Suns want to trade 2014 pick for a big name now

[Eddie20]

Scott Howard-Cooper ‏@SHowardCooper 47m

At http://NBA.com : Suns making it known they will trade pick(s) in loaded 2014 draft for a big name now. http://on.nba.com/1hS52Jt

I know this is going to get the trade people going...lol

The "picks" part is key. They have 4 1st rd picks this year (see below). Dragic along with the Suns and Wizards picks for Rondo sounds good. Add Okafor (expiring deal) and Wallace to the deal and it becomes great.

  The Suns and the Wizards are both playoff teams right now. Trading Rondo for a couple of picks in the late teens is a terrible idea.

I doubt either of them make the playoffs, and Dragic is an excellent player himself.

  Dragic is a decent player. He's having a good year but he's not a star.

A good year? His stats this year are top notch, and he's got 21 points at halftime tonight. He may not have the 'star' name, but he's highly productive. Getting him plus a good 1st round pick in a deep draft for Rondo is great value. I'm not sure the Suns would do it though, I think they will target a bigger name player at a position of need.

  Trading Rondo for multiple pieces isn't great value unless one of them has a strong likelihood of being at least as good as Rondo.

Don't forget that according to reports Rondo will be looking for a max deal next summer. I'm sure that'll weigh in heavily on Ainge.

On the other hand, the draft picks will have cap friendly rookie deals and Dragic is under a very modest contract based on his production.

[BballTim]

Scott Howard-Cooper ‏@SHowardCooper 47m

At http://NBA.com : Suns making it known they will trade pick(s) in loaded 2014 draft for a big name now. http://on.nba.com/1hS52Jt

I know this is going to get the trade people going...lol

The "picks" part is key. They have 4 1st rd picks this year (see below). Dragic along with the Suns and Wizards picks for Rondo sounds good. Add Okafor (expiring deal) and Wallace to the deal and it becomes great.

  The Suns and the Wizards are both playoff teams right now. Trading Rondo for a couple of picks in the late teens is a terrible idea.

I realize that the Suns are in the playoffs now, but that's fools good there. Golden State, Dallas, Minnesota, New Orleans (Davis will be back in a couple of weeks) and Memphis are all currently behind them in the standings. The Phoenix pick will be in the top 10.

 All 5 of those teams could pass them (not likely) and they still wouldn't be a bottom 10 team.

Which team doesn't pass them? 2 games or less separate Phoenix from all 5 teams. In fact, LA is also just 2 games behind Phoenix. I expect Phoenix to finish ahead of only Utah and maybe Sacramento (which will be better with Gay and an improving McLemore) in the conference. That in itself gives Phoenix a top 10 pick. I also expect a few current non-playoff EC teams to have a better record than them.

  I'm suddenly reminded of all of the "there's no way the Celts won't be a bottom three team" talk this offseason. Things generally don't go as planned for a decent number of teams in the league. The odds of things going well for all 5 of those teams isn't as high as you imagine.

The Suns starting lineup is Frye, PJ Tucker, Plumlee, Bledsoe, and Dragic, who you referred to as merely a "decent" player a couple of posts ago. If you feel strongly about the Suns playoffs chances, then I would happily make a bet with you.

  Right now they're on a 47 win pace. They'd probably have to lose over 60% of their remaining games to be in the bottom 10. Explain why you're so confident that will happen.

[BballTim]

Scott Howard-Cooper ‏@SHowardCooper 47m

At http://NBA.com : Suns making it known they will trade pick(s) in loaded 2014 draft for a big name now. http://on.nba.com/1hS52Jt

I know this is going to get the trade people going...lol

The "picks" part is key. They have 4 1st rd picks this year (see below). Dragic along with the Suns and Wizards picks for Rondo sounds good. Add Okafor (expiring deal) and Wallace to the deal and it becomes great.

  The Suns and the Wizards are both playoff teams right now. Trading Rondo for a couple of picks in the late teens is a terrible idea.

I doubt either of them make the playoffs, and Dragic is an excellent player himself.

  Dragic is a decent player. He's having a good year but he's not a star.

A good year? His stats this year are top notch, and he's got 21 points at halftime tonight. He may not have the 'star' name, but he's highly productive. Getting him plus a good 1st round pick in a deep draft for Rondo is great value. I'm not sure the Suns would do it though, I think they will target a bigger name player at a position of need.

  Trading Rondo for multiple pieces isn't great value unless one of them has a strong likelihood of being at least as good as Rondo.

Don't forget that according to reports Rondo will be looking for a max deal next summer. I'm sure that'll weigh in heavily on Ainge.

On the other hand, the draft picks will have cap friendly rookie deals and Dragic is under a very modest contract based on his production.

  The only reports that I've seen about Rondo looking for the max have come from posters grasping for reasons to trade him. And, yes, players that aren't as good as him get paid less.

[BudweiserCeltic]

Jeff Green and Avery Bradley for 2014 unprotected + someone else.

This seems to make the most sense.

Green & Bradley

for

Frye, Goodwin, Kravtsov, Pacers 1st, and Wizards or Suns 1st

Yeah, that's terrible value for Green and Bradley.

[BudweiserCeltic]

Scott Howard-Cooper ‏@SHowardCooper 47m

At http://NBA.com : Suns making it known they will trade pick(s) in loaded 2014 draft for a big name now. http://on.nba.com/1hS52Jt

I know this is going to get the trade people going...lol

The "picks" part is key. They have 4 1st rd picks this year (see below). Dragic along with the Suns and Wizards picks for Rondo sounds good. Add Okafor (expiring deal) and Wallace to the deal and it becomes great.

  The Suns and the Wizards are both playoff teams right now. Trading Rondo for a couple of picks in the late teens is a terrible idea.

I doubt either of them make the playoffs, and Dragic is an excellent player himself.

  Dragic is a decent player. He's having a good year but he's not a star.

A good year? His stats this year are top notch, and he's got 21 points at halftime tonight. He may not have the 'star' name, but he's highly productive. Getting him plus a good 1st round pick in a deep draft for Rondo is great value. I'm not sure the Suns would do it though, I think they will target a bigger name player at a position of need.

  Trading Rondo for multiple pieces isn't great value unless one of them has a strong likelihood of being at least as good as Rondo.

Don't forget that according to reports Rondo will be looking for a max deal next summer. I'm sure that'll weigh in heavily on Ainge.

On the other hand, the draft picks will have cap friendly rookie deals and Dragic is under a very modest contract based on his production.

  The only reports that I've seen about Rondo looking for the max have come from posters grasping for reasons to trade him. And, yes, players that aren't as good as him get paid less.

Whatever source it's coming from, it would be a bit ignorant not to think that Rondo won't be looking for a max deal. He for sure should be getting that, and the Celtics can easily afford it and remain financially healthy and flexible... it would all depend on how he returns from injury of course. But Rondo looking for a max deal shouldn't in any way influence whether Rondo should be retained or not as long as he's worth that value which remains to be seen, but financially it shouldn't be much of an issue.

[Eddie20]

Scott Howard-Cooper ‏@SHowardCooper 47m

At http://NBA.com : Suns making it known they will trade pick(s) in loaded 2014 draft for a big name now. http://on.nba.com/1hS52Jt

I know this is going to get the trade people going...lol

The "picks" part is key. They have 4 1st rd picks this year (see below). Dragic along with the Suns and Wizards picks for Rondo sounds good. Add Okafor (expiring deal) and Wallace to the deal and it becomes great.

  The Suns and the Wizards are both playoff teams right now. Trading Rondo for a couple of picks in the late teens is a terrible idea.

I doubt either of them make the playoffs, and Dragic is an excellent player himself.

  Dragic is a decent player. He's having a good year but he's not a star.

A good year? His stats this year are top notch, and he's got 21 points at halftime tonight. He may not have the 'star' name, but he's highly productive. Getting him plus a good 1st round pick in a deep draft for Rondo is great value. I'm not sure the Suns would do it though, I think they will target a bigger name player at a position of need.

  Trading Rondo for multiple pieces isn't great value unless one of them has a strong likelihood of being at least as good as Rondo.

Don't forget that according to reports Rondo will be looking for a max deal next summer. I'm sure that'll weigh in heavily on Ainge.

On the other hand, the draft picks will have cap friendly rookie deals and Dragic is under a very modest contract based on his production.

  The only reports that I've seen about Rondo looking for the max have come from posters grasping for reasons to trade him. And, yes, players that aren't as good as him get paid less.

Whatever source it's coming from, it would be a bit ignorant not to think that Rondo won't be looking for a max deal. He for sure should be getting that, and the Celtics can easily afford it and remain financially healthy and flexible... it would all depend on how he returns from injury of course. But Rondo looking for a max deal shouldn't in any way influence whether Rondo should be retained or not as long as he's worth that value which remains to be seen, but financially it shouldn't be much of an issue.

One of the biggest mistakes made is ponying up for a player based on past performances instead of on a projection made on how he'll perform during the upcoming one. A Rondo from ages 29-33 (assuming it's a 4 yr deal) is not one I'd like to pay a max deal to.

[nickagneta]

Rondo has never given any indication that he wants a max deal. He has made it clear he wants to be in Boston as long as he is playing basketball and went so far as to give the team a discounted contract the last time he signed.

I wouldn't rule out a max three year extension but you are going to hear demands from Rondo for the money. Its not how he handles that end of the business. I also wouldn't rule out a 3 year $45 million extension which is no where near a max deal.

[D.o.s.]

Rondo has never given any indication that he wants a max deal. He has made it clear he wants to be in Boston as long as he is playing basketball and went so far as to give the team a discounted contract the last time he signed.

I wouldn't rule out a max three year extension but you are going to hear demands from Rondo for the money. Its not how he handles that end of the business. I also wouldn't rule out a 3 year $45 million extension which is no where near a max deal.

Go home Nick, you're projecting.

Rondo wanted a max deal last time, and ended up settling for the discount.

Why wouldn't he want a max deal this time?

Rondo and Duffy are seeking a maximum or near-max contract that would pay him between $80 and $85 million; the Celtics are loath to put anything near that much into Rondo, given their existing expenditures for star players like Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce.

http://www.nba.com/2009/news/10/26/rondo.extension/

[Eddie20]

Rondo has never given any indication that he wants a max deal. He has made it clear he wants to be in Boston as long as he is playing basketball and went so far as to give the team a discounted contract the last time he signed.

I wouldn't rule out a max three year extension but you are going to hear demands from Rondo for the money. Its not how he handles that end of the business. I also wouldn't rule out a 3 year $45 million extension which is no where near a max deal.

Go home Nick, you're projecting.

Rondo wanted a max deal last time, and ended up settling for the discount.

Why wouldn't he want a max deal this time?

Rondo and Duffy are seeking a maximum or near-max contract that would pay him between $80 and $85 million; the Celtics are loath to put anything near that much into Rondo, given their existing expenditures for star players like Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce.

http://www.nba.com/2009/news/10/26/rondo.extension/

In addition, Bill Simmons actually had this a few days ago:

Rondo makes only $12 million this year and $13 million next year — that's chump change in today's market. From what I've heard, he wants a max extension and wants to compete now (and not later).

It's Simmons, yes, but he's more plugged in now than ever before. I think we all can agree on that.

[byennie]

If I'm Phoenix, I offer Okafor's expiring and the draft pick for Pau Gasol. He's unhappy and it would save the Lakers $10M including the luxury tax hit.

Gasol could play 3-5 more productive years in Phoenix and would be a huge upgrade over Plumlee. Len becomes the understudy eventually pushing Gasol to the 4 spot.

Assumes they have a shot at resigning him.

Bledsoe / Dragic / Tucker / Frye / Gasol is at least interesting, considering they've gone 13-9 with Plumlee in that spot.

[nickagneta]

Rondo has never given any indication that he wants a max deal. He has made it clear he wants to be in Boston as long as he is playing basketball and went so far as to give the team a discounted contract the last time he signed.

I wouldn't rule out a max three year extension but you are going to hear demands from Rondo for the money. Its not how he handles that end of the business. I also wouldn't rule out a 3 year $45 million extension which is no where near a max deal.

Go home Nick, you're projecting.

Rondo wanted a max deal last time, and ended up settling for the discount.

Why wouldn't he want a max deal this time?

Rondo and Duffy are seeking a maximum or near-max contract that would pay him between $80 and $85 million; the Celtics are loath to put anything near that much into Rondo, given their existing expenditures for star players like Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce.

http://www.nba.com/2009/news/10/26/rondo.extension/

First off, the go home I'm making stuff up comment is just not called for in any way shape or form.

Second, that one article you referenced was way off base as Duffy was looking more in the $5 year $55-60 million range not $80-85 million range. A quick google search will show that

Third, the negotiations for the most part stayed out of the press with very little quotes from either side publicly on money. Almost everything was just reporting without quotes on "demands". One of the reasons given for signing Rondo when they didn't have to was that he handled the contract negotiations publicly and privately so professionally that the Celtics felt him deserving of the contract at that time.

Lastly, since then, Rondo has never discussed money. Nothing being reported about him or his future contract has come out publicly. Its private and business and that's the way he has done business all along.

Also, just facts, Rondo didn't settle for what he got in his last contract, Danny gave in to that amount since Ainge supposedly was offering $10 million less over the length of the contract.

[BballTim]

Scott Howard-Cooper ‏@SHowardCooper 47m

At http://NBA.com : Suns making it known they will trade pick(s) in loaded 2014 draft for a big name now. http://on.nba.com/1hS52Jt

I know this is going to get the trade people going...lol

The "picks" part is key. They have 4 1st rd picks this year (see below). Dragic along with the Suns and Wizards picks for Rondo sounds good. Add Okafor (expiring deal) and Wallace to the deal and it becomes great.

  The Suns and the Wizards are both playoff teams right now. Trading Rondo for a couple of picks in the late teens is a terrible idea.

I doubt either of them make the playoffs, and Dragic is an excellent player himself.

  Dragic is a decent player. He's having a good year but he's not a star.

A good year? His stats this year are top notch, and he's got 21 points at halftime tonight. He may not have the 'star' name, but he's highly productive. Getting him plus a good 1st round pick in a deep draft for Rondo is great value. I'm not sure the Suns would do it though, I think they will target a bigger name player at a position of need.

  Trading Rondo for multiple pieces isn't great value unless one of them has a strong likelihood of being at least as good as Rondo.

Don't forget that according to reports Rondo will be looking for a max deal next summer. I'm sure that'll weigh in heavily on Ainge.

On the other hand, the draft picks will have cap friendly rookie deals and Dragic is under a very modest contract based on his production.

  The only reports that I've seen about Rondo looking for the max have come from posters grasping for reasons to trade him. And, yes, players that aren't as good as him get paid less.

Whatever source it's coming from, it would be a bit ignorant not to think that Rondo won't be looking for a max deal. He for sure should be getting that, and the Celtics can easily afford it and remain financially healthy and flexible... it would all depend on how he returns from injury of course. But Rondo looking for a max deal shouldn't in any way influence whether Rondo should be retained or not as long as he's worth that value which remains to be seen, but financially it shouldn't be much of an issue.

One of the biggest mistakes made is ponying up for a player based on past performances instead of on a projection made on how he'll perform during the upcoming one. A Rondo from ages 29-33 (assuming it's a 4 yr deal) is not one I'd like to pay a max deal to.

  Those are generally among most top player's better playoff years. It's not as over the hill as you seem to think it is.

[BballTim]

Rondo has never given any indication that he wants a max deal. He has made it clear he wants to be in Boston as long as he is playing basketball and went so far as to give the team a discounted contract the last time he signed.

I wouldn't rule out a max three year extension but you are going to hear demands from Rondo for the money. Its not how he handles that end of the business. I also wouldn't rule out a 3 year $45 million extension which is no where near a max deal.

Go home Nick, you're projecting.

Rondo wanted a max deal last time, and ended up settling for the discount.

Why wouldn't he want a max deal this time?

Rondo and Duffy are seeking a maximum or near-max contract that would pay him between $80 and $85 million; the Celtics are loath to put anything near that much into Rondo, given their existing expenditures for star players like Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce.

http://www.nba.com/2009/news/10/26/rondo.extension/

  I don't think that's at all accurate. I remember the Celts and Rondo being a few million a year apart, not 7-8 million a year.

[Eddie20]

Rondo has never given any indication that he wants a max deal. He has made it clear he wants to be in Boston as long as he is playing basketball and went so far as to give the team a discounted contract the last time he signed.

I wouldn't rule out a max three year extension but you are going to hear demands from Rondo for the money. Its not how he handles that end of the business. I also wouldn't rule out a 3 year $45 million extension which is no where near a max deal.

Go home Nick, you're projecting.

Rondo wanted a max deal last time, and ended up settling for the discount.

Why wouldn't he want a max deal this time?

Rondo and Duffy are seeking a maximum or near-max contract that would pay him between $80 and $85 million; the Celtics are loath to put anything near that much into Rondo, given their existing expenditures for star players like Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce.

http://www.nba.com/2009/news/10/26/rondo.extension/

First off, the go home I'm making stuff up comment is just not called for in any way shape or form.

Second, that one article you referenced was way off base as Duffy was looking more in the $5 year $55-60 million range not $80-85 million range. A quick google search will show that

Third, the negotiations for the most part stayed out of the press with very little quotes from either side publicly on money. Almost everything was just reporting without quotes on "demands". One of the reasons given for signing Rondo when they didn't have to was that he handled the contract negotiations publicly and privately so professionally that the Celtics felt him deserving of the contract at that time.

Lastly, since then, Rondo has never discussed money. Nothing being reported about him or his future contract has come out publicly. Its private and business and that's the way he has done business all along.

Also, just facts, Rondo didn't settle for what he got in his last contract, Danny gave in to that amount since Ainge supposedly was offering $10 million less over the length of the contract.

No offense, but I think you're grasping at straws here. Why would Duffy, an agent who's job it is to make as much money for his client and himself, come into negotiations with the exact amount he ultimately settled for? If so, he's the worst agent I've ever heard of.

Can you please provide an example that Rondo originally wanted 55-60M and not the 80-85M? Is there even anything out there that refutes David Aldridge's report? I think I'm more inclined to believe David Aldridge than Nick the frequent poster on C's Blog.

[BballTim]

Rondo has never given any indication that he wants a max deal. He has made it clear he wants to be in Boston as long as he is playing basketball and went so far as to give the team a discounted contract the last time he signed.

I wouldn't rule out a max three year extension but you are going to hear demands from Rondo for the money. Its not how he handles that end of the business. I also wouldn't rule out a 3 year $45 million extension which is no where near a max deal.

Go home Nick, you're projecting.

Rondo wanted a max deal last time, and ended up settling for the discount.

Why wouldn't he want a max deal this time?

Rondo and Duffy are seeking a maximum or near-max contract that would pay him between $80 and $85 million; the Celtics are loath to put anything near that much into Rondo, given their existing expenditures for star players like Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce.

http://www.nba.com/2009/news/10/26/rondo.extension/

In addition, Bill Simmons actually had this a few days ago:

Rondo makes only $12 million this year and $13 million next year — that's chump change in today's market. From what I've heard, he wants a max extension and wants to compete now (and not later).

It's Simmons, yes, but he's more plugged in now than ever before. I think we all can agree on that.

  I don't think we can agree on that at all.