NBA Trade Machine: Amar'e & Shumpert en route to the Celtics?
The question on the mind of every Celtics fan since 2012's improbable run to the ECF has been "when does Danny Ainge blow it up?"
Well that question has been answered... hypothetically. The staff of CelticsLife has taken to the ESPN Trade Machine to find some additional options for the Celtics to consider.
Week 3- Boston and New York: Boston sends Kris Humphries, Gerald Wallace, and Courtney Lee to New York for Amar'e Stoudemire and Iman Shumpert.
The PRO Argument by Julian Edlow
This trade is a pretty nice move for the Celtics actually.
For starters lets address the elephant in the room – Amar’e Stoudemire and his enormous contract. Yes he is due well over $20M each in this season and next. But he comes off the books a year earlier than Gerald Wallace, which frees Boston up a ton of room for the summer of 2015 that right now they do not have. Maybe some team will even be willing to swing a trade for Stoudemire’s expiring at the 2015 trade deadline that brings something desirable to Boston.
Now to the court. The Celtics do not want Gerald Wallace, Kris Humphries, Courtney Lee or their big fat contracts. If they get out of town, the Celtics lose more games – a good thing. Therefore it really does not matter what comes back in return. Amar’e obviously is here to get a few minutes off the bench and get the hell out of here. And with defense like this will be perfect to help get a nice low draft pick in 2014.
Iman Shumpert is perfect to bring in though. He is still on a cheap deal and can give Avery Bradley some competition at which young defensive off-guard to retain. Frankly Shumpert may be the better of the two, which could make AB a nice trade chip to ship out alone or package with a guy like Jeff Green. If it goes the other way, no worries, plenty of teams should line up for Shump as well.
Overall, for the earlier flexibility and the addition of Shumpert, this trade is a win for Danny Ainge and the Boston Celtics.
The CON Argument by Padraic O'Connor
This makes financial sense in that the contracts are almost a perfect match, but this doesn’t make basketball sense. This is the swapping of bad contracts for players that at most can support off the bench. So sure – the Celtics COULD do this… but why SHOULD they?
Amar’e Stoudemire is banged up and in the last two years of a deal that still owes him over $40M. Currently, he is cleared by doctors to play 20 minutes a game – half of which he is actually contributing in New York. Say all you want about Crash, Humphries, and Lee – but their bodies will let them play 40 minutes if need be or if Brad Stevens said they could.
Everyone seems to hate the Wallace contract. Is 30M over 3-years a lot for a 6th man? Yes it is. Is 43M over 2-years worse? Yep!
Here’s the breakdown of what The Celtics will actually be paying over the next few years if we do this:
Why? Why would you do this deal? Less assets, less production, more injuries, more money problems.
We’re in rebuilding mode. We’re less than a quarter into the reboot. Why take on more money in the short team when the whole plan was to shed as much as we could for next season when we’ll be molding a few all-star caliber draft picks? If Amar’e’s name can’t bring high profile free-agents to the #1 media market on the planet, it’s not going to bring them to Boston, either. I'm not saying don't trade these guys. I'm saying don't trade them for Amar'e & Shumpert.
Follow Padraic O'Connor on Twitter @padraic_oconnor. Follow Julian Edlow on Twitter @bleedgreenblogs
Source: ESPN Trade Machine
