Would you trade Paul Pierce?

[Who]

Yes -- it would take a very good trade return though.

[wiley]

completely depends....

If Ray and KG resign for cheap for another run year after this, then no.

If Ray and KG are gone, either to retirement or to chase another title with teams
needing a final push over the top, then yes if he agrees to it....

If KG and Ray are gone and Danny doesn't bring in max free agents this coming off season, does Paul even want to be here?  I doubt he'd really enjoy a rebuilding year as his last year as a Celtic..

He might prefer to help the Clippers to their first championship, for example...and maybe Ray or KG would join him in such an endeavor.  There are teams out there that are close to a title who could be pushed all the way with 2/3 of our big 3...The Clippers of Pierce's hometown just became one of them..

[bucknersrevenge]

I know as a GM you're not supposed to bring emotion into trades. But I think Paul might be the exception in this case. From time to time I still watch the YouTube clip of him accepting the Larry O'Brien trophy from Hondo and all the greats and just watching him break down in emotion and pure joy at finally being able to put his name right next to all those great Celtic players. Next to the Sox finally winning, that is probably my proudest moment as a Boston sports fan. To watch the evolution of this guys career from an immature punk at times to a leader and a man. In his final years, I just don't know how you trade that. To me, his loyalty, and our loyalty to him is worth 10 Howards.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fFRqW6aChE0


EDIT: No joke, even now this is hard for me to watch.

[xmuscularghandix]

I know as a GM you're not supposed to bring emotion into trades. But I think Paul might be the exception in this case. From time to time I still watch the YouTube clip of him accepting the Larry O'Brien trophy from Hondo and all the greats and just watching him break down in emotion and pure joy at finally being able to put his name right next to all those great Celtic players. Next to the Sox finally winning, that is probably my proudest moment as a Boston sports fan. To watch the evolution of this guys career from an immature punk at times to a leader and a man. In his final years, I just don't know how you trade that. To me, his loyalty, and our loyalty to him is worth 10 Howards.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fFRqW6aChE0


EDIT: No joke, even now this is hard for me to watch.

TP. I was crying like a baby watching this.

[snively]

I'd say it's too unrealistic to consider.  With the amnesty provision in hand, there's no need to dump him for expirings in a trade if his play falls off and as long as he maintains a high level of performance (18ppg on elite efficiency, good defense, secondary playmaking) for 2 more years he's probably worth more as a player than anyone we could trade him for.

[Jon]

Yes.  But only in the perfect circumstance. 

The problem with all 3 of our aging superstars is that their appeal is somewhat limited.  Young teams probably don't want them and veteran teams who do want them don't have the resources we want. 

Furthermore, we'll likely have to take on as much salary as we give up (assuming the other team is above the cap).  But with KG and PP (Ray's not as bad), that's a lot of salary to take back.  And that likely means one of two things:

1) Someone will try to dump their garbage on us, which we don't want (think a Rashard Lewis type contract). 

or

2) Someone will try to give us a bunch of midlevel guys. 

While case #2 might sound somewhat appealing, do we really want to tie up our financial flexibility on a bunch of average-to-good players making 5-10 million dollars per year?  In most cases, that's a recipe for perpetual mediocrity in this league. 

So, yes, I'd trade PP if the deal was right.  I'm just having a very tough imagining a situation where it'd be actually worth it to trade him.

[Lord of Mikawa]

I know as a GM you're not supposed to bring emotion into trades. But I think Paul might be the exception in this case. From time to time I still watch the YouTube clip of him accepting the Larry O'Brien trophy from Hondo and all the greats and just watching him break down in emotion and pure joy at finally being able to put his name right next to all those great Celtic players. Next to the Sox finally winning, that is probably my proudest moment as a Boston sports fan. To watch the evolution of this guys career from an immature punk at times to a leader and a man. In his final years, I just don't know how you trade that. To me, his loyalty, and our loyalty to him is worth 10 Howards.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fFRqW6aChE0


EDIT: No joke, even now this is hard for me to watch.

TP. Those are the moments you live for.