Every morning, we compile the links of the day and dump them here… highlighting the big story line. Because there’s nothing quite as satisfying as a good morning dump.
At the time the team acquired Perry Jones, the Boston Herald’s Steve Bulpett reported Jones will “get a good, long look, but he’s no sure bet to be on the Celtics’ roster opening night.” Celtics president of basketball operations Danny Ainge may have implied a similar message, saying, among other things, “We’ll see how (Jones) fits in with our system.” It’s worth noting the Thunder couldn’t find any team willing to part with an asset for Jones. To dump his salary, they were forced to give the Celtics a future second-round pick. That would be why waiving him, rather than trading him, might be an option.
One problem with potentially waiving Jones: largely an unknown commodity, the 23-year-old theoretically possesses a load of untapped potential. During his time with the Thunder, James Harden called Jones “probably the most athletic (player) on the team” — while the team featured Russell (bleeping) Westbrook — and Kevin Durant labeled Jones the best athlete in the league. The 6-foot-11 Jones is a long, versatile wing who has strung together some impressive stretches on NBA courts, and there’s a chance he could look substantially better in Brad Stevens’ system. This is a guy with tools.
MassLive – Boston Celtics roster crunch: Should Perry Jones be the odd man out?
Jay King is about the only Celtics beat writer who doesn’t appear to be on vacation (which we appreciate), and he has taken a look at the question all Celtics fans are asking: How can the Cs reduce their roster from the current 17 bodies to the regular-season maximum of 15?
Will there be a trade to replenish the stockpile of assets, or perhaps even to upgrade the talent going into training camp? Or will Danny Ainge be forced to cut a couple of potential contributors?
As covered in the article, conventional wisdom is that Zoran Dragic will be waived or traded before he ever dons a green uniform. The other vulnerable player seems to be Perry Jones. But, as noted above, he’s got soooo much potential. He’s athletic! Who knows what he could become?!
It’s August, so of course we’re obsessing about who should be the 12th or 15th man on a team that most observers agree will at best grab a low rung in the playoffs. The difficulty is that Boston has a deep squad of players capable of contributing, but very few who are difference-makers. If Jones stays on board, he might be glued to the bench or he might be a starter. We just don’t know yet.
Of the trade options considered in the article, the one that makes the most sense is Evan Turner. Granted, he hit several game-winning shots and became a consistent triple-double threat, but he dominates the ball, takes minutes away from the younger guys, and is one of the worst passers in basketball history. He’s not called Evan Turnover for nothing.
As pointed out by KWAPT in Wednesday’s Dump, because Dante Exum was injured while playing for the Australian national team this week, the Jazz might be in the market for the skills Turner possesses. If Danny could make this happen, it would be addition by subtraction.
That would still not take Jared Sullinger or Kelly Olynyk off the hook. It’s time for them to break through and consistently deliver on their potential, or risk being part of a trade deadline deal. We’ve heard that Sully is slimming down this summer, but has KO been doing anything to beef up? Although he’s proven he can dislocate someone’s shoulder, his weakness is his weakness. Kelly gets pushed around so much that he’s often out of position, which results in foul trouble (he has averaged 5.6 personals per 36 minutes over his two seasons). Let’s hope he has been living in the weight room this summer.
On Page 2: Stan could learn some things from Dan
The Celtics got an underrated player in Johnson, and while he may not be a top-tier free agent, the team inked him to an extremely valuable contract.
Johnson will make $12 million for two straight seasons, but his salary for 2016-17 is non-guaranteed, making him an attractive trade asset for a team looking to shed salary.
Basketball Insiders – The Best Values in NBA Free Agency
First, I think Monroe was worth a max contract summer. Even if he wasn’t an ideal fit Drummond – Detroit’s franchise player – Monroe still would have had plenty of trade value. Given the number of teams that offered him the max in free agency this year, I think the Pistons could have eventually traded Monroe for better return than Ilyasova, Morris and Bullock.
That’s especially true if the Pistons had dumped Smith sooner. The 2013-14 season proved Smith, Monroe and Drummond couldn’t effectively play together. But Van Gundy wanted to see for himself, and that further alienated Monroe from the Pistons.
Pro Basketball Talk – Stan Van Gundy second-guesses himself on Pistons’ handling of Greg Monroe
Ainge is not immune to mistakes, but at least he has no reason to second-guess himself about losing a building block player for nothing. Since we’re not Pistons fans, it’s sort of amusing to read this commentary that SVG messed up his squad by forcing Greg Monroe to play alongside Josh Smith. The same Josh Smith who Stan later discarded and got zip in return. And the same Greg Monroe who bolted to Milwaukee in free agency, again leaving the Pistons with zero.
Compare that to Ainge signing Amir Johnson, who – according to the Basketball Insiders piece – was the second-best value free agent this summer (behind only LeBron). Ainge also gave up basically nothing in transactions that brought Dragic, Jerebko, Jones, Lee, Thomas, Turner and Zeller to Boston. And because Rondo flamed out in Dallas, you could add Crowder to that list. That’s nine of the current roster of 17, obtained for spare parts and low draft picks. The other eight were draft picks made in recent years.
That’s pretty good. Pretty, pretty, pretty good.
And, finally…Boogie and George
— Sacramento Kings (@SacramentoKings) August 4, 2015
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Sorry, Boogie fans, looks like reports of the Kings’ demise have been greatly exaggerated. If Sacramento doesn’t implode, Cousins won’t be available. But we’ll see.
Related: CBS Sports – DeMarcus Cousins and George Karl took a photo together, now what?
The Rest of the Links:
CSNNE – Boston Celtics Camp Battles: Bigs | MassLive – Colton Iverson’s former team taking legal action | ESPN – National Underwear Day: Pierce not fazed by being pantsed | NBA.com – Summer Dreaming: Who might be next Kia Sixth Man? | Blogtable: Your All-Time, All-Lefty Team | Fox Sports – Jazz publicly support international play despite Exum injury | Pro Basketball Talk – Kevin Garnett took Mason Plumlee’s crab cake
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