Not in a vacuum.
Now if this was just one part of multiple deals that brought the Celtics more then one star in their prime to join Rondo like when they brought in KG and Ray, I can definitely see it happening.
That would be the point. Kinda repeating what happened in 2007.
But those deals need to be in place before trading the pick. It can't be "we hope to do this kind of follow up."
Pretty sure the KG deal with Minnesota was not already in place when they dealt for Ray Allen.
In fact, if I remember correctly, originally the Celtcs wanted to trade for KG on draft night but Garnett nixed the deal initially, so the Celts traded for Ray Allen instead.
I don't think the Ray and KG trades were perfectly outlined in advance.
Even if that was the case, the payoff of that 5th pick was smaller then one of the top 3 picks we are talking about now.
Yea, I suppose. I guess if it were up to me, and I could obtain a Love, Gasol, Kyrie or Melo for the pick, I would do it.
And if anything, I think the Celts would win that trade, not the other team. Top 3 picks are always nice but they are always far from a sure thing.
Personal preference, I suppose.
I will say this though. Looking back on that deal that landed Ray and the rights to Big Baby for Delonte, Sczerbiak and the rights to Jeff Green ended up being a steal for the Celts.
I know a top 3 pick is more valuable than a number 5 pick, but if the Celts could pull off something similar, that would be great!
Would it have still been a big "win" if the Celtics had traded the 2nd or 3rd pick of that draft?
Well revisionist history included, if it was Greg Oden, then yes it would've been (lol.)
But you raise a very good point.
If Danny was able to draft Kevin Durant on draft night, I do wonder if he still makes the deal for KG OR if he trades Paul Pierce instead, keeps all the young players (Jefferson, Delonte, Gomes, etc.) and assembles a roster that would've had a much longer life expectation than the 3 year window that Paul, KG and Ray did.
This is of course assuming that the Celts would've gone on to draft Harden and Ibaka in the following 2 years.
Of course, the flip side to that is, are any of the players in the top 3 of this year's draft projected to be as good as Durant?
It doesn't appear that Parker or Wiggins look to be THAT good.
Fun to think about.