Idea: Rondo, Wallace, Bass & Lee for Bierdrins, Jefferson & Mo Williams

[KGs Knee]

Stupid trade...stupid idea.

Dumb...dumb...dumb!

[wdleehi]

Why keep Green's contract if the Celtics are giving away Rondo for nothing?

[Casperian]

From a purely theoretical viewpoint, I´d rather get draft picks than cap space, simply because you could get cap space by standing pat, while there´s no way to acquire extra picks other than through trades.

[guava_wrench]

Why I like the idea: If we do this, Utah basically does us a HUGE favor, salary cap wise.

Why I don't like the idea: If we do this, we are likely going to be bad next year.

Would I do it?: YES. It pains me to see us suck next year, but for me, the idea of having a top 2014 draft pick and massive cap space for the 2014 summer is too good to pass up.

Below is a list of the top 2014 free agents and I am willing to take my chances. By the way, I am not convinced that no one will come here because Rondo won't be here. Rondo is here now, and players aren't exactly knocking down the front door on Causeway Street.

My only questions to the OP:
1.)Isn't Mo Williams a free agent?
2.)Because Biedrins and RJeff were just dealt from Golden State and because GWallace was just dealt from Brooklyn, Celts would have to wait til September to make this deal, right?

2014 FA's
-Luol Deng
-Dirk Nowitzki
-Paul George (RFA)
-Kobe Bryant
-Pau Gasol
-Zach Randolph (player option)
-Lebron James (ETO)
-Chris Bosh (ETO)
-Carmelo Anthony (ETO)
-Marcin Gortat
-Demarcus Cousins (RFA)
-Tim Duncan (player option)
-John Wall (RFA)
-Rudy Gay (player option)
-Kwame Brown (lol, just kidding)

Really? Give up Rondo with the hope of getting Gortat, Deng or Gay? Give up Rondo for a chance to get someone who isn't even as good as he is. Makes sense. Or with the hope of getting guys with little left and who would only move to a team that is a clear winner, like Dirk, Kobe or Duncan? Why would you even include old guys like that in your list? Just to pad it out? Pau? You would give up Rondo for the chance to bid on Pau a year from now?

Melo (who I can't stand), based on recent news, would only be interested in Boston if Rondo is here. Why would Lebron go to a loser to restart from nothing?

If we want Cousins, why not trade Rondo for Cousins? That would be a sure thing.

George and Wall are RFAs. They aren't going anywhere.

[guava_wrench]

I think this article in today's Herald pretty much says it all on this subject.

http://bostonherald.com/sports/celtics_nba/boston_celtics/2013/07/for_c_s_l_for_learning

And focusing the merit of a trade like this strictly on the UFA market of 2014 is simply ignoring the business of (good) NBA front offices. Teams with cap space work from a distinct advantage over those that don't. Period.

If the Cs completed this trade, they'd have room for two max players. They'd also have tons of picks, and 3-4 good young players. That's a recipe for immediate rebuilding. Claiming it's not because poor GMs can't handle the responsibility when they have it is like blaming the Porsche for the reckless driving.....

The driving metaphor is a misrepresentation. There aren't enough great players to go around. It isn't the fault of the GM that superstars didn't go to NJ or Dallas then they had cap space. It wasn't the GMs fault when all NY could get was Amare. The problem was that there was only 1 Lebron to go around. It wasn't Orlando's GM's fault when Duncan chose to stay in SA.

Plenty of teams have had room for 2 all stars, but players didn't want to go there. GMs have very little ability to influence free agents. They have the power to trade, and cap space typically does not help at all when it comes to trades. In fact, it typically makes it harder to trade due to the inability to send back matching salary.

And when people write "Period.", it is typically the sign of a weak point with little empirical support. Cap space doesn't matter much. Getting a superstar is what matters. You don't need cap space if you can do a sign and trade.

This isn't Field of Dreams. Building it doesn't mean he'll come.

[guava_wrench]

For people excited about making space for free agents, learn a lesson from Deron Williams, Melo, and Chris Paul.

Also learn from Howard, Lebron, and Bosh - guys who went to teams with all-NBA caliber players.

Learn from Amare, Rashard Lewis, and Joe Johnson, guys who moved to bad teams, but were horribly overpaid to be willing to do so.

It is easy to get a max player. Just give a max contract to someone like Amare, Lewis, or JJ -- players who aren't worth it.

[BballTim]

I thought trades were supposed to make us better?

If teams only made trades that improved them on the day the deal happened, they'd struggle pretty badly. I'm interested in getting to a championship level as fast as possible.

To me this is a little like exercise. You know it's a proven investment in your future, even if it's hard to do today. But if you knew it would make you happier and healthier in the near future, wouldn't you stop kidding yourself, get proactive, and do it? Or are you too lazy or soft to stomach such an investment?

  Maybe he's just smart enough to realize that there are options other than yours.

Who is "he"? I'm referring to the team, not the poster.

And this (or some variation hereof) is the smart way -- its just more painful for fans because we have to eat a couple of seasons.

  A couple or twenty or more. Everyone who thinks that sucking for "a few years" is a surefire way to the top of the league should wonder why 20 teams don't do it every year, and why so few of the teams that do end up at the top.