spycam1
Well-Known Member
All the recent rumors surrounding Rajon Rondo and Josh Smith gave me an idea...
A three-way trade between Boston, Utah, and Atlanta.
-Boston gets: Josh Smith + Devin Harris + Golden State pick
-Utah gets: Rajon Rondo + J. O'Neal
-Atlanta gets: Al Jefferson + G. Steimsma + E. Moore
(This works on ESPN: https://espn.go.com/nba/tradeMachine?tradeId=77w8mgm)
Why Boston does this:
According to the rumors (Boston Herald, and other "inside sources"), Rondo is apparently too much of a headache to deal with anymore, and because of this, they are actively shopping him. Sources say they are looking to rebuild, and want draft picks along with young studs. In the shopping process, they discovered his trade value isn't quite as high as they had hoped (because of his personality), and would be lucky to get equal value back for him. This trade gives them a borderline All-Star in Josh Smith, who is still relatively young at 26, a past All-Star in Devin Harris, who is not that old, along with a likely top 10 pick in a loaded 2012 draft. They wanted young studs and draft picks, and this would give them that, along with a replacement PG.
They also need more scoring in the post, so starting Smith at PF and KG at center could be adequate. He fits into their present, as well as their long term plans.
And Harris, with his better play lately, would be a perfectly fine PG to fill the void left by Rondo.
This trade would give the Celtics a starting lineup that could make some noise in the Eastern Conference this year (Harris, Allen, Pierce, Smith, Garnett), while also giving them two, possible three, legitimate pieces to their future. I don't think they can realistically hope for more than that.
Why Atlanta does this:
If Smith is really demanding to be traded before the deadline, then they would be lucky to get a player of equal value back in return, since they wouldn't have much time to shop him. Enter Big Al. Both of these players receive mixed reactions from fans; they both definitely have something to offer a team, but also have obvious flaws. What I'm getting at is that they're basically on the same level, both in terms of my gut feeling toward their impact on a team, and statistically. Atlanta can play Jefferson at center, thus allowing Al Horford to move to his, supposedly, more natural position at PF, when he's back in action.
By replacing Smith with Jefferson, I don't think they lose much of a beat. And like I said, Atlanta would be lucky to find a better deal, both due to the small amount of time they have to trade Smith, and the realistic trade value he has. Jefferson seems like a very fair deal to me, especially considering the circumstances.
(Side note: Steimsma and Moore are just there to make the salaries work).
Why Utah does this:
Utah gets the passing PG they have been desperately lacking. We all know that there are plenty of question marks surrounding the three PG prospects in the draft (Rivers, Marshall, Lillard) so anyone of them is a bit of crap shoot (I think Rivers is a safe bet to be good, but there are definitely questions about his ability to play PG).
Anyway, many people, including myself, have suggested that we trade Harris, Millsap, and the GS pick for Rondo and O'Neal. Most people suggesting it voiced that they would rather trade Jefferson, but didn't think Boston would go for that since they had already had him once, and probably would want the younger Millsap anyway, since they are looking to rebuild. But by involving Josh Smith, there is now a way to trade Jefferson instead of Millsap; we could hold on to Millsap as our 6th man, since the plan has always been to have Kanter and Favors as the starting bigs of the future. And by trading Jefferson, Kanter and Favors would finally get the minutes they both need, and deserve; the youth movement could finally begin...for real.
In addition to the increased playing time this trade would bring the young bigs, Rondo's passing and leadership could be very key in developing them quicker. And lets face it, Kanter and Favors are still a ways away from having a complete offensive game--they could use someone like Rondo to get them easy looks.
Lastly, yes, we would be giving up the GS pick. But since it would take time for the team to readjust after the trade, there is still a good chance our own pick would still be in the lottery, giving us a chance to draft our SF of the future (Quincy Miller)?
All of this is based on the idea that Boston really is shopping Rondo, and that Smith really does want out of Atlanta, but if those two things are true, then I think this trade could be the answer to both organization's problems, and more importantly, would be perfect for the Jazz's future.
A three-way trade between Boston, Utah, and Atlanta.
-Boston gets: Josh Smith + Devin Harris + Golden State pick
-Utah gets: Rajon Rondo + J. O'Neal
-Atlanta gets: Al Jefferson + G. Steimsma + E. Moore
(This works on ESPN: https://espn.go.com/nba/tradeMachine?tradeId=77w8mgm)
Why Boston does this:
According to the rumors (Boston Herald, and other "inside sources"), Rondo is apparently too much of a headache to deal with anymore, and because of this, they are actively shopping him. Sources say they are looking to rebuild, and want draft picks along with young studs. In the shopping process, they discovered his trade value isn't quite as high as they had hoped (because of his personality), and would be lucky to get equal value back for him. This trade gives them a borderline All-Star in Josh Smith, who is still relatively young at 26, a past All-Star in Devin Harris, who is not that old, along with a likely top 10 pick in a loaded 2012 draft. They wanted young studs and draft picks, and this would give them that, along with a replacement PG.
They also need more scoring in the post, so starting Smith at PF and KG at center could be adequate. He fits into their present, as well as their long term plans.
And Harris, with his better play lately, would be a perfectly fine PG to fill the void left by Rondo.
This trade would give the Celtics a starting lineup that could make some noise in the Eastern Conference this year (Harris, Allen, Pierce, Smith, Garnett), while also giving them two, possible three, legitimate pieces to their future. I don't think they can realistically hope for more than that.
Why Atlanta does this:
If Smith is really demanding to be traded before the deadline, then they would be lucky to get a player of equal value back in return, since they wouldn't have much time to shop him. Enter Big Al. Both of these players receive mixed reactions from fans; they both definitely have something to offer a team, but also have obvious flaws. What I'm getting at is that they're basically on the same level, both in terms of my gut feeling toward their impact on a team, and statistically. Atlanta can play Jefferson at center, thus allowing Al Horford to move to his, supposedly, more natural position at PF, when he's back in action.
By replacing Smith with Jefferson, I don't think they lose much of a beat. And like I said, Atlanta would be lucky to find a better deal, both due to the small amount of time they have to trade Smith, and the realistic trade value he has. Jefferson seems like a very fair deal to me, especially considering the circumstances.
(Side note: Steimsma and Moore are just there to make the salaries work).
Why Utah does this:
Utah gets the passing PG they have been desperately lacking. We all know that there are plenty of question marks surrounding the three PG prospects in the draft (Rivers, Marshall, Lillard) so anyone of them is a bit of crap shoot (I think Rivers is a safe bet to be good, but there are definitely questions about his ability to play PG).
Anyway, many people, including myself, have suggested that we trade Harris, Millsap, and the GS pick for Rondo and O'Neal. Most people suggesting it voiced that they would rather trade Jefferson, but didn't think Boston would go for that since they had already had him once, and probably would want the younger Millsap anyway, since they are looking to rebuild. But by involving Josh Smith, there is now a way to trade Jefferson instead of Millsap; we could hold on to Millsap as our 6th man, since the plan has always been to have Kanter and Favors as the starting bigs of the future. And by trading Jefferson, Kanter and Favors would finally get the minutes they both need, and deserve; the youth movement could finally begin...for real.
In addition to the increased playing time this trade would bring the young bigs, Rondo's passing and leadership could be very key in developing them quicker. And lets face it, Kanter and Favors are still a ways away from having a complete offensive game--they could use someone like Rondo to get them easy looks.
Lastly, yes, we would be giving up the GS pick. But since it would take time for the team to readjust after the trade, there is still a good chance our own pick would still be in the lottery, giving us a chance to draft our SF of the future (Quincy Miller)?
All of this is based on the idea that Boston really is shopping Rondo, and that Smith really does want out of Atlanta, but if those two things are true, then I think this trade could be the answer to both organization's problems, and more importantly, would be perfect for the Jazz's future.
