I say give them Rozier and take back Zizic. Then they have a guard for insurance and it is a little more.
It's obvious from posts like this that a LOT of people are going to be really disappointed with the final outcome of this scenario. I can already hear Bill Simmons lamenting how the Cavs screwed over the Celtics.
But give credit where credit is due, Danny overplayed his hand. He waited for all the stars to be off the market before offering a young GM (Koby Altman) a slight overpay for Kyrie.
Once it was clear the Celtics had burned bridges with their two most expendable players the Cavs leveraged IT's hip injury for even MORE assets.
Now if you're Danny Ainge you're faced with these realities:
1. There is now 0% chance IT is going to resign in Boston after this.
2. If taken back, Crowder is now going to be a full blown malcontent.
3. If you don't get Kyrie in this trade you face having 0 superstars on the team as soon as next season, with no cap room to sign free agents.
4. Without Isaiah or Kyrie you've effectively sacrificed the next two seasons.
Face it, Ainge got outplayed by a rookie GM from Middlebury. His only real option is to posture for a while to save face and then give up an asset to make this deal go through. At this point I'm just really hoping the damage is limited to LA/Sac #1, Smart, or Rozier and not Tatum or Brown.
1. IT was always going to sign with whomever offered him the most money. That hasn't changed, and if the trade falls through, he'll still resign with Boston if they offer him the most. And with Bird rights, they can. At most, Ainge cost himself some goodwill next summer that would have let IT come back to him and match the best offer, rather than exceeding it. But it's not even clear the Celtics would have been afforded that courtesy anyway (and I'm not saying they should have).
2. If Crowder seems like he's going to be a malcontent, he can be moved in a minute. He's still on one of the most valuable contracts in the league, and the Celtics still have 4 other viable players at his position, including a max free agent and the #3 picks from the prior two drafts.
3. On the other hand, if the trade falls through they still have a potential superstar with the Nets pick, not to mention the Lakers/SAC pick, not to mention Brown, not to mention IT (see #1) if the Celtics are correct about his health.
4. Again, see #1.