I was just thinking about what the C's team might look like if some of the rumored deals actually went down. We've been rumored to be interested in Amare, Conley, and Gay so why not combine the rumors into one deal?
http://games.espn.go.com/nba/tradeMachine?tradeId=lxdqfrplus some draft picks:
Boston Trades: Ray Allen, Rajon Rondo, J.R. Giddens
Boston Receives: Mike Conley Jr., Rudy Gay, Amare Stoudemire
Phoenix Trades: Amare Stoudemire, Robin Lopez, #14
Phoenix Receives: Ray Allen, #2 pick
Memphis Trades: Mike Conley Jr., Rudy Gay, #2
Memphis Receives: Rajon Rondo, J.R. Giddens, Robin Lopez, #14
Why for Phoenix: Phoenix has obviously been shopping Amare around. Supposedly they would love to get Rubio to learn from Steve Nash and eventually take over. They also get Ray for a year and then obviously his contract expires. They have to add the #14 to get Memphis to offer the #2. They go into next year with a lineup of Nash, Ray Allen, Jrich, Swift, Shaq, w/ rubio off the bench and then they can let Ray walk at the end of the year if they want. I think Phoenix would do this deal.
Why for Memphis: They get Rajon Rondo. They give up 2 very good young talented players and the number two pick (but Rubio and Thabeet both don't want to play in Memphis), but they create one of the most promising backcourts in the NBA in Rondo and Mayo. They get a young big in Lopez and they can give Giddens a shot. At number 14 they can still draft someone like Terrence Williams, Gerald Henderson, Hansburough, Earl Clark or Dajuan Blair. They head into next season with a starting five of Rondo, Mayo, Gerald Henderson, Darrel Arthur and Gasol. They're still young and won't contend for years but they have a backcourt with the potential to be the best in the league someday. I think Memphis does this deal.
Why for Boston: Danny tries to find the balance between winning now and sustaining winning for the long haul. By doing this trade, we get much younger but I think more talented.
We lose Rondo. This hurts big time. We all know how great Rondo can be, but we also know his limitations as a player. Conley is a clear step down from Rondo, but I think Conley is going to be a star someday. Someone else posted a break down of Conley's stats for the last half of the season or so and his numbers were great. I have league pass and Memphis is actually my favorite team to watch other than the Celtics and towards the end of the last season Conley was playing some of the best basketball of any young point in the league. The guy shot absolutely lights out for the final 3 months of the year. He has legitimate three point range and is not afraid to take the shot. He also is a very smart point guard, he was drafted fourth overall just two years ago because of his pg skills and feel for the game. Right now, Conley is no where near the player Rondo is, but I actually think Conley might turn out to be better and I know everyone says Rondo fits this team perfectly (and he does at times), but when he struggles, he absolutely kills this team. We've all seen Kobe or Lebron guard Rondo and merely wander around double teaming the ball. Conley is a very smart point guard and his shooting ability would keep defenders honest.
Obviously Conley would really hurt us when it came to experience, but as we saw with Rondo in 2008, experience is not everything. Conley could have a very similar role to Rondo in 2008, but would just be a much better shooter. He can drive and dish to amare, kg, and perk, or he can pass to paul or rudy gay on the wings. My guess is that Danny would try to lure a vet pg for the whole mid level to start this year and let conley come off the bench for one year. Jason Kidd and Andre Miller are both free agents and most likely may have to settle for the MLE. When you combine it with a chance to win a title with this Boston team i think both of them would jump at the opportunity. If Conley contintues to play and develop as he looked last season, he may be the unquestioned starter come playoffs. But if he struggles, we'll have a vet pg to be ready.
For the Ray Allen/Rudy Gay comparison, we obviously step down again for next season. Especially for end of game situations. We all know that Ray Allen is the most clutch shooter in the NBA (hands down), but his value will never be higher. The way I see it, Ray Allen's value right now is comprised of both his actual basketball value plus the value of his expiring contract. Letting his contract expire really doesn't benefit us unless Paul opts out etc. etc. and so Danny ought to cash in on Ray's value since it is actually higher right now than merely his on court value.
I think because he was playing on Memphis, many readers on this site may be underrating Gay. The guy is 22 years old, and is an absolute physical freak. He has the potential to be a better version of T-mac. He's 6' 8'' with a huge wingspan, he can jump out of the gym, and he can shoot with unlimited range. He averaged 19 points a game last year, while having to take a lot of contested end of the shotclock attempts and a ton of isolation plays. Playing in our lineup next to conley, pierce, amare, and kg, the guy would flourish. He would be able to hit the open 3, he can create for him self and he can take it to the rim with authority. He also has the potential to be one of the best defenders in the NBA because of his athleticisim and length. Give him a year or two with KG, Perk, Paul, and Thibodeau and he's gonna be a force. A defensive lineup of of Gay, Pierce, Kg, and Perk at the 2-5 could be unbelievable. Yes, Rudy is no Ray Allen right now, but he's only 22 and he has the potential to be way better. In the right system (the Celtics organization, learning from Doc, Pierce, KG), I would expect him to turn into a legitimate Superstar in the league.
And then we get an ex-1st team NBA player in Amare Stoudemire. The guy has had some injury problems, but lets not discount his value. STAT is a beast. Amare, KG, and Perk would be a three headed monster. I understand only two of them can start, but I really don't think that would be that huge of a problem. As long as the minutes are there and the team is winning, no one would complain. I could even see KG offering to come off the bench and still play 28-30 minutes a night. Imagine starting Amare and Perk and bringing in KG to spell either one of them, all while limiting KG's minutes to keep him healthy for the postseason. In end of game situations we can make offensive-defensive substitutions by playing KG and Perk for Defensive sets and Amare and KG for offensive sets.
I actually think this team would be better next year (because I think so highly of Conley and Gay and think they would fit in perfectly with the team) and the addition of Amare alone would really add a new dimension to the team. But when you look at the future, this team would be in far bettter position. We have the core of Conley Jr, Gay, Amare and Perk to build around plus Big baby, walker, Pruitt, Powe as other young players. And we still have the vet leadership of Pierce, KG, Perk, and whoever they sign with the MLE (Kidd, Miller). The more and more I keep writing about this trade the more and more I love it. So I'll stop.
Topic: Bos-Phx-Mem Trade Idea (Read 3756 times)