed.

Brad's not going to land anyone of substance in a trade in the next 2 years.

I think he will but it won't be a top 10 guy. I don't expect any of them to be available in BOS' window of opportunity.

More of a 2nd or 3rd tier star.

[No Nickname]

I think the big fish Brad will be shooting for is a decent player who is an analytics darling like a Trey Murphy or something. Plus a half decent player in the trade to make salaries work.

I would be very surprised if we get an all star or former MVP back. Management clearly believes in Tatum and it seems like whoever we get will be meant to complement him. Management also clearly believes in depth so I do not think they will go the route of another max-ish player.

I would think this means in terms of roster, the team wants a big defensive center (like a Mitchell Robinson), a change-of-pace microwave scorer (like a Pritchard), and a lockdown 3D who can take on the tough matchups. Very Nowitzki-like in terms of roster construction when I look at it

BOS was willing to trade for Giannis so I wouldn't rule out anything.  BOS was fine with (2) supermax deals if the second one was Giannis but apparently not so much if the second one is Brown.

If they could trade Paul George and 4 firsts for Jokic, I suspect they do it.  That would be the (2) picks they were willing to throw in with Brown for Giannis plus the (2) picks they got from PHI.  Maybe the seconds too for Jokic.  I am not holding my breath that Jokic will be traded.

If we look at what those two picks bolded above were, it was the 2026 #27 pick (probably traded after we made the pick) and our 2027 or 2028 1st (which probably would have been between #27-30 if we'd landed Giannis).

So, about the worst first round picks you can get. 

So moving into the present, what would those non-Philly-trade-picks be if we tried to land a "big fish? next season?

- Our 2027 1st (odds have it as probably #24 - #27)
- Our 2029 1st (and if we're trading for a "big fish" we?ll most likely finish as a top-six squad so other teams would assume this would be #26 - #30)

Then the two Philly picks:

- 2028 1st (which most-likely will be a lotto pick)
- 2031 1st (Philly's #1 and so far off we have no idea what value that will have)

So that trade could net the other team: Paul George, 2 x 1st round picks between 24-27, 1 lotto, and one Philly 1st four years in the future.  Not a great return for a "big fish."

[Who]

I wonder if no star good enough shakes loose in the 2027-28 season, no big fish, does Brad trade PG13 for a player with an extra year on his contract to reload trade assets for 2028-29 ... in the hopes that Jokic or Ant might become available that year.

[snively]

Jokic already won a championship in Denver and he loves it there. He does not strike me as a player that would ask to be moved.

I do not think Anthony Edwards would be willing to be a #2 option on a team. I don?t see that move either.

I think Tatum would be fine letting Edwards be the #1 option.

[Vermont Green]

Jokic already won a championship in Denver and he loves it there. He does not strike me as a player that would ask to be moved.

I do not think Anthony Edwards would be willing to be a #2 option on a team. I don't see that move either.

I think Tatum would be fine letting Edwards be the #1 option.

I see a lot of similarities between Edwards and Brown.  Recent activity indicates that BOS would be fine with Tatum + Giannis, so probably would be fine with Tatum + Jokic (who wouldn't).  But BOS was not so OK with Tatum + Brown and that leads me to think they would not be so OK with Tatum + Edwards.

If we could trade Paul George and 2 picks for Edwards, maybe the 2028 likely lottery pick from PHI plus one of ours, I would do that, I guess, but that puts us right back to where we were with Brown as the second max contract.