You seem convinced that Outlaw will be out for the remainder of his contract with Portland. If that's the case, then why should we want him? I don't want to give up players - even TA, JR, Scal, etc. - for a player I may not ever see in a Celtics uniform.
Just a thought.
There's a decent chance he'll be back for the playoffs. But the fact is that TA, JR and Scal are not really NBA players. If they didn't have guaranteed contracts there's an excellent chance each would be out of the league. I mean, would you rather have JR Giddens or Morris Almond? Would you rather have Stackhouse or Scal?
Regardless, this is a minor point in what is a pretty large deal. I'd rather consider the idea of both an NBA caliber PG and SF than get caught up on meaningless bodies.
Remember, you'd have Outlaw's Bird Rights and he therefore could be signed in the offseason without using any of the MLE. He's a talented player and could fit in well with Rondo and Perk as the Big 3 ages...
It’s far from a minor point - we're talking about probably the best player in the deal never putting on a uniform for us. I don't buy the "he'll be back for the playoffs" thing - he won't have any time to gel with the team and the playoffs aren't the time for experiments. If he doesn't get minutes in the regular season, he won't play in the playoffs.
Unless I have some kind of guarantee that Outlaw would sign with us - admittedly feasible - then I wouldn't take the risk on him this year.
This is basically what the deal looks like:
Portland gives up scraps, an injured player, and Webster – currently their only natural backup SF. They take back Nocioni and Glen Davis. BBD is very useful for them – a good piece at a position of need. They swap Martell for Andres. On that deal, they lose a useful player with some room to improve – he’s only 23- and gain a player who is better now but won’t improve. Also, Nocioni’s contract is horrid for the role of backup SF that he’d likely be playing for the Blazers. In terms of talent, Portland likes this deal a lot; in financial terms, not so much.
Sacramento gives up Andres for expiring contracts. This saves them a lot of money in the long run. They’re not going anywhere with or without Nocioni, so they probably like this deal.
Boston gives up BBD and expiring contracts for scraps, an injured player, and Webster. I don’t want Outlaw for reasons I’ve already mentioned. Juwan gives us nothing we need, and Bayless wouldn’t see the court – Webster is therefore the only piece of real present value in this deal for us. We need to get more in return for BBD and our expiring contracts than just Webster. I like this deal for the next few seasons, especially if Outlaw does agree to resign with us – Outlaw is a good piece, and Webster and Bayless both have upside. As championship contenders, though, I need more help now. And that’s why, as Boston, I say ‘no’ to this deal.
TP for the effort – after I wrote this out, it looked a lot better than I thought it did at first glance. Still, I don’t do this deal.