One trade that caught my attention and tipped the hand of another team's thinkings was the Lance Stephenson for Jeff Green and a pick deal.
(And for what it's worth)Yes, it was a stupid decision which I've come to expect from Doc Rivers. You give up a first rounder for a 2 month rental on a player that was underachieving the entire season and became a lockerroom cancer due to his poor play? And it isn't even like there was some kind of financial benefit embedded in the deal for the Clippers because Lance Stephenson's contract expires this offseason as well. As puzzling as the deal was, however, two conclusions can be drawn:
The first conclusion is that Doc Rivers, without question, is a ****ing dope who we should look to exploit in the not too distant future.
The second conclusion is that Doc Rivers doesn't give a damn about the future well-being of the Clippers and only cares about what makes the team marginally better in the present. I think this speaks volumes to the prospect of us making the long-anticipated, much discussed Carmelo Anthony for Blake Griffin swap. We'd have to iron out some finer details of the deal but it is quite evident that it is viable, if and when Melo agrees to waive his NTC. The age difference clearly would not be much of a concern for Doc who, for whatever reason, thinks he has the makings of a real champion with or without Blake. After all, why else would he give up something as coveted as a first round pick when Chris Paul will be 34 years old?
Heading into this offseason, we need to get Melo into an office to hash this stuff out with all parties. If there is a plan, I'm sure we could really could change his mind and get the ball rolling for this to happen. And given the climate of the league and needs of respective teams, I feel like we could get teams with connections to Doc Rivers/the Celtics involved to help faciliate the deal. The Celtics, Doc's former employers, naturally have interest in Blake; the Suns, run by Ryan McDonaugh, best friend of Danny Ainge and former Celtic front office guy, are rebuilding and are willing to be sellers (of veterans) on the market, which make them perfect trade partners to fscilitate something that figures to be big. They'd be inclined to deal if for no other reason than to help one another out (see the KG deal to BOS thanks to the McHale-Ainge connection).
I'm thinking a deal that sends: (1)Blake to the Celtics, (2)Financial relief and a first round pick (the one obtained in the Brandon Wright deal back) to the Suns, (3) Melo and PJ Tucker to the Clippers and (4) Brooklyn's pick, James Young and Terry Rozier to the Knicks, could really work, even if that pick turns out to be top 3.
I'm pretty down on Jeff Green but I think he'd be a fantastic fit next to Melo as a hybrid forward. Green's a bit of a jack-of-all trades player, which allows him to compliment the things Melo doesn't do on the floor. He's also a capable defender at either forward spot, which allows Doc to hide Melo defensively especially with DeAndre Jordan on the team. And since both players can hit the 3, you'd have maximal spacing around DeAndre and can continue to play more uptempo, which has made him more of an effective player and contributed to the Clippers success without Blake. Add PJ Tucker to the mix, who offers many of the same advantages that Green does with Melo and I think they'd have a pretty compelling team. Let's discuss....
2/19/2016 7:26 AM