Fire Up The Trade Machine: Brandon Bass heads to a contender as the Celtics continue to rebuild

As reported earlier this week, there has been a wide range of interest in Celtics power forward Brandon Bass. Bass has been a consistent force on both sides of the ball for Boston this year, so the fact that he is drawing interest comes at no surprise.

Of the teams calling Danny Ainge asking about potential deals involving Brandon Bass, I would wager a guess that several of those teams are current contenders forecasted for a lengthy run in this year's postseason. One of such teams, the Celtics face tonight- the San Antonio Spurs.

The Spurs have exemplified how to build a sustainable team without being a premiere destination. Despite their recent rash of injuries, the Spurs are holding strong at the second seed in the west with a record of 37-15. If the Spurs are looking to strengthen their line up down the stretch, the Celtics could be a valuable trade partner.

PRO

The going rumor in Boston is that Danny Ainge and the Celtics front office will be looking to build around Jeff Green, Rajon Rondo, and Jared Sullinger. If Brandon Bass isn't going to be part of the rebuild directly, then his production this season is going to help the C's via trade. Bass, who will earn $6.5M this season and $6.9M next season is a great fit for San Antonio. He's a solid contributor that can help them win now not only as a back up to Tim Duncan, but as a versitile big who can help the Spurs in the wake of the injury bug ravaging the team. San Antonio, while very good, has an aging roster and while they should go far in the playoffs, there's a lot of miles on that team. Adding Brandon Bass can only help them by adding some much needed power to the bench.

In exchange, the Celtics would receive back New Hampshire native Matt Bonner and 2011 draft pick Cory Joseph. While both pieces coming to Boston in this deal aren't necessarily long term fits for the Celtics, they do clear help in the most important part of the rebuild- clearing cap space. Bonner's $3.9M would come off the books at the end of the season, and Joseph is still on a rookie contract. This is a win-win for both teams.

CON

The flip side of the coin, as always, is... why? Bass has been solid all season long, so to trade include him in a deal that doesn't help the Celtics win seems like they would be selling themselves short. There could be much better deals out there that involve Brandon Bass and possibly some other Celtics, so shipping him off to San Antonio in a low-impact trade would hurt the chance to land a big fish.

Brandon Bass may not be a Celtic through the Danny Ainge reboot, but that doesn't mean the Celtics front office needs to take a deal for Big Shot Bass right away. Would it be a surprise to anyone if Danny Ainge were to dust off his 2007 rainmaker hat and pull off another blockbuster seven years later? To make magic happen again, Ainge will need a combination of proven talent as well as draft picks, so it might be best to wait on moving Bass... for now.

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