Okay, what follows is a thoroughly unlikely trade package that will bring Paul Pierce (and Brandon Bass) back to Boston, while sending Carmelo to the Clippers and giving New York cap and contract flexibility that they will inevitably squander.
New York gets:
Jamal Crawford
James Young
Tyler Zeller
Wesley Johnson
Clippers 1st rounder year TBD
Boston’s 2nd rounder from Minnesota this year
Another Clippers pick
The Clippers get:
Carmelo Anthony
Boston gets:
Paul Pierce
Brandon Bass
Alan Anderson
Marshall Plumlee
Here’s the trade machine link: http://www.espn.com/nba/tradeMachine?tradeId=zvajzqt
Drawbacks:
Boston will have to waive two players to close this deal–that’s a tough call.
New York will have to absorb Jamal Crawford’s salary
Los Angeles will be down to 11 players & will have to restock their bench w/whoever’s available on vets minimums and ten day contracts at this late date.
Upsides:
Boston should be better than Toronto with this deal, and they don’t sacrifice cap space in doing so–Plumlee’s contract isn’t guaranteed after this year, meaning that the Celtics are the same place they’d be if they kept James Young (expiring contract) and Zeller (next year isn’t guaranteed).
New York gets $10M in cap space, a serviceable SF in Johnson, and picks.
Clippers get Carmelo Anthony–and Doc gets to sacrifice the first good bench he’s had since ’08 for a “play maker”
Oh, also Pierce will get to finish his playing career with the Celtics, instead of just retiring on a one-day contract.
That means Pierce will get to check into a game at the Garden.
It also means that Boston will have one of the players they traded for Brooklyn’s 2017 pick. And Brooklyn’s 2017 pick.
Why it won’t happen:
This is a lot of players to move between playoff-contending teams in midseason. Clippers are so cap constrained, they probably can’t swing a deal to bring back a number of bench guys to fill out their roster, that means going through the waiver wire, and looking at who’s available in the D-League and overseas (the Chinese season is wrapping up soon). This is really more the type of deal that would happen in the off-season.
Why it should happen:
Paul Pierce!
Credits
This trade package was put together with a lot of invaluable help from Celtics fan Dylan “DB_for_three“. Do yourself a favor and follow him if you’re not doing so already. He’s a smart guy, and a well-versed fan of the NBA in general.
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