Woj: Paul Pierce Was Nearly A Maverick At Trade Deadline

[chambers]

Interesting.. Mavs fans say they think the Mavs would consider taking Pierce if they can't sign Howard or CP3 this offseason- Most likely at the deadline.

http://www.beyondthebuzzer.com/2013/03/08/report-paul-pierce-was-nearly-a-maverick-at-trade-deadline/

Though he wouldn’t divulge the details, Mark Cuban stated the day after the trade deadline that the Mavs had numerous deals lined up which could have brought in ‘difference maker guys’ which ultimately fell through.  It’s now being reported that one of those ‘difference makers’ would have been Paul Pierce, but the 3-team (Mavericks, Hawks, Celtics) deal got scrapped by Boston, who would have landed Josh Smith.

According to Adrian Wojnarowski, Yahoo! Sports:

Before the trade deadline passed, the Boston Celtics had one final choice to make on the franchise’s future: In a three-way deal that would’ve secured Josh Smith and surrendered Paul Pierce to Dallas, Atlanta wanted Boston’s first-round draft pick, too.

As much as any of the proposed deals discussed in February, perhaps this had been the closest Pierce had come to parting with the Celtics, sources told Yahoo! Sports.

Dallas had constructed a package that included Jae Crowder, Brandan Wright and Dahntay Jones to Atlanta, with the Mavericks and Hawks exchanging positions in the 2013 NBA draft.

Nevertheless, Boston wouldn’t relent on the pick and the deal died on meeting-room grease boards in three cities.

[bopna]

I wonder who on this year's draft is even worth better than Josh Smith?

If he does not hit a home run this yr then he would have screwed bigtime by not landing Josh..and I suppose KG might have been the next one to go since no PP.

[D.o.s.]

Of all the Pierce trade deadline rumors I've heard, the only one that really made me stop and think was the Harrison Barnes trade.

[LooseCannon]

I wonder who on this year's draft is even worth better than Josh Smith?

If he does not hit a home run this yr then he would have screwed bigtime by not landing Josh..and I suppose KG might have been the next one to go since no PP.

I suggest this means Ainge had reasons to doubt that Josh Smith would re-sign with the Celtics.  Quite possibly, that means that he was not willing to give Smith a max contract this summer and that he thought there was a good chance that someone else would and that Smith would chase the bling rather than the ring.

[bopna]

I wonder who on this year's draft is even worth better than Josh Smith?

If he does not hit a home run this yr then he would have screwed bigtime by not landing Josh..and I suppose KG might have been the next one to go since no PP.

I suggest this means Ainge had reasons to doubt that Josh Smith would re-sign with the Celtics.  Quite possibly, that means that he was not willing to give Smith a max contract this summer and that he thought there was a good chance that someone else would and that Smith would chase the bling rather than the ring.

Your probably right and with no assurance that Josh is here long term then its not worth giving up the pick.

[wdleehi]

The fact that the deal fell through makes me happy. 

[SHAQATTACK]

Smith I think is still about the money more so than ring

I think the Lakers want to trade Pau for Josh,  if Dwight reups,

did I mention I hate the Lakers.....

[Jeff]

FYI, that link and the Wojo piece it is linked to are from March

[Jeff]

another note - picking up on the Myths article Bulpett wrote a day ago - how do we know that the Mavs deal fell apart because of the draft pick and not because Ainge knew he couldn't deal KG to the Clips because they wouldn't do the deal?

that's the trouble with trying to piece together history without all the facts

[chambers]

FYI, that link and the Wojo piece it is linked to are from March

Yeah this is true, it is from March, I'm surprised because I didn't see any mention of it here or anywhere for that matter.
The reason I posted it is because it adds fuel to the fire that the Mavs are one of the more likely suitors for Pierce come trade deadline time- perhaps even this offseason. If they can't land Dwight or CP3 then they're going to want to surround Dirk with some talent and Pierce is about as good as it gets as 2nd scoring option. Would be even better if they could convince KG to go with him for some more goodies for us.

[Jeff]

it does raise the question of the possibility of re-visiting this trade with the sign-and-trade option for Josh Smith

[Celtics4ever]

I think we would have beat the Knicks had this deal gone down.

[RJ87]

Smith I think is still about the money more so than ring

I think the Lakers want to trade Pau for Josh,  if Dwight reups,

did I mention I hate the Lakers.....

Good thing they can't do receive players via sign & trade because they're so far over the cap and well past the hard cap.

[Jeff]

might even be an easier trade since Atlanta could take back no salaries due to Dallas being under the cap

(good find/good topic, thanks)

[Moranis]

another note - picking up on the Myths article Bulpett wrote a day ago - how do we know that the Mavs deal fell apart because of the draft pick and not because Ainge knew he couldn't deal KG to the Clips because they wouldn't do the deal?

that's the trouble with trying to piece together history without all the facts

I think he would have done the trade even if the LAC trade fell through if he thought he could sign Smith long term at a reasonable price.  Smith and KG don't play the same position so they easily could have played together.