Knicks & Celtics trade. Time to blow up the Knicks.Celtics= top contender.

[chambers]

Knicks are screwed. Melo is likely walking (IMO).

Knicks send:
Melo 21.5 million
Chandler 14 million
Iman Shumpert 2.76 million
Kenyon Martin 1.4 million
Total  $39.66 million

Celtics send:
Wallace 10 million
Lee 5 million
Humphries 12 million (expiring)
2014 first rounder (worse of theirs and Atlantas/Brooklyn)
2015 first rounder (Clippers pick)
2015 first
Kelly Olynyk(12th pick 2013 draft) 2 million
Jordan Crawford 3.2 (expiring +rights)
Avery Bradley 3.5 (expiring)
Paul Pierce trade exception can be squeezed in here to mean Celtics can take back up to 10 million more than outgoing salaries right? eg Celtics can take back 37 million for their 27 million?



35.5 million total

Celtics 5
Rondo 15 million
Shumpert 2.76 million
Green 8 million
Melo 18 million
Chandler 14 million

Bench
Sullinger 1.4 million
Martin 1.4 million
Pierce vet min
KG TPE

Approx $64 million?

Extra 6 million only costs Celtics approx 9 million in tax.

*Knicks end up with 3 first rounders and Kelly Olynyk (good prospect- looking very solid so far).
*Can re-sign Crawford who's going to win Most improved player in the NBA with restricted free agency- or just let his 3.2 million expire.
*Expiring Humphries deal
*Expiring Bradley deal
=3 first rounders+top 5 rookie+ 16.5 million in expiring's.

Green can get easy looks on offense because Melo will be guarded by the opponents best defender. Green can also guard Lebron, George, and the other elite wings so Melo has more energy on offense late in the game. We'd have a small ball line up and we'd still have Rondo and Melo on their big money.
Small ball line up with size and shooting.
Bench is still awesome with Sully coming in as traditional PF and if Chandler is injured Sully can start.



Close/far?

[LatterDayCelticsfan]

Pretty sure the Knicks would rather die than make the Celtics a contender

[crimson_stallion]

What makes you think that adding Carmello makes us better?

Carmello is in New York right now, how is that doing for them?

Carmello is a ball hog who is quite possibly one of the worst defensive players in the entire league.  Yes he is an elite offensive player, but he's also a guy who makes the ball stop and who at times has utterly horrendous shot selection.

Carmello needs to be one a team who has elite defense, but struggles to score.  A team like this hopefully has enough quality defenders in their starting lineup to make up for Carmello's deficiencies, while they can also benefit from his scoring.

For a team like us I just don't like Melo because we are an up and coming team trying to develop out young talent, and having a guy like Melo who hogs the ball just means out young guys will never touch the ball.

[fitzhickey]

What makes you think that adding Carmello makes us better?

Carmello is in New York right now, how is that doing for them?

Carmello is a ball hog who is quite possibly one of the worst defensive players in the entire league.  Yes he is an elite offensive player, but he's also a guy who makes the ball stop and who at times has utterly horrendous shot selection.

Carmello needs to be one a team who has elite defense, but struggles to score.  A team like this hopefully has enough quality defenders in their starting lineup to make up for Carmello's deficiencies, while they can also benefit from his scoring.

For a team like us I just don't like Melo because we are an up and coming team trying to develop out young talent, and having a guy like Melo who hogs the ball just means out young guys will never touch the ball.

All the defenders in that hypothetical starting line-up are solid defenders at worst.

But your second point I really agree with. Not interested in Melo

[chambers]

What makes you think that adding Carmello makes us better?

Carmello is in New York right now, how is that doing for them?

Carmello is a ball hog who is quite possibly one of the worst defensive players in the entire league.  Yes he is an elite offensive player, but he's also a guy who makes the ball stop and who at times has utterly horrendous shot selection.

Carmello needs to be one a team who has elite defense, but struggles to score.  A team like this hopefully has enough quality defenders in their starting lineup to make up for Carmello's deficiencies, while they can also benefit from his scoring.

For a team like us I just don't like Melo because we are an up and coming team trying to develop out young talent, and having a guy like Melo who hogs the ball just means out young guys will never touch the ball.

The guy has never had a single drop of help in his entire career. The most help he's had is Tyson Chandler and Chauncey Billups.
Green makes his life so much easier on both ends- they complement each other perfectly and Rondo finds him for so many open looks- same with Chandler around the ring on offense.
The have Chandler protecting the rim and Carmelo replaces Pierce as the main scorer. They also have Rondo and Green to help with scoring, and hopefully our 2 guard can hit 3 three's a night with some dribble game. (Shumpert or our own 2014 pick).

The bench is stacked too with Sully and Martin.

Not sure what you'd want in a free agent if you're too good for Carmelo Anthony. Get him playing in a defensive system, rather than a run and gun chuckers style that goes no where in the playoffs unless you have a decoy player (Durant has Westbrook, Lebron has Wade and Bosh).

You're calling him a ball hog but the offense is DESIGNED for him to be a hog. It always has been because he's the only legit All Star he's ever had on his own teams! His usage is 35%, meaning 1 in 3 plays are designed for him.

Just exactly who does Carmelo have in that horrible system to provide any help? JR Smith and Barngani?

I do agree with you that playing with a strong defensive core like ours would potentially be with Rondo, Green and Chandler would be very succesful. He wouldn't be the only scorer and would give Green so many chances against weaker opponents.

Rondo with Green and Melo on each wing while he runs pick and roll with Chandler? Add a sweet three point shooter like Quincy Pondexter to that line up and it would rain three pointers and alley oops. They'd also be tough to score on because Melo and Green can rotate on whomever we choose.

Don't forget the run he took that Knicks team on last year. It was fools gold because in the playoffs teams just kept Melo locked by 2 guys each series, but with some All Star help in Rondo and a nice 3rd/4th option in Chandler/Green we'd be competing with Miami and Indiana for the East's crown.

[crimson_stallion]

Carmello has never had help? 

He had Allen Iverson not far outside his prime, he had Chauncey Billups when he still had life left in him, he had Amare and JR Smith (who was an elite scorer last season) in New York.

Carmello simply cannot co-exist with other elite scorers. The Knicks almost looked better the before they signed Melo (with Amare as their #1 guy) then they did after.  Ever since they got Melo they seem to have just imploded.

I love Melo's offensive skillset and his desire to win (nobody can argue that he doesn't play hard) but his ball-hog tactics have "team cancer" written all over them.

Also while Boston does have solid defenders in it's starting lineup, solid is not enough.  You need elite defenders.  If you rewinded three or four years back when we had Rondo, Pierce, a young KG and Perk on the team then we could have probably used a guy like Melo.  KG and Perk were some of the top help defenders in the NBA, and Rondo was arguably the best defensive PG in the league, and Pierce was a very good defender himself and could pick up the oppositions best scoring wing player.

We have some nice defenders, but not good enough to the point where they can constantly cover up for all of Melo's defensive mistakes.

[TheBigTicket23]

Dirk Nowitzki didn't have much more help than Carmelo. Both had Chandler in good stages of his career.
I don't like this trade at all. Will never happen.

[Moranis]

You can't use the trade exception with other trades.

[Celtics4ever]

Carmelo will lead us to mediocrity it is what he does on all his teams.

[SHAQATTACK]

Melo sucks

[chambers]

Carmello has never had help? 

He had Allen Iverson not far outside his prime, he had Chauncey Billups when he still had life left in him, he had Amare and JR Smith (who was an elite scorer last season) in New York.

Carmello simply cannot co-exist with other elite scorers. The Knicks almost looked better the before they signed Melo (with Amare as their #1 guy) then they did after.  Ever since they got Melo they seem to have just imploded.

I love Melo's offensive skillset and his desire to win (nobody can argue that he doesn't play hard) but his ball-hog tactics have "team cancer" written all over them.

Also while Boston does have solid defenders in it's starting lineup, solid is not enough.  You need elite defenders.  If you rewinded three or four years back when we had Rondo, Pierce, a young KG and Perk on the team then we could have probably used a guy like Melo.  KG and Perk were some of the top help defenders in the NBA, and Rondo was arguably the best defensive PG in the league, and Pierce was a very good defender himself and could pick up the oppositions best scoring wing player.

We have some nice defenders, but not good enough to the point where they can constantly cover up for all of Melo's defensive mistakes.

Sorry but a Rondo, Chandler, Green, Shumpert (or Bradley) defensive unit with Carmelo is more than enough to guard the Miami Heat.

He was put next to Iverson in his 4th season, a terrible move by Nuggets management that saw one of the greatest chuckers in the game, a combo guard with a usage of almost 30% and 21 points per 36 minutes. This was while they had JR smith scoring 20 points a game- holding a vomit contest with Iverson as to who could take the worse shot selection.

He was then moved to New York where they already had Amare Stoudemire playing well- again a totally ball dominant big man with a usage rate of 25-20%
You are correct that Carmelo doesn't blend well with other high volume scorers, but to be fair, I don't believe Melo and Amare had enough of a chance to work it out. Amare's been completely useless since the lockout and they played maybe 60 games together before the lockout? Since then, Amare's contract has kept the Knicks from getting any other help for Melo and Chandler, with Lin rising to fame- trying to recover what they'd lost in Amare's injuries.
The Knicks again, follow the streetball method and management has the predicament of Lin at 29% usage, Amare at 25% usage and Melo at 35% usage. Melo is not in the power forward position where he has excelled the last 2 seasons- and he's taking too many jumpshots with Amare taking the power forward position.

The guy has been failed by management his entire career. It's an excuse for him, and it doesn't excuse the work he needs on his defense- but he can improve with the right coach and teaching. He's got a great IQ and we've seen him play phenomenal defense against Pierce on many occasions.

Putting Melo at the PF spot, next to Chandler protecting the rim and Green+Rondo+Bradley/Shumpert is EASILY one of the top 4 defensive units in the East.

George Karl and Mike Woodson are this guys teachers.
He has not had teams built around him properly like other franchise players in the NBA. That doesn't excuse his defense- but his defense is not what's stopped his teams being terrible in the playoffs- He's had to play the elite Western teams for the first half of his career and the Heat, Bulls, Celtics and Indiana teams in his Eastern reign- how are those NY teams supposed to compete with those 4 with Amare on one leg and Raymond Felton as the go-to guard?
The key to his success is a pass first point guard- a guy who WANTS to give him the ball in the best spot in the post and coming off curls and picks.
A complmentry scorer like Jeff Green that is happy scoring 15-18 points a game off 19-22% usage- who can guard the other elite scorers and give Melo and even easier time on defense so the defensive chain flows smoothly.

To win a championship, stars need help from other stars that complement their strengths and cover their weaknesses.
Rondo+Green+Chandler are like a holy triple for Melo.
A shooting guard that stretches the floor even more is the cherry on top.
Melo wouldn't need to score 28 ppg here. He could score 22 ppg and get 7 or 8 assists playing power forward and gettig to the line- he could also be the go-to guy like Pierce in the last 2 minutes.

His defense needs improvement but he really has never been given the right chance- he's always been screwed from bad management or injuries to his team mates.

Last question is, if you hate the thought of Melo on this team with Rondo, what other elite small forward/power forward player are we looking for to pair with Rondo?
Remember Melo is only 29 years old. Almost the same age as Rondo. He's got a good 4 years left in his prime and his last season was his best ever.

If we aren't going for the ping pong balls, and we can't get Lebron or Durant, I don't know what Celtics fans want to give us a shot at a title with Rondo still here.

[McHales Pits]

I don't like this idea for two reasons...

1) Stevens' is a rookie coach who I think is still getting his feet wet in the NBA. He is likely much more comfortable working with promising young players and hard-working vets. I would wonder if asking him to control a Rondo & Melo team would be too much to ask.

2) I don't see how adding the key players from a losing team and making them "our" key players would help us be a winning team. There is a reason why the Knicks are faltering, let's not take on that problem. I think the Cs are still in the asset collection phase of rebuilding. Just because they are in first place in a terrible division doesn't mean they should cash out on assets and rush the rebuilding. Especially not for the aforementioned group of players.

[KGs Knee]

This is just my suspicion, but I think Melo would defer to Rondo.  Rondo doesn't want to be a lead scorer, and Melo does.  Rondo would simply get him better looks likely resulting in a much better efficiency.

I don't like this trade at all though.  I don't want Chandler, who is in decline and owed too much money.  I'd rather try to trade for Asik or Monroe.  We have a number of picks, which can be dealt.  Brooklyn's picks are gaining value by the day.

At this point, I think I'm going to be disappointed if Ainge isn't able to turn our plethora of picks into at least one star, and a good 2nd/3rd banana.

[chambers]

This is just my suspicion, but I think Melo would defer to Rondo.  Rondo doesn't want to be a lead scorer, and Melo does.  Rondo would simply get him better looks likely resulting in a much better efficiency.

I don't like this trade at all though.  I don't want Chandler, who is in decline and owed too much money.  I'd rather try to trade for Asik or Monroe.  We have a number of picks, which can be dealt.  Brooklyn's picks are gaining value by the day.

At this point, I think I'm going to be disappointed if Ainge isn't able to turn our plethora of picks into at least one star, and a good 2nd/3rd banana.

Chandler is a big contract, but he's 31 and in his prime.
Asik just doesn't compare to Chandler on the offensive end in terms of shooting % and TS%. Asik's contract is nice, and only counts for 8 million- that's the only reason he'd be considered on a squad for me.
I feel that Chandler with his shot blocking, pick and roll ability and championship experience is worth the extra 6 million per year against the cap. The actual money we pay them is identical at 14 million.
I don't hate Asik, and Rondo would make him nice- but Chandler was the 2012 defensive player of the year and all defensive first team in 2013- he also still hasn't played with a true pass first PG other than Jason Kidd. Both these guys would flourish under Rondo.


Summary:

There aren't many opportunities to acquire a top 3 NBA scorer and the defensive player of the year 2 seasons ago and All NBA defensive team l season ago (who also has championship experience against the Miami Heat, Thunder and Spurs).

We are giving up 3 picks, some expiring contracts and Kelly Olynyk (only one of those picks being our own- when it projects to be around 25-30 in the first round.)

What more do you want? KG and Ray Allen aren't walking through that door lol. Neither is Lebron or Durant. If you want Rondo to have a shot at a title, and you want a reason for him to stay in Boston, you MUST pull the trigger on something like this.

If you have a better idea please light up my ears and eyes!

[saltlover]

You can't use the trade exception with other trades.

The trade exception is unnecessary in this trade, because the Celtics could take on 25% more salary (up to the hard cap which they'd be pennies under if the OP's salary numbers are correct).  Also, if they wanted, for some reason, to use the trade exception, they could use it to acquire Shumpert and Martin as a separate deal.  It can't be combined with other players' salary to aggregate to a higher number (e.g. Hump+ exception for Melo), but it can be used in trades with players.