Last week I became the General Manager of the Boston Celtics, and I traded for DeMarcus Cousins.
In an exercise organized by BBallBreakdown, 30 of us blogger-types were given control of a team so we could see what it was like to negotiate deals. Instead of coming up with what we thought were “realistic” trades and writing about what worked in the trade machine, we all got to communicate with a real person, negotiate deals with people who could tell you “no,” and figure out how to make our teams better within the confines of a salary cap and CBA rules.
Let me say up front about this exercise: We should not be given control of teams. There was not a flurry of trades.. there was a blizzard of movement that would have left real-life NBA writers dehydrated from writing and talking about the craziest trade deadline ever. DeAndre Jordan ended up on the Blazers. Hassan Whiteside is in Dallas. Dwyane Wade is a Knick. Bloggers re-shaped the entire NBA over the course of a week.
And…
DeMarcus Cousins is a Celtic.
I didn’t set out to get Boogie. In real life, I’m anti-Boogie, but I knew I had to try for a star. I initially inquired about Paul George and was blown off. I asked about Jimmy Butler and was told I’d need to give up almost every asset Boston had for him. I asked about Blake Griffin and came closer than I thought to moving Al Horford in a mega-blockbuster to re-shape our frontcourt. I got a little interest in a Klay Thompson deal but those talks never progressed.
All the while, the Boogie to Boston move was building up steam.
Ultimately, here’s how the deal looked:
Boston receives:
DeMarcus Cousins, Matt Barnes, Ben McLemore
Sacramento receives:
Amir Johnson, Jaylen Brown, Terry Rozier, Demetrius Jackson, 2017 Brooklyn pick swap, 2018 BOS first round pick, 2019 MEM first round pick. $1 million.
Utah receives:
James Young, 2017 Minnesota second round pick
In order to get Boogie, I had to take Barnes and McLemore. The deal never would have gotten done without them. I didn’t feel like it was too much to ask… McLemore is a RFA and if he continues to disappoint and Brad Stevens doesn’t see much in him, he can just walk. Barnes has a player option for next season at $6.4 million. At that money he could be a decent option off the bench for one more year… traded… bought out… a lot of options exist.
My goal was to keep ONE of the two Brooklyn picks. At this point, in trading for Cousins, I was ok letting the Kings have this year’s pick. They get a big win by keeping their pick and getting Boston’s swap (side note: there was a lengthy discussion about how to make this work properly. The time it took us to figure this out almost derailed the deal). The Kings could have the top 2 picks in the draft after this, PLUS Jaylen Brown and Terry Rozier. They get the reboot, we get the star.
In addition to the star player, I tried to solidify Boston’s rotation. We’re now rolling with Isaiah Thomas and Avery Bradley in the back court and Marcus Smart as the primary backup point guard. We kept Jae Crowder, which keeps my LeBron James defender in this mix. That’s huge because with Crowder, Cousins, and Horford, we’re more likely to keep LeBron out of the lane. Barnes can get Jaylen Brown’s minutes in this scenario.
I also managed to keep the 2018 Brooklyn pick and the 2019 Clippers pick. James Young was included to make the money work and Utah got a 2nd round pick for the trouble of helping us out.
I also made another deal which I think helps solidify the bench:
Boston receives:
Marcus Morris
Detroit receives:
Jonas Jerebko, 2017 Clippers second round pick, 2019 Detroit 2nd round pick
Morris is two years younger than Jerebko and is locked up for two more seasons at $5 million each. I’m happy to give up a couple of 2nd rounders for him… there’s no real drop off in 3-point shooting (Jerebko is shooting 36%, Morris 34%) and Morris can defend the 3 and 4.
So when Detroit was shopping him for some cap space, I thought he’d be a great get after the Boogie deal.
So here’s my new roster:
Starters: Isaiah Thomas, Avery Bradley, Jae Crowder, Al Horford, DeMarcus Cousins.
Bench: Marcus Smart, Marcus Morris, Kelly Olynyk, Matt Barnes, Ben McLemore, Gerald Green, Tyler Zeller, Jordan Mickey.
I have two open spots. In this scenario, I also plan on signing Joakim Noah, who was traded and waived in this exercise. Boston still has it’s $2.8 million room exception so I will use some of that to bring Noah in as a capable big off the bench for the playoff run. I also plan on bringing Guerschon Yabusele in after he finishes in China. If Noah doesn’t work out, Ante Zizic might come in from Turkey. Either way, Noah is temporary and I have room next year for Zizic, Yabusele, and Abdel Nader to make the roster.
So that’s my crack at being a Celtics GM. I’ve always said I’d be a terrible GM and you might thing this confirms it, but I think I’ve put together a Finals contender now while giving up only one of the Brooklyn picks and a couple of young contributors. I kept all our key core guys. I kept one of the Brooklyn picks as well as another future first from a team that may end up struggling. And I kept the rights to our overseas guys. All in all, I could have done much worse.
This wasn’t easy, though. I was literally on my phone at the gym working through deals. I felt, for a brief moment, like I was talking about real moves. The feeling of watching a deal potentially crumble was infuriating. I can’t imagine, having gone through this, how intense the real thing actually is.
Danny’s job is not easy. He can keep it.
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