If the Celtics are thinking about gambling on Rubio (Which I am down for. He seems on the level of Steve Nash as far as B-ball IQ, breaking down the opposing defense, and I think he's a way better finisher at the basket than Rondo. Of course, the NBA level defense may slow down his playmaking.) So obviously we lose in a straight up Rondo for Rubio in the short-term, other than giving us 3 years of cap-flexability.
The timing of this is what is troubling; Ray expires the same time that Rondo is going to be looking at getting a HUGE payout, which I don't want to devote solely to one player. So unless we are assuming Ray re-signs for waaaay under his market value, how will we be able to keep both Ray and Rondo in the future? This coupled with the fact that Ray was very unpredictable in showing up and performing when we needed him in the playoffs, really has me concerned with competing with improving Denver, improving Houston, the Lake-show, and even possibly the Wizards if Agent-0 comes back full force. Orlando was younger, faster, and more aggressive in getting to the basket. Sure KG would have made the difference, but they also are missing Jameer Nelson, so that all goes back and forth.
My point is, why not try to manipulate Chris Wallace yet again and get Rudy Gay a reasonable extension, which should be cheaper or equal value than Ray. I feel that Gay is way better than Ray at this point for several reasons: Age, Same stats last season (18 ppg, same as Ray, one less APG and, 2 more RPG) and he can fly and get to the basket the way Lebron does (getting to the free-throw line and drawing more attention inside). He isn't half bad at the 3, and this also allows Pierce to slide to the two, gives us more size, and a younger, more capable defender in Gay.
So, my suggested trade would be:
Rondo
Ray
Giddens or Walker
for
#2 (Rubio)
Gay (extended contract)
Darrel Arthur
Both teams gain the kind of cap-flexability they need, short-term for C's, long-term for Grizz. We get back Arthur as well, who could end up being the calibur big off the bench that we need, and also gives us the ability to use the full MLE to a veteran C plus a little more with the short-term money we save on dumping Ray's contract to re-sign Powe and House or another shooter.
I don't see how Rubio doesn't have a great rookie season with every kind of weapon in the arsenal provided for him (scoring 2, 3, and 4, low post-5). If Marbury agrees to a one or two year cheap deal, he will get more minutes that he wants as we ease Rubio into the system (although he could end up just killing it from the start, he is that good).
I'm sure some of you may think this is crazy and it is giving up too much, but we are getting the best player in the deal in Gay and he doesn't even have to be the star of the team like he has to be now in Memphis. No double teams with KG and PP on the floor. He becomes that much more dangerous IMO.
Topic: C's interested in acquiring the second pick? (Read 69745 times)