CrushAlot wrote:

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Hahaha, I have a feeling Brandon likes messing with people, but who knows. I wouldn't be shocked if Indiana decided to blow it up and rebuild.

nyknickzingis wrote:

CrushAlot wrote:Interesting stuff going on with the Celtics. Apparently they have inquired about Blake, Paul George and Butler. The Pacers have been telling teams they aren't moving George and the Bulls are 'leaning toward' keeping Butler. The celtics seem to know they need to add something to their team to make a run in the playoffs. Maybe Melo is the fall back and cheaper option.

Why does Melo go to Boston?
Can't see him interested.

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CrushAlot wrote:

The Los Angeles Clippers have intermittently discussed a Blake Griffin trade with the Boston Celtics this season though a deal is unlikely at this point.

Griffin will be an unrestricted free agent this offseason. The Celtics would likely seek official permission to talk to Griffin about his future before executing a trade.

The Clippers would seek Jae Crowder, either Avery Bradley or Marcus Smart and multiple picks in exchange for Griffin.

The Melo hope returns! I'm assuming a blake trade only makes sense if the Clips then move some of what they get to the Knicks for Melo (they can keep it all apart from the pick!). Ha, I'm not even getting my hopes up anymore- I'm preparing myself for the Melo for Rivers and Crawford, or that we keep him.

smackeddog wrote:Depressing, thats exactly what we wanted for Melo! Would the Clips want this haul for themselves? I don't think that makes sense (who in the draft makes sense for them over Griffin?), so you'd hope some of it was for us- they move Crawford, Rivers and whatever plus the pick to us, they keep Crowder, Bradley (insurance for Redick) and add melo. Does that make them better? Hmm, I don't really think so, but maybe they have grown tired with Griffin.

IF the Clippers believe that Griffin will simply walk, with nothing to come back in return, then they make the deal. The Clippers have serious problems a long the wing. Getting someone like Crowder and Smart would fix some of these issues. Converting Rivers and Crawfords bad contract into Melo would give them a 2 year push window. Also they'd likely get some picks as well, which could help a reload situation. With Crowder, Smart and Jordan, they could hide the defensive indifference of Melo on the floor. Steve Balmer paid 2 BILLION for the Clips, he wants a massive return on the investment. Consider Adam Silver already gifted LBJ and Cleveland a ring. Literally gifted them one by jobbing the Warriors in the last Finals. And the league did some horse crap with the cap projections to try to push Durant off the Warriors roster, the league simply does not want the Warriors to win any more championships, no player on the team is marketable enough for them. ( Curry is a great player, but not a marketable player, if he was married to a pop star or shot up a nightclub, sadly, the NBA marketing would find him more interesting. Its sort of pathetic if you dunk over a Kia, the league will get its refs to job a team for you, but if you are just the greatest long range shooter in NBA history, well you can't put together a commercial and feel good about that. You need one handed thunder dunks after crab dribbling and traveling first...sigh...)

IF the Clippers can dump River and Crawford and get Melo AND move Griffin because they don't think he'll resign and get defensive wings and picks, I think the league will job any other team in front of them ( i.e the refs will be full on pro Clips the entire playoffs) and the Clips become contenders.

The league has desperately tried to spin Doc Rivers as some kind of hero in it's narrative. I.E. in the face of the EVIL EVIL EVIL racist Donald Sterling, Rivers righted the ship. Never mind in order to sell this, the league will have to ignore DeAndre Jordan stabbing the Mavericks in the back and Melo being the least team oriented BB player in the league. But Balmer paid 2 billion, if he wins a ring fast, other billionaires will go into a bidding war for the next open NBA franchise, which is all current NBA owners care about.

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Nalod wrote:That haul from the celtics has Melo to clippers written all over it.
Crowder and a pick, plus cap fodder makes sense for Phil. Clippers have a short window and Paul is a free agent.
If the melo love for him is strong, and real, Paul would be bound to return. Lebron will finish his career with Clippers.

I agree 100%. Celts are smart enough to envision they need more size and talent up front to deal with Lebron.

the haul Clips get back seems fair for Griffin but not what they need if they're thinking maximizing their limited time with CP3. Some or all of that haul has to be headed to us,

One can ask why not simply swap Melo for Blake then and I think 2 responses: (1) we don't want Blake -- too much overlap with KP and Willy and (2) Blake is worth more than Melo given his age so we'd only get a portion of the Clips haul

Actually I don't agree with the part about Lebron. That might happen if Cavs don't make finals and Lebron blames mgmt. for lack of a move

ALso keep in mind Celts are rumored to be interested in PJ Tucker. this has to be a contingency plan if they trade Crowder