Did the folks that don't like this deal watch the NBA finals. GSW was pretty toast until Steve Kerr remembered that he had David Lee on the bench.
I like you better when you're ranting about Doc Rivers than when you try to talk basketball.
Kerr's game winning adjustment was taking out Bogut. Addition by Subtraction. The Cavaliers didn't have a big that was worth defending, so they didn't need a big who could defend.
I think you're right, but you're not going far enough—Bogut was completely inept on offense in the Finals, then Lee came in and was scoring at ease, and Cleveland was blindsided by it.
I really like this trade. As others have noted, Lee was still putting up really good point and rebound numbers just two seasons ago, was a great teammate last season in GS, was prepared when Kerr called on him in the Finals, and can have a much greater on-court impact at this point than Gerald Wallace (though I like Wallace and appreciate his work as a mentor to the younger guys). Plus, he's a better trade chip than Wallace.
It's true that Lee isn't a very good defender, but I think some people put too much emphasis on defense at the expense of scoring, like it's better to have good defenders who can't score than to have good scorers who can't defend. We all know that offense
and defense are needed, and that a lineup of Smart, Bradley, Crowder/Turner, Sully/KO, and Johnson/Zeller is going to need to limit opponents to about 85 points a game, because they're going to have a lot of trouble scoring. For years, in fact, the Celtics have lacked consistent offensive punch, even when KG, Pierce, and Allen were here, but now this team has two legit offensive weapons in Lee and IT (maybe three if Rozier pans out) while still having quite a few good defenders—in other words, a better balance of offense and defense. I think this is a good thing.
I agree with those who think KO or Sully will be traded (I think it'll be Sully), maybe along with one or more of our guards, perhaps for a better wing option than Crowder or Turner. I've had high hopes for KO and Sully, but maybe they've been too high—I'm not sure either will reach all-star level. And since the ultimate goal is an NBA title—which requires multiple all-star-level players—why not use one or both of them to help get an all-star?
This team is too good for a top-5 pick, so it seems that the best course of action at this point is to sacrifice some youth development (involving players who probably aren't going to be all-stars, anyway) in exchange for another trip to the playoffs, hopefully with a .500-or-better record this time, to show the rest of the league that the Celtics are an attractive option—and if the team can showcase some young guys and/or expirings in the process, leading to trades for even better players, then that's a good thing.
Topic: Celtics trade for David Lee (Read 107677 times)