Fan Fiction: Talks continue; Celts want to hold onto '17 pick; may land Griffin

[PhoSita]

As an aside, I find the "fan fiction" part of this title disappointing.

If we're going to do fan fiction, it should be a story about Isaiah and Kelly Olynyk meeting one day on an outdoor court in the rough part of town.  Kelly will hustle Isaiah out of a hundred bucks by challenging him to a game of horse.  Isaiah will be overconfident because Kelly is white, and then Kelly will make it rain.  But they laugh about it and end up the best of friends in the end.

[crimson_stallion]

Ok well if we can allow ourselves to indulge in speculation, I'd say...

Griffin + the '17 pick > Demarcus Cousins

Personally, I disagree.  I would take a deal where we give up #17 and get cousins over a deal where we get Blake and keep #17.

Cousins is more talented, he's younger, his game fits the team better, and he's locked in to a long term bargain contract.  His value is far greater then Griffin's, and I think the gap is great enough to justify throwing in #17.

At one time Blake was a pick...Boogie too. Would it have been stupid to pick up those picks?

This is a completely irrational point.

The entire downside of draft picks is they are like lucky dips - you never know what you are going to get.  Almost every year there is a top three pick who turns out a bust. 

Maybe once in every 3 or 4 drafts there is a #1 pick who actually ends up becoming a legit superstar.

Sacramento had 9 lottery picks in 10 years from 2005 to 2015, and out of those 9 lottery picks Cousins is the only one who made an All-Star team. 

Philly had the worst record in the NBA last year, took a low risk pick with Jahlil Okafor at #3, ended up with one of the better players in that draft, and they STILL couldn't get a #5 pick in return for him when they tried to trade him on draft day. 

You can draft a guy like Jabari Parker at #2 one year and end up with a guy who looks like a solid starter at best...while another team might take a guy like Isaiah Thomas at #60 and end up with a future All-Star. 

When you are selecting in the draft, the odds are against you - plain and simple. 

When you're trading for a guy like Griffin or Cousins, you aren't trading for an unknown.  You are trading for a proven superstar-level talent.  There may be red flags (be it health, personality, or whatever) but there is absolutely no question that those two guys are capable of producing at an all-star level against NBA competition.

Hindsight is a powerful thing, but it's not a resource Danny Ainge has available to him when he's sitting there on draft day selecting a prospect.  You're playing a hand of poker with a 10, J, Q, A while the guy next to you is sitting there quite contently with his 8's and 9's ...as you both wait for that final card to fall on the river.  You know that if you hit that King you've won it big...but there are more then 40 cards left on the table and only 4 of them are Kings - and if anything but a King falls you lose it all.

That, my friend, is the Draft Lottery in a nutshell.  No matter how strong your hand has the potential to be - it's still so easy to lose on an epic scale.

Trading that pick for a guy like Cousins or Griffin the gamble is very small.  There is still a risk involved, but it's low.  It's like hitting a full house with Aces over Kings - there's still a chance you could lose if the next guy has quad Aces, but your hand is so strong there is no choice but to go all in.

[crimson_stallion]

As an aside, I find the "fan fiction" part of this title disappointing.

If we're going to do fan fiction, it should be a story about Isaiah and Kelly Olynyk meeting one day on an outdoor court in the rough part of town.  Kelly will hustle Isaiah out of a hundred bucks by challenging him to a game of horse.  Isaiah will be overconfident because Kelly is white, and then Kelly will make it rain.  But they laugh about it and end up the best of friends in the end.

Isn't that just the story of White Men Can't Jump in a nutshell? lol

[Raul C]

Does this mean KO is smashing Rosie Perez?

[Jiri Welsch]

Does this mean KO is smashing Rosie Perez?

Loose.

Let's go get Blake Griff for the '18 pick.

[Timdawgg]

Ok well if we can allow ourselves to indulge in speculation, I'd say...

Griffin + the '17 pick > Demarcus Cousins

Personally, I disagree.  I would take a deal where we give up #17 and get cousins over a deal where we get Blake and keep #17.

Cousins is more talented, he's younger, his game fits the team better, and he's locked in to a long term bargain contract.  His value is far greater then Griffin's, and I think the gap is great enough to justify throwing in #17.

At one time Blake was a pick...Boogie too. Would it have been stupid to pick up those picks?

This is a completely irrational point.

The entire downside of draft picks is they are like lucky dips - you never know what you are going to get.  Almost every year there is a top three pick who turns out a bust. 

Maybe once in every 3 or 4 drafts there is a #1 pick who actually ends up becoming a legit superstar.

Sacramento had 9 lottery picks in 10 years from 2005 to 2015, and out of those 9 lottery picks Cousins is the only one who made an All-Star team. 

Philly had the worst record in the NBA last year, took a low risk pick with Jahlil Okafor at #3, ended up with one of the better players in that draft, and they STILL couldn't get a #5 pick in return for him when they tried to trade him on draft day. 

You can draft a guy like Jabari Parker at #2 one year and end up with a guy who looks like a solid starter at best...while another team might take a guy like Isaiah Thomas at #60 and end up with a future All-Star. 

When you are selecting in the draft, the odds are against you - plain and simple. 

When you're trading for a guy like Griffin or Cousins, you aren't trading for an unknown.  You are trading for a proven superstar-level talent.  There may be red flags (be it health, personality, or whatever) but there is absolutely no question that those two guys are capable of producing at an all-star level against NBA competition.

Hindsight is a powerful thing, but it's not a resource Danny Ainge has available to him when he's sitting there on draft day selecting a prospect.  You're playing a hand of poker with a 10, J, Q, A while the guy next to you is sitting there quite contently with his 8's and 9's ...as you both wait for that final card to fall on the river.  You know that if you hit that King you've won it big...but there are more then 40 cards left on the table and only 4 of them are Kings - and if anything but a King falls you lose it all.

That, my friend, is the Draft Lottery in a nutshell.  No matter how strong your hand has the potential to be - it's still so easy to lose on an epic scale.

Trading that pick for a guy like Cousins or Griffin the gamble is very small.  There is still a risk involved, but it's low.  It's like hitting a full house with Aces over Kings - there's still a chance you could lose if the next guy has quad Aces, but your hand is so strong there is no choice but to go all in.

Perfect analogy!

[Jiri Welsch]

Ok well if we can allow ourselves to indulge in speculation, I'd say...

Griffin + the '17 pick > Demarcus Cousins

Personally, I disagree.  I would take a deal where we give up #17 and get cousins over a deal where we get Blake and keep #17.

Cousins is more talented, he's younger, his game fits the team better, and he's locked in to a long term bargain contract.  His value is far greater then Griffin's, and I think the gap is great enough to justify throwing in #17.

At one time Blake was a pick...Boogie too. Would it have been stupid to pick up those picks?

This is a completely irrational point.

The entire downside of draft picks is they are like lucky dips - you never know what you are going to get.  Almost every year there is a top three pick who turns out a bust. 

Maybe once in every 3 or 4 drafts there is a #1 pick who actually ends up becoming a legit superstar.

Sacramento had 9 lottery picks in 10 years from 2005 to 2015, and out of those 9 lottery picks Cousins is the only one who made an All-Star team. 

Philly had the worst record in the NBA last year, took a low risk pick with Jahlil Okafor at #3, ended up with one of the better players in that draft, and they STILL couldn't get a #5 pick in return for him when they tried to trade him on draft day. 

You can draft a guy like Jabari Parker at #2 one year and end up with a guy who looks like a solid starter at best...while another team might take a guy like Isaiah Thomas at #60 and end up with a future All-Star. 

When you are selecting in the draft, the odds are against you - plain and simple. 

When you're trading for a guy like Griffin or Cousins, you aren't trading for an unknown.  You are trading for a proven superstar-level talent.  There may be red flags (be it health, personality, or whatever) but there is absolutely no question that those two guys are capable of producing at an all-star level against NBA competition.

Hindsight is a powerful thing, but it's not a resource Danny Ainge has available to him when he's sitting there on draft day selecting a prospect.  You're playing a hand of poker with a 10, J, Q, A while the guy next to you is sitting there quite contently with his 8's and 9's ...as you both wait for that final card to fall on the river.  You know that if you hit that King you've won it big...but there are more then 40 cards left on the table and only 4 of them are Kings - and if anything but a King falls you lose it all.

That, my friend, is the Draft Lottery in a nutshell.  No matter how strong your hand has the potential to be - it's still so easy to lose on an epic scale.

Trading that pick for a guy like Cousins or Griffin the gamble is very small.  There is still a risk involved, but it's low.  It's like hitting a full house with Aces over Kings - there's still a chance you could lose if the next guy has quad Aces, but your hand is so strong there is no choice but to go all in.

Perfect analogy!

Your deck doesn't have 5 Aces?

Or may be he uses Jokers...

[Jiri Welsch]

Ok well if we can allow ourselves to indulge in speculation, I'd say...

Griffin + the '17 pick > Demarcus Cousins

Personally, I disagree.  I would take a deal where we give up #17 and get cousins over a deal where we get Blake and keep #17.

Cousins is more talented, he's younger, his game fits the team better, and he's locked in to a long term bargain contract.  His value is far greater then Griffin's, and I think the gap is great enough to justify throwing in #17.

At one time Blake was a pick...Boogie too. Would it have been stupid to pick up those picks?

This is a completely irrational point.

The entire downside of draft picks is they are like lucky dips - you never know what you are going to get.  Almost every year there is a top three pick who turns out a bust. 

Maybe once in every 3 or 4 drafts there is a #1 pick who actually ends up becoming a legit superstar.

Sacramento had 9 lottery picks in 10 years from 2005 to 2015, and out of those 9 lottery picks Cousins is the only one who made an All-Star team. 

Philly had the worst record in the NBA last year, took a low risk pick with Jahlil Okafor at #3, ended up with one of the better players in that draft, and they STILL couldn't get a #5 pick in return for him when they tried to trade him on draft day. 

You can draft a guy like Jabari Parker at #2 one year and end up with a guy who looks like a solid starter at best...while another team might take a guy like Isaiah Thomas at #60 and end up with a future All-Star. 

When you are selecting in the draft, the odds are against you - plain and simple. 

When you're trading for a guy like Griffin or Cousins, you aren't trading for an unknown.  You are trading for a proven superstar-level talent.  There may be red flags (be it health, personality, or whatever) but there is absolutely no question that those two guys are capable of producing at an all-star level against NBA competition.

Hindsight is a powerful thing, but it's not a resource Danny Ainge has available to him when he's sitting there on draft day selecting a prospect.  You're playing a hand of poker with a 10, J, Q, A while the guy next to you is sitting there quite contently with his 8's and 9's ...as you both wait for that final card to fall on the river.  You know that if you hit that King you've won it big...but there are more then 40 cards left on the table and only 4 of them are Kings - and if anything but a King falls you lose it all.

That, my friend, is the Draft Lottery in a nutshell.  No matter how strong your hand has the potential to be - it's still so easy to lose on an epic scale.

Trading that pick for a guy like Cousins or Griffin the gamble is very small.  There is still a risk involved, but it's low.  It's like hitting a full house with Aces over Kings - there's still a chance you could lose if the next guy has quad Aces, but your hand is so strong there is no choice but to go all in.

Perfect analogy!

Your deck doesn't have 5 Aces?

Or maybe he uses Jokers...

[walker834]

I'd rather get the right guy in cousins.  These picks are somewhat overvalued. It's just talk anyways who knows what the truth is.  The C's may just be using this stuff as leverage.  I'd take Griffin though if it's just picks, crowder and throwins. I'd give up both picks for Cousins I think if it comes down to that.

[kozlodoev]

Dan Lifshatz also confirms the rumor of trade talks

https://twitter.com/DanLifshatz/status/752961731090083842

https://twitter.com/DanLifshatz/status/752962029430996992

https://twitter.com/DanLifshatz/status/752962240995811328

https://twitter.com/DanLifshatz/status/752963539174916098

Yes, and he has even less credibility.

[Irish Stew]

I just don't think that the Clippers are in the draft pick acquisition business. They are a real "now" team. A third team would have to be involved to get them some of the players that they would want. A Cousins deal seems more direct and easier to pull off, assuming that they actually want to trade him as they are about to move into a new arena.