four players and three second round picks?

[Ogaju]

Okay folks what exactly is the lovefest with Lee?

[Kane3387]

We got a guy who can start for a bunch of guys that would be lucky to make the team let alone the rotation. The picks are far from a guarantee to be worth anything. Even the Bobcats one because next year's draft is not that deep and even high second round picks rarely work. For every Big Baby there are more Gabe Pruitts.

[Yoki_IsTheName]

He can defend. He's good at it too.

He can knock down open 3 point shots.

He runs the floor well.

He can contribute to this WIN NOW team RIGHT NOW than the 4 players that got shipped, and maybe the 2nd rounder too.

[LEHGOCELTICS]

Okay folks what exactly is the lovefest with Lee?

Four scrubs and two to-be scrubs, what's not there to love about this trade?

[Ogaju]

I like Lee, but three future second round picks??? What do we have to make moves in the future. We BETTER WIN NOW.

[Professor of Rondology]

What exactly is the love fest with the players we gave up?  We lost nothing that isn't easily replaceable. 


JJJ was pretty much a lost cause (a project PF on a team with plenty of PFs)
Williams was totally inept in every way
Sasha was gone anyways
E'Twaun Moore and the 3 picks were the only actual assets that we lost, but 2nd round picks rarely turn into starter-caliber players in their fist couple of years and Moore is also a few years away from being near starter-caliber.  We are trying to win NOW, not several years down the road.

Courtney Lee is no all-star, but he'd be a starter on many teams that E'Twaun would be cut from. 

[the_Bird]

It's not even four scrubs.  It's JuJuan, who's still a prospect but a guy that seems to have limited upside, and who was facing an uphill battle to scratch out a 5- or 10-minute spot in the rotation.  It was Moore, who people around here seem to overvalue (not an uncommon occurrence on Celticsblog), who also wasn't going to be in the rotation and whose long-term upside is "backup PG" (and who may well find himself playing in Europe).

Sean Williams was never going to stick around.

Sasha wasn't even really being considered to be re-signed.

The draft picks; losing the Charlotte one sucks, but still...  they were all second rounders.  

And, all that for a starting-caliber SG who's still only 26, a guy who's a [dang]-near perfect fit for what this team needs.

It's like making seven pounds of chickenEdited.  Profanity and masked profanity are against forum rules and may result in discipline. into one pound of chicken salad.

[Kane3387]

It's not even four scrubs.  It's JuJuan, who's still a prospect but a guy that seems to have limited upside, and who was facing an uphill battle to scratch out a 5- or 10-minute spot in the rotation.  It was Moore, who people around here seem to overvalue (not an uncommon occurrence on Celticsblog), who also wasn't going to be in the rotation and whose long-term upside is "backup PG" (and who may well find himself playing in Europe).

Sean Williams was never going to stick around.

Sasha wasn't even really being considered to be re-signed.

The draft picks; losing the Charlotte one sucks, but still...  they were all second rounders.  

And, all that for a starting-caliber SG who's still only 26, a guy who's a [dang]-near perfect fit for what this team needs.

It's like making seven pounds of chicken**** into one pound of chicken salad.

I love that last line. Haha I am definitely taking that one.

[lightspeed5]

4 scrubs and 3 future scrubs for a starter to win a chip now.

[Evantime34]

Four players that will never be as good as Courtney Lee. Two of those players would not have made the team this year.

As for the draft picks, next year is supposed to be a very bad draft.

Almost everyone on the Celtics is signed to a multi-year deal.
Rondo, Terry, Bradley, Lee, Pierce, Green, KG, Bass, Sullinger and Melo, that's 10 guys signed to multiple years. With that many players signed long term we can consolidate our back end players so that we don't need to keep a bunch of developmental guys.

[wdleehi]

The only guy I was somewhat disappointed had to be part of the trade is JJJ.



But how often do you get a starting capable player in a trade without giving up something that you will miss.

[the_Bird]

...  and you're giving up some prospects and potential future prospects, but for a guy that's only 26 years old.  I'm not sure how I would have felt about giving up a bunch of rebuild assets for a guy in his 30s (like JET), but for Lee?  A player who's pretty good, and can stick around for a while?  If anything, it's helping the team retool for future seasons, by acquiring a proven guy that we can expect will still be contributing in five years.

[33_Larry Legend_33]

I think Moore has the biggest upside of any of these guys.  With that said, I do this deal in a heartbeat.  Lee is, in my opinion, a guy who has a lot of up-and-coming potential.  A few years ago a guy like him probably wouldn't have been available, but with the salary cap rules it kinda played into our favor.  He's only 26 - a young veteran who knows NBA basketball.  There was just something about Moore's game I didn't like.  JJJ will be forgotten about... Moiso v2.0.  We're good in this deal...

[sdceltsfan]

I like Lee, but three future second round picks??? What do we have to make moves in the future. We BETTER WIN NOW.

You realize that second round picks are used the the second round of the NBA Draft? You know, the one where one or two out of every hundred or so 2nd round picks actually turn out to be a significant NBA player.

Exactly what kind of move would you hope for management to pull off with these "coveted" second rounders? Trading two of them up for.......a higher 2nd round pick?

We took players we got at the end of last years draft (who stand little chance to contribute to a roster that is deep with talent) and 3 more future players who will be in the same boat, and sent all that down trade river to bring back a legitimate NBA player.....

Not only that, he (Lee) fits our depth chart like a glove, and may likely be our starting 2-guard for a good portion, if not all, of next season......and we have him for 4 years at just over 5-mil per.

Nic Batum (who has nearly identical stats), just got paid almost 3  times as much.

We are trying to win now, that is why they made this move even more so.

[GreenEnvy]

I won't miss any of the players, and the second-rounders seemed a bit much, but if there is a guy Danny likes in the second, there are usually a few teams willing to give up those picks for cash.

Was Lee expensive? Sure. But we undoubtedly just got better.