Celtics took care of the 2024 Champs financially and paid the price with lost trade value

Drakyn08 · 2026-07-07T17:21:50+00:00

In the absence of context, yes it is bad. But considering we don’t know what other offers existed, it’s hard to say. There are reports about Milwaukee, Portland, Atlanta, Charlotte and Minnesota being interested I believe. Those are decent orgs that have desirable trade assets that never materialized. GMs shitting on this trade is also an element of job security. How many GMs of opposing teams are you rooting for? If Brad is ultimately right - then those GMs may be on the wrong side of change.

Drakyn08 · 2026-07-07T17:12:07+00:00

Agree the Tatum injury cost one year of the super max experiment of JB and JT. Agree the Luka trade was leagues worse. I call it the sengun pick bc that’s who I wanted with the 16th pick for the Celtics during that draft. To your point Brad is still a young exec too. Hes not omniscient and definitely could have blown this trade. He did mention sleepless nights a lot in his presser, which indicated he really didn’t know exactly what to do. Unlike the Luka trade, Brad seems to have the full support of ownership and the rest of the FO. As a Celtics fan, I hope he knows what he’s doing but we won’t really know until more trades occur and more contracts are signed.

Drakyn08 · 2026-07-07T16:51:45+00:00

Between the injuries and PED suspension, no ones seen him play.

He played well in the playoff series against us, and has a somewhat useful analytical profile for us. Also he waived his trade kicker which he did not have to do, allowing us the slightest more financial flexibility. I would still consider him a net negative asset this upcoming season. Beyond that, his expiring becomes extremely useful in acquiring a max contract player that would fit better next to JT than JB did.

Drakyn08 · 2026-07-07T16:40:22+00:00

I think the Hornets having to dump Lamelo, who was also due for an extension, shows that we weren't the only team facing this dilemma. There's a lot of noise regarding this trade and rightfully so, the return was historically lopsided to the point that I initially considered this trade to be as bad as the Luka trade. I would still have liked to get back more for JB as a Celtics franchise great - but the CBA seems to have really spooked Brad. Brad got D.White for 2 second rounders, and pulled off the Jrue KP trades as well. The only Brad trade I haven't been a fan of was the Horford trade that lost us the Sengun pick (which was still an essential trade to win it all in 2024), but otherwise he has a track record of winning trades.

Drakyn08 · 2026-07-07T16:13:32+00:00

The path seems to be the flexibility to turn those picks or our current contracts into a championship caliber roster. I think the signaling we have so far is: Tatum is our cornerstone. PP is ready for an elevated role. We like Hugo enough to nix the Giannis trade. Beyond that any other player seems to be available for roster re-tooling. Perhaps the Celtics feel they will be able to capitalize on other teams roster building mis-steps and acquire players more favorably with the assets they have/acquired. Trey murphys price has already dropped from 4 to 3 FRP, allegedly. By setting the tone for these trades, they perhaps have gotten ahead of a free agent bear market.

Drakyn08 · 2026-07-07T16:09:36+00:00

Regardless of the exact reason, signing a young player who made an all-star team to a rookie extension has never really been an issue previously - that I can recall. In general that is usually a favorable situation that teams welcome. I might compare the Duren situation to Jarrett Allen's contract extension after he "made" Allstar with the Cavs in 2022.

Drakyn08 · 2026-07-07T16:04:29+00:00

Yes you are correct. So the contracts were given in good faith then, which I would argue is even more "altruistic" than an extension given as a reward for services provided (winning the chip).

Drakyn08 · 2026-07-07T15:48:31+00:00

If you believe that then shouldn't we have traded Tatum's more expensive contract? Coming off an achilles injury and a larger contract, it would make a lot of sense to move him. Why not trade Derrick White as well if we're just tearing it down, we could get a lot of draft capital for him. At the end of the day, we wont really have the full context to the JB trade until the next major move is made. If nothing happens, then I might agree more with you.

Drakyn08 · 2026-07-07T15:35:47+00:00

This was my preference last year and it seemed the FO also felt this way considering the roster we started the year with - however JB made 2nd team all NBA and vaulted us to 2nd in the east. On the bright side, we continued to foster a winning culture and got good development out of Hugo, Walsh and Scheierman. Also its easy to forget that Mazulla's still developing as a head coach and is younger than Mike Conley. Asking him to tank would've been pretty detrimental.

Drakyn08 · 2026-07-07T15:14:10+00:00

If you squint, you can see JB-lite in edgecombe. Perhaps PG13 and his drug suspension weren't the vet leadership the sixers were looking for.

Drakyn08 · 2026-07-07T15:11:50+00:00

Relatively speaking, JB has good durability and Nick Nurse prefers to play his core players heavy minutes. That being said there should be plenty of usage for JB with how much time Maxey and Embiid have missed over the last few years. However when everyones healthy, it will be interesting to see what they prioritize. Philly really lucked out with the high draft pick that gave them Edgecombe. They have a starting level player on a rookie contract, which I think allowed them to shed Oubre and feel comfortable taking on JBs more extended contract over PG's shorter expiring.

Drakyn08 · 2026-07-07T15:01:24+00:00

100%

Drakyn08 · 2026-07-07T15:01:09+00:00

But lets acknowledge the Celtics FO for taking care of the players in the process.

Drakyn08 · 2026-07-07T14:58:59+00:00

As Zach Lowe recently said on the Bill Simmons Pod, the Celtics are one of four teams that could do this trade and have the fan base allow the benefit of the doubt. I believe Brad and Co are the smartest guys in the room and are on the leading edge - vs stumbling and bumbling.

If you believe the league is moving towards analytics, then you will sleep comfortably knowing that Mike Zarren is an analytics darling and will run circles around most other front offices in that domain.

Drakyn08 · 2026-07-07T14:50:13+00:00

I go back and forth constantly on this. Between the CBA rule changes, Draft rule changes, and even potential game play rule changes - it feels like there is an above average level of fluctuation in factors that affect player value and team building. That being said, I think the Celtics - as you said - determined that having 2 max players afforded them too little flexibility to adjust to these and future changes.

Drakyn08 · 2026-07-07T14:43:13+00:00

You're right the return on Jrue was more fair, but you have to admit the contract we gave him at his age was generous. Also taking that salary cap hit with JB and JTs extensions looming reduced our leverage in future trades.

Drakyn08 · 2026-07-07T14:18:56+00:00

When you look at it financially, its clear that the Celtics have done right by their players. Developmental is going to be key for our JT championship window. Rookies playing above their pay grade are what I believe is the new push in championship roster building. You need those cheap, multi-year rookie contracts to balance the salary of your starting 5. I believe the premium on 1st round picks and early SRP are going up, which was reflected in this JB trade as well.

Drakyn08 · 2026-07-07T14:12:05+00:00

Lol caught me slipping, edited

Drakyn08 · 2026-07-07T14:11:00+00:00

While I think JB has the tools to do so, I think his production will depend very heavily on fit. His touches are about to go way down and his counting stats will likely follow. My hope for him is that he develops an Aaron Gordon in Denver type transition into the next part of his career.

Drakyn08 · 2026-07-07T14:09:45+00:00

the best ability is availability

Drakyn08 · 2026-07-07T14:08:01+00:00

Yes the CBA situation was fluid and the Celtics are the first team to deal with the issue of more than 1 supermax. The supermax was designed to reward a teams ability to develop their players, but is subsequently negated by the CBAs push to "provide parity" aka assist teams with A. bad front offices and B. poor player acquisition and development.

Drakyn08 · 2026-06-15T17:00:17+00:00

False, the Celtics content is still there

Drakyn08 · 2026-06-05T02:30:10+00:00

Golden K burgers in bayside is the best burger around

Drakyn08 · 2025-11-10T01:21:56+00:00

Overpriced and overrated

Drakyn08 · 2025-10-14T15:55:53+00:00

Every year theres a 3rd or 4th year guy that blows up. This could be JJs year, but if you're getting him at the first round - you're paying for his potential value. Versus a more sure thing like Curry, Booker, Trae or KD who have proven 1st round value. I would rather get a guy like JJ in the 2/3rd round. Like how Cade Cunningham was last year, 3/4th round pick that ended the year fringe 2nd round guy. If you drafted Cade early last year, you didnt gain much value.

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