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| Dismantling the Celtics is a must if they want to avoid the dark ages. Paul Pierce is their most valuable trading piece. |
Dismantling the Big 3 is starting to become a must for the Celtics if they want to stay relatively competitive and return to championship form soon after. If they don't get anything gout of the aging Big 3 they could slip back into the dark ages that were the 1990s and mid-2000s. ESPN proposed five trade scenarios centered around trading Paul Pierce, the Celtics best big three assets. Here's my take on ESPN's fairytale scenarios.
Here's the link:
http://insider.espn.go.com/nba/story/_/id/7492743/nba-five-best-fits-trading-paul-pierce
Scenario 1:
Paul Pierce to the Atlanta Hawks for Josh Smith
This trade is seemingly one-for-one trade. The Hawks would be receiving an elite scorer who ain't too shabby on the defensive end. The Celtics would receive an elite defender and shot blocker who can tear down a hoop if he gets an opportunity. Both players are elite, but are more like top-20 players than top-ten. This would be all fine and dandy if there weren't eight years separating the two stars.
The Celtics would be running away with this deal. Josh Smith has proved to be a disappointment in Atlanta, but not by the stretches that some people imagine. His talent is undeniable, but his attitude has been severely questioned, a change of scenery would do wonders for him. On the other end, the Hawks would be getting Pierce whose body is already breaking down. They would only get 2-3 solid(not prime) years out of him, while the Celtics would be getting at least 8-10 prime years out of Josh Smith. I understand that the Hawks organization isn't happy with the way Smith has played over his seven years, but he's still helped them make the Eastern Conference Semi-Finals each of the last 3 years. Oh, and don't forget the Hawks already have a viable shooting guard by the name of Joe Johnson.
Likelyhood:
Never
Scenario 2:
Paul Pierce to the Memphis Grizzlies for Rudy Gay
This deal could be a match made in heaven. The Celtics want to continuously get younger and the Grizzlies have a great amount of depth, but are seriously piece away from winning it all. Gay would provide another scoring option, would still be improving and is only 25 years old. For the Grizzlies they'd be getting a veteran shooting guard who'd fit perfectly within their chalk-full rotation.
The Grizzlies might have been more hesitant about this deal last season, but once they reached the Western Conference Finals with Gay on the bench with an injury, I'm sure they realized they don't exactly need him. Memphis has such a wealth of young depth that adding a veteran with a ton of playoff experience could be that final piece to get them a NBA Championship. The Celtics would also be moving in the right direction, now having Rudy Gay allowing the smaller Jeff Green to move to shooting guard where the two could share equal minutes and equal shots. You can simply never have too many shooters.
Likelyhood:
Definitely
Scenario 3:
Paul Pierce to the Indiana Pacers for Danny Granger
Paul Pierce and Danny Granger are the exact same player. Both are tremendous scorers who can both shoot and get to to the hole. They also both have enough of a defensive feel for the game that they can fit into any defensive system nicely. Granger's only advantage over Pierce is his size.
This trade would be, like the Josh Smith deal, giving up too much youth for an aging veteran. I'm not even sure you can tag this trade as a "go for it all trade." The Pacers are deep, but I don't think they have enough starting talent to win a championship even if they were to attain the savvy veteran Pierce. Granger has six years on Pierce, and I expect him to evolve his superior talents into a complete player in the next year or so, while Pierce's talents are only going to South, and I don't mean South Beach.
Likelyhood:
Never
Scenario 4:
Paul Pierce to the Utah Jazz for Paul Millsap and Enes Kanter
Paul Millsap is probably your consummate role player. He does everything he is asked, usually including getting ugly under the basket. Enes Kanter is a 6'11 rookie who is a third round pick of the Jazz and has all kinds of upside.
The Jazz are a surprising 10-5 in a season after their "franchise player" Deron Williams departed them via a trade. With that being said the addition of Pierce gives them a backcourt piece that can score in anyway, something they seriously lack. Though I'm not exactly sure the Jazz are in any type of "all-out" mode, and trading for Pierce would signal that. The Celtics on the other hand aren't in dire need for a player like Millsap, but it would provide them the luxury of getting rid of Garnett and having a serviceable player move in after him. But the addition of Brandon Bass has been a great one, so I'm not sure the C's want to bring in another PF of similar talent. Enes Kanter is also an enticing piece because of his size and upside. This deal certainly could happen, but I'm not sure both sides are really that jazzed up about it.
Likelyhood:
Possible
Scenario 5:
Paul Pierce to the Houston Rockets for Kevin Martin and Jordan Hill
This trade would certainly be the "last" option on the list for the Celtics, but it is not a bad one. Kevin Martin has shown flashes of brilliance in his seven years in the league and Jordan Hill would simply cover the cost of moving Pierce.
Kevin Martin has been more than disappointing this season, even with the Rockets surprising 10-7 record. The Celtics should't be deterred by Martin's play this year, because a lot of it seems to be a result of the untrue Lakers trade rumors that were swirling around Martin. I'm sure he wanted to go to L.A. and when he didn't, his confidence probably took a hit. Pierce would come into Houston and make an immediate impact both with scoring and veteran leadership that a young Houston team is dying for. The C's on the other hand receive a 28 year old guard who combined with Jeff Green will sure up the scoring loss that will be the departure of Allen and Pierce.
Likelyhood:
Very Possible
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