Paul Pierce to Denver?

[Folster]

This was posted on realgm.

Report: Paul Pierce To Be Traded To Nuggets

8th September, 2005 - 12:35 am

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InsideHoops.com - 'A league source informs InsideHoops.com editor Jeff Lenchiner late Wednesday evening that the Boston Celtics are going to trade all-star guard/forward Paul Pierce to the Denver Nuggets for guard Andre Miller and forward/center Nene.

It's not known whether other players are involved, but if any are they'd be lesser players for cap purposes.' [READ]

"Assuming" this is true, Good trade for Denver. The Earl Watson signing suddenly makes more sense. Can Melo and Pierce co-exist? Without Nene, what happens if/when Camby goes down? "If" this is true Denver will be tough.

What's Ainge thinking? How many point guards can he aquire? Hey Danny, send one our way.

 

[thegrahamcrackr]

No kidding. I mean I think the trade for Boston is nice if they really wanted to move pierce, but they have wayyyyy to many PGs now.

Banks has to be moved if this happens.

 

[elindholm]

Allen just had some legal trouble, right? Maybe they'll waive him outright.

 

[thegrahamcrackr]

Allen just had some legal trouble, right? Maybe they'll waive him outright.

Then maybe another team can sign and trade him to us

 

[thegrahamcrackr]

After combing some of the other boards a lot of people think this deal will include Leonard and possibly Banks.

 

[elindholm]

Then maybe another team can sign and trade him to us

LOL

 

[elindholm]

This also gives the Celtics a logjam at backup PF/C, doesn't it? Assuming LaFrentz and Jefferson are the starters, they have Blount, Perkins, Borchardt, Scalabrine, and now Nene. If this is legit, I think Ainge must have another deal in the works.

(LaFrentz and Ricky Davis for Marion? )

 

[Joe Mama]

Then maybe another team can sign and trade him to us

LOL

Wasn't Andre Miller's contract frontloaded to try to dissuade the Clippers from matching? I mean the last three years on Paul Pierce's contract total around $45 million. Miller's entire 6-year deal is for a total of $51 million. Still, I really think I would want something more if I was Boston.

Joe Mama

 

[thegrahamcrackr]

Yah it was frontloaded pretty heavily IIRC.

I am guessing their future lineup would be

Miller
Allen
Green
Jefferson
Nene

with Perkins and West as the two main subs. That is a pretty awesome lineup if everyone hits their potential (minus Miller who already has)

 

[thegrahamcrackr]

This could actually be kind of nice for us. Boston will struggle to win 30 games this season if the trade happens. LA is far from a playoff lock.

So if the lakers get say the 11th pick, and the Celtics hit the lottery we would get the 11th? (Assuming the celts are lower).

Or if the Lakers don't hit the 10th mark, we would get the worse of the two picks in 2007? That would probably be no worse than a 16th pick in a really deep draft, combine with a likely lotto pick from Atlanta.

 

[elindholm]

Without Nene, what happens if/when Camby goes down?

I didn't try to answer this right away because I wanted to think about it. But I believe the answer is, they're completely screwed. Heck, Martin is their only PF after the trade, and he's not exactly a bastion of health either. I'm thinking the Nuggets must be getting some sort of vaguely competent big man back in the deal.

 

[PakistaniRambo]

very interesting. and all along ainge kept stating that the pierce trade rumors were ludicrous.

 

[thegrahamcrackr]

Without Nene, what happens if/when Camby goes down?

I didn't try to answer this right away because I wanted to think about it. But I believe the answer is, they're completely screwed. Heck, Martin is their only PF after the trade, and he's not exactly a bastion of health either. I'm thinking the Nuggets must be getting some sort of vaguely competent big man back in the deal.

Well they still have Elson who has looked pretty good in limited minutes.

My guess is they don't want to pay Nene big money to be a backup so they are shipping him now while they still have lots of leverage. If I was a Nugget fan I would be thinking this is Miller for Pierce in the long run, so I would be stoked.

In other words, they learned from the Suns mistake. Had the Suns realized they would lose Johnson they could have package him and Marion for Tmac. In the long run Tmac for Marion and 2 firsts ain't bad.

 

[elindholm]

So if the Nuggets were squeamish about the possibility of extending Nene, shouldn't the Celtics be too? They have LaFrentz for four more years and Blount for five. Jefferson is supposed to be their PF of the future. They just signed Scalabrine to a five-year deal. And it seems far too soon to write off Perkins or even Borchardt, if he could ever get healthy.

I just don't see the Celtics really wanting Nene. My guess is he could be had for a pick and some cash. Go to it, Bryan -- start putting those Johnson savings to work.

 

[thegrahamcrackr]

I would think that Nene/Perkins/Jefferson would be the PF/C rotation of the future.

Perhaps they try using some of their prospects to pawn Lafrentz or Blount off to someone else?

The deal makes no sense if they don't want Nene. Why take on [i[another[/i] PG for Pierce? I would think they would be able to get more value out of him than just Andre Miller.

 

[George O'Brien]

How many players do the Celtics have under contract? I count 16 before making another one for two trade and that does not include Dickau.

 

[thegrahamcrackr]

How many players do the Celtics have under contract? I count 16 before making another one for two trade and that does not include Dickau.

When you take into account all the moves they have made the total comes to 18.

 

[hcsilla]

If Karl will manage to find a chemistry between Pierce and Anthony this deal turns to be a steal for the Nuggets.

I never was a huge fan of Andre Miller, he is a nice reliable PG but no more while Pierce is close to a franchise player.

 

[Joe Mama]

If Karl will manage to find a chemistry between Pierce and Anthony this deal turns to be a steal for the Nuggets.

I never was a huge fan of Andre Miller, he is a nice reliable PG but no more while Pierce is close to a franchise player.

perhaps the Celtics would look to trade Nene to a contender in need of a big man around the trade deadline. I'm sure some desperate team would give up draft picks and/or a young player with potential for him. There's always New York.

Offensively Miller is a lot like Gary Payton. He does a good job of pushing the ball of the court, and he's very good at posting of his defender and finding the open man when the defense is forced to double-team him. During that time assist year in Cleveland that's how Miller got the lion's share of his assists.

Defensively Miller is more than capable but generally lazy. He is not a good three-point shooter, but at least he knows it and doesn't take the shot very often.

Assuming we are right about Miller's contract being frontloaded, this deal should save Boston a boatload of money. Miller is also under contract a year longer than Pierce.

It remains to be seen whether this is a legit rumor. It also remains to be seen which players are actually traded. However if the trade goes down about how it was reported it looks like Denver is getting a nice talent upgrade. Frankly, Nene sucks. And yes, he's the guy I desperately wanted Phoenix to take in that draft.

BTW Andre Miller is actually 29 years old and a year and a half older than all peers. However I think it will be interesting to see in the next few years whether players wear out from their real age or the number of years in the league.

Joe Mama

 

[elindholm]

I would think that Nene/Perkins/Jefferson would be the PF/C rotation of the future.

Maybe, but that's the distant future if they can't move LaFrentz or Blount. Teams don't usually make moves for a future that far off, since it's too hard to tell how prospects are going to pan out. Besides, if they give Nene enough playing time this year or next to figure out what he's worth, who is going to get dumped to the bench instead?

I'm skeptical about the trade for the Nuggets. They'll have three volatile players (Pierce, Anthony, and Martin) who all expect to be treated like gods, and when the most level-headed of the group is Pierce, that's saying something. I expect George Karl can stand up to the egos without a problem, but the group is still going to need firm on-court leadership. Is Earl Watson the point guard that can make it all click? I seriously doubt it.

 

[fordronken]

Is it me, or are the Nuggets just building a west coast equivalent of Karl's old Bucks team?

 

[fordronken]

Okay. I thought about the trade again from Boston's perspective and here's what I came up with. Danny Ainge isn't worrying about rotations. He's just trying to acquire the best players he can who aren't toward the end of their careers. There was a decent chance the team was gonna struggle and they were going to have to trade a disgruntled Pierce without much value toward the trade deadline. Ainge saw an opportunity now and took it.

As for the point guard logjam-- true. They have a lot of point guards, but Miller is the only one who's capable of being a quality starter. I guess he's figuring to clear out the log jams later. I think Ainge will be trying all year to dump LaFrentz and Blount for shorter contracts.

 

[Diamondback Jay]

This also gives the Celtics a logjam at backup PF/C, doesn't it? Assuming LaFrentz and Jefferson are the starters, they have Blount, Perkins, Borchardt, Scalabrine, and now Nene. If this is legit, I think Ainge must have another deal in the works.

(LaFrentz and Ricky Davis for Marion? )

Ack.. I hope not if this is the deal...

 

[cly2tw]

Or we just make preemptive trade to get Pierce first!

 

[Folster]

Looks like this rumor was false. Insidehoops.com just discredited their own rumor a day later. Is anyone familiar with this website? Is it worth entertaining their rumors? Apparently Realgm thinks so because they cited them yesterday.

By InsideHoops.com | Sept. 7, 2005
The Denver Nuggets want Paul Pierce. That we know.

A source informed InsideHoops.com Wednesday evening that the Boston Celtics are expected to trade all-star guard/forward Paul Pierce to the Denver Nuggets for guard Andre Miller and forward/center Nene. But late Thursday morning a high-ranking member of the Celtics organization told InsideHoops.com via email that the rumor is "incorrect."

Also Thursday morning, Boston newspapers report that Celtics godfather Red Auerbach is in the hospital. A source quoted in the New York Post said Thursday morning that Auerbach is in a coma