TNT’s David Aldridge offers up a dozen off-season moves, one of which is a deal between the Celtics and Sixers:
9. The 76ers should trade Nerlens Noel and Robert Covington to Boston for Marcus Smart and James Young
An easy, need-based deal for both teams, who doubled up on what they’d done in last year’s Draft with this year’s Draft picks. The Sixers went for Jahlil Okafor instead of Emmanuel Mudiay — taking the biggest upside, as they do every time — while the Celtics went for two more guards in Terry Rozier and R.J. Hunter after taking Smart and Young in the first round last year.
Philly now has Okafor, Noel, Joel Embiid (admittedly, with seemingly serious foot issues) and Dario Saric (who will play one more year in Europe before coming over) in its frontcourt, but has a dearth of quality guards. Smart was up and down in his rookie season, but he’d immediately be the starter at the point in Philly, and Young would get minutes and an opportunity to show what he can do after being in the D League most of last season.
Meanwhile, Boston currently has the four guards it’s drafted in the last two years, along with Isaiah Thomas and Bradley, with a less-than-imposing front line, and could certainly work Noel’s rim protection into its rotation (though, to be fair, the Celtics’ defense improved noticeably last season). Something has to give here. Both teams are way, way under the cap and none of the players involved here make any significant money, so each team could still hit free agency hard this summer and next.
Please note, this is not a rumored trade. It’s a suggestion by Aldridge.
My initial reaction is… who the hell is Robert Covington? He’s an undrafted small forward who spent the last two seasons with the Rockets and Sixers. He averaged 13.5 ppg (37% 3 FG) and 4.5 rpg in 70 games for Philly last season. Long story short, he’s a helluva 3 point shooter who doesn’t play much defense.
My second reaction to this proposal is… maybe? I understand you can’t swap Smart for Noel because guards are more common than rim-protecting bigs. But I’d like to think Young has a much higher ceiling than Covington. I’d be more apt to pull the trigger if the deal included a future #1 (not the Brooklyn picks) instead of Young.
Does Danny Ainge think RJ Hunter can/will be better than James Young? If so, he probably makes this deal.
Thoughts?
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