So now the Clippers need to sign Doc first to prove the trade/Doc sign are not conditional. They have said they won't even offer a single draft pick for Doc?
What is to stop them from (once we let Doc go) going back on their deal for KG entirely and telling us we get no draft picks at all?
If you ask me the Clippers management gone too far with their greed and insulted the Boston staff one too many times. I say hang up the phone and put their number on ignore - permanently.
Sacramento
First call Sacramento, offer them Bradley, Lee, Sullinger and our #16 pick - see if they bite.
The aquisition of Cousins takes pressure off KG and allows him to move back to PF, while the development of Green takes pressure off Pierce - this is enough to convince both guys (And Doc) to return for another run this season with Rondo, Pierce, Green, Garnett, Cousins as our starting 5.
Next year Pierces $16M comes off the books. This gives us two options:
1. Re-sign Pierce for one more season at a smaller figure to allow him to finish up his career with KG and allow both retire as Celtics. After the final year Rondo's contract expires. With Cousins and Green still on long term contracts Rondo likely re-signs, allowing us to add some extra pierces to replace Pierce and KG.
2. Allow Pierce and KG to retire freely. KG's $12M and Pierces $16M come off the books, bringing our cap figure down from $74M to $46M. We now have $10M in cap space, plus we have Rondo, Green and Cousins to build around.
Either of these options allows us to contend this season, while still allowing us to remain competitive and avoid a rebuild two seasons down the track. The combination of Rondo + Cousins gives us an elite base to build around, while Green will be perfect as the 'third guy' for years to come.
This all depends on the Kings being willing to trade Cousins of course, but if we can convince them this leaves us WAY better off than the Clippers deal.
Even the worst-case is really pretty good. We give Cousins two years here (aligned with Rondo's contract) and by the end if it doesn't work out as planned, he will still be a supremely talented 24 year old big man so he will still have high trade value.
What does everybody think? Assuming we can convince Sac to make the deal, I don't see how this can possible work out worse than the deal Doc is working at right now.