There are several schools of thought on rebuilding in the NBA. There’s the Sixers’ style, adding “assets” and losing a ton of games as a not-altogether-undesirable byproduct of getting your young players experience, the Knicks’ and Lakers’ style of losing until you’re free of bad contracts, and then there’s the tightrope-walking act of getting better without ever going through a protracted rebuild, like the Suns have done. As difficult as it is (the Suns, the best success story, didn’t even make the playoffs last season), most teams tend to opt for the last method, at least until it proves unfeasible.
The Celtics have officially hit that tipping point.
Luckily, unlike the Sixers when Sam Hinkie took over, the C’s have present assets that can be turned into future assets. Or rather, had. With Rajon Rondo in Dallas and Jeff Green on his way to Memphis, Boston looks to be in the same sort of hole as Philly.
Speaking of Jeff Green, here’s Marc Stein of ESPN.com:
The New Orleans Pelicans have agreed to send former lottery pick Austin Rivers to the Celtics to help complete Boston’s looming Jeff Green trade with Memphis, according to league sources.
Sources told ESPN.com that the Pelicans have been recruited to join the trade struck Friday by the Celtics and Grizzlies by sending Rivers to Boston and taking on guard Quincy Pondexter from the Grizzlies.
On Friday, as ESPN.com first reported, Boston and Memphis came to terms on the larger elements of a deal, with the Celtics agreeing to send Green to the Grizzlies for Tayshaun Prince’s $7.7 million expiring contract and a future first-round pick.
The Grizzlies have long targeted Green — and felt they were close to acquiring him last season as part of the trade that brought Courtney Lee to Memphis — but needed a third team involved to shed more salary in this transaction to avoid luxury-tax complications. So they turned to the Pelicans, who have long been interested in Pondexter.
It remains to be seen whether the teams can push the deal through Saturday, as hoped, or if they’ll have to wait until Monday, when the league office re-opens. Sources say that the Pelicans will also send Russ Smith to Memphis as part of this transaction and receive a future second-round pick from the Grizzlies.
My immediate thought on seeing Rivers’ name connected with the Celtics was of his father, Doc. Of course, he’s in Los Angeles now.
Turns out that’s actually where Austin is heading, via Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today:
Once the Rivers trade is official, the Celtics plan to send the No. 10 pick in the 2012 draft to the Los Angeles Clippers, where Rivers will play for his dad, Clippers coach Doc Rivers.
The person requested anonymity because he was not authorized to speak publicly until the trade is officially announced, which likely won’t happen until Monday when the NBA office re-opens. Other teams tried to get involved in the deal but could never make it work, and the three teams ended up satisfied with the structure of the deal.
NETS AGAIN CONSIDERING DEALING LOPEZ
With Rajon Rondo’s trade, Lopez might be the new player most brought up in trade talks who has never ended up going anywhere. So take this report, from Alex Raskin of the Wall Street Journal, with that in mind:
They might be motivated sellers, but the Nets still think Lopez could fetch valuable players in a trade, according to one league source. His history of foot problems notwithstanding, the biggest issue in moving Lopez ahead of the Feb. 19 trade deadline has nothing to do with his health.
Rather, it’s the $16.7 million Lopez is owed next season, since trading him would normally mean taking back a significant amount of salary.
The Nets, according to multiple sources, are willing to deal Lopez, but they are against taking on expensive or lengthy deals in order to do so.
Instead, the Nets are looking to accomplish the rare feat of shedding a bit of salary while remaining competitive in the East, where sub-.500 teams will have a chance to earn a seventh seed. (The Nets are currently in seventh place).
But the best reason to trade Lopez is that he comes from an area of strength. Obviously Plumlee has played well enough to supersede Lopez in the starting lineup, largely because he is the kind of aggressive defender that Hollins favors.
NO QUIT IN THE CAVS, SAY THE CAVS
If you wanted to disbelieve this Sam Amick report, you probably wouldn’t have much trouble. But they’re definitely saying the right things:
“We know that things are going to work out,” Cavaliers forward Kevin Love told USA TODAY Sports. “I know that we have a lot of talent here, guys who can do a lot of different things, so I tend to look at that more than the negative stuff.
“You saw what J.R. can bring (in scoring 27 points on 11 of 23 shooting against the Warriors). Whether he starts or comes off the bench, he can fill it up. Shump, he can add a lot, especially defensively, he brings a very high energy there and is a big player. With T-Mo (Mozgov), I’ve never played with a guy of that size and you saw a little bit of what he’ll be able to bring tonight (Nine points, eight rebounds, one block in 26 minutes).”
For all the chatter about the Cavs’ demise and this notion that they have no shot at winning the title that so many oddsmakers claimed was theirs to lose going into the season, the reality is that all this recent skepticism has only fueled this proud group. From James on down, there is a sense that the critics are doing nothing but fueling their fire while sparking the eventual resurgence that remains possible because of the considerable talent that is on board.
James, above all else, is watching and waiting for that time when he’s able to play the “I told you so” card in ways that still drive him in his 12th season in the Association. James’ knee and back injuries have kept him out of the past seven games, but his spirits are doing just fine.
CURRY’S DEFENSE PART OF THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN KERR AND JACKSON
I’m kind of neutral on the whole Mark Jackson situation, but I want to point out that while it’s true that you can’t praise the butterfly and disrespect the caterpillar, it’s absolutely fair to point out that caterpillars can’t fly south for the winter unless they turn into butterflies. So let’s just leave it at that, before I mangle the metaphor any further.
Jesus Gomez of SB Nation weighs in:
During Jackson’s tenure, Klay Thompson drew the tough point guard assignments while Curry was “hidden” on the other team’s least dangerous perimeter player. It’s a common practice designed to get featured offensive players time to rest on defense while containing the other team at the point of attack. The problem is it hindered Curry’s development as a defender since he didn’t take the challenges needed to grow on that aspect of the game. Kerr changed that, letting Curry guard star point guards. The results have been good, as Curry has welcomed the challenge, saying to the Mercury News of the time under Jackson: “He’d go to Klay and say, ‘You got C.P.,’ and he’d look at me. And I’m sitting here, shaking my head.”
Curry is a legitimate MVP candidate. A big reason for that has been his growth on the defensive end to complement his elite skills on offense. The Warriors’ defense is even better now that it was under Jackson, despite center Andrew Bogut missing time with injury. And while Curry is just a part of why the Warriors are excelling on that end, it’s important to note that he has done a good job on a role Jackson didn’t want him to play.