Maybe a bit of Duke bias here, but I’m NT trading Tatum.
All the recent Lebron and Kawhi talk has got me thinking - if you’re the Celtics, how many players out there would you be willing to trade straight up for Tatum right now? Keep in mind all of the real world factors - player age and health and injury history, contract status, fit with the team, trading to a conference rival, etc. Assume the salary cap is not an issue, i.e. your owner is willing to pay whatever luxury tax comes with this trade. I think there’s maybe 10-15 guys out there. Obviously LeBron, assuming you signed him to a max deal. Kawhi would actually give me some pause just because we don’t know the extent of his injury and he only has a year left. Durant seems like a no-brainer, but again he only has a year left (I think). Guys like Anthony Davis, Paul George, Greek Freak, Russell Westbrook would be in play. Anybody else?
Maybe a bit of Duke bias here, but I’m NT trading Tatum.
If you were going to trade Tatum, this is the time to do it. On the other hand, I am not sure I would be comfortable trading one of the best up and coming young talents in the NBA right now for a player with any risk, especially if they are older (so two strikes against Kawhi).
As Mock GM of the Phoenix Suns, you can have anyone on our roster, but I think I will keep the #1 pick.
This basically means we would trade Devin Booker or Josh Jackson for Tatum.
Since this is from a Celtic POV you have to ask what does the team need. They seem to be lacking at C and PF so I guess we could say Durrant, Davis, Porzingis, Embiid, and maybe KAT.
Giannis, Porzingis (if he can be proven healthy) and maybe Anthony Davis are the only players... I'm completely confident Tatum is going to be amazing.
Anthony Davis. That’s the only player I’m trading JT0 for.
Criticism may not be agreeable, but it is necessary. It fulfils the same function as pain in the human body. It calls attention to an unhealthy state of things. - Winston Churchill
President of the "Nolan Smith Should Have His Jersey in The Rafters" Club
People are going to become wary of trading with the Celtics. Stevens is such a genius and great player development guy you just don't know if your organization is going to be able to replicate the success of a specific player. The Isaiah Thomas trade was a debacle for the Cavs, and I honestly don't think that's purely because of the injury. I think you'll see players over the next 5-10 years depart the Celtics, then be significantly worse elsewhere.
Stevens - he can take his and beat yours, or take yours and beat his. He's that kind of coach.
Edited to add: This is **NOT** a slam or slight on Tatum in any way. I think he's fantastic, and probably would be anywhere. Stevens might be getting him to a high level a little faster than other organizations would, though.
I came here to post this.
Probably Durant, even with the huge payroll increase. I think Durant will end up as a top 10 player of all time, and he's only 29, so you basically give up what you have to to get him. There's no way that trade would ever work out financially though.
But definitely not KAT, Simmons, Embiid, or Kawhi. Tatum will be the better than all of those guys in 3 years.
Last edited by kAzE; 06-18-2018 at 12:41 PM.
I'd seize to be a Celtics fan if a Ball became part of the organization.
The Greek Freak is a great player, but he's somewhat superfluous with Tatum, Brown, and Hayward on board. If you can give up Brown or Tatum, Rozier, and the Sac pick next year for Davis, you still retain wing talent and you severely upgrade yourself at the 5.
Criticism may not be agreeable, but it is necessary. It fulfils the same function as pain in the human body. It calls attention to an unhealthy state of things. - Winston Churchill
President of the "Nolan Smith Should Have His Jersey in The Rafters" Club
If the Lakers offered me Lonzo Ball FOR FREE, I don’t think I would take him.
I would rather have Tatum than the #1 pick. Your best realistic hope with the #1 pick is that he becomes as good as you know Tatum already is. Or put another way, imagine if Tatum was in this year’s draft and you knew everything you currently do. Wouldn’t he be the #1 pick?
Criticism may not be agreeable, but it is necessary. It fulfils the same function as pain in the human body. It calls attention to an unhealthy state of things. - Winston Churchill
President of the "Nolan Smith Should Have His Jersey in The Rafters" Club
I LOVE Tatum. But if I’m the Celtics I would give up Tatum to get Kawhi. That would turn the Celtics into an instant title contender. I would much rather give up Hayward obviously.
Obviously, we have to throw out the rules governing trades because you literally couldn't trade Tatum for all of these great players because the money doesn't match up. But, let's throw that out the window but assume you have to pay attention to the cap and their salary commitments going forward.
Since the Celtics seem to be all about championships, and because it's very hard to forecast all the other players and contracts beyond one year, I think you have to consider only players that make them immediate favorites to win next year.
There are some who think the Celtics are among the top 2-3 favorites...so the smartest thing may be to not trade Tatum.
If you were looking at just winning next year, I think the list of guys who in a straight up trade would make them prohibitive favorites to win includes Durant, Lebron, AD and Harden. Part of this math, especially with KD and Harden, is how much you are weakening another title contender. Does Giannis automatically make that one year list? Does anyone else?
There is definitely a case to be made for this, and I can't say it is wrong, but I feel like the Celtics are set up to build a team in a similar way to the Warriors with their young talent and loads of draft picks. They are already title contenders, and I'm not sure adding Kawhi for a couple years to improve now is a better strategy than holding pat and improving "organically" over the next 2-6 years with a young core (and the latter part of that window should coincide with the decline of the Warriors).
Can't imagine why anyone would consider trading Tatum for Kawhi. Tatum is just getting started.
Criticism may not be agreeable, but it is necessary. It fulfils the same function as pain in the human body. It calls attention to an unhealthy state of things. - Winston Churchill
President of the "Nolan Smith Should Have His Jersey in The Rafters" Club