NBA Trade Idea: Suns, Celtics & Sixers
By Matthew Wu
This is only hypothetical but looking at the current situations of the Phoenix Suns, Boston Celtics, and Philadelphia 76ers, somethings gotta give for these three ball clubs.
The Suns are currently the bottom feeders of the western conference, the Sixers looked decent for a little while but they’re now 22-28 and are three games out of the eighth playoff spot in the east.
Then there are the Boston Celtics, who are suddenly playing at a much higher level despite being without star point guard Rajon Rondo. The Celtics have won seven of their last eight games but if they are serious about a playoff run, that roster needs a jolt!
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Here’s the trade scenario:
Phoenix Suns receives: Evan Turner(From PHI) and a future second-round draft choice from(BOS).
Philadelphia 76ers receives: Brandon Bass(From BOS), Fab Melo(From BOS) and a future first-round draft choice(Top 10 protected) from(BOS).
Boston Celtics receives: Marcin Gortat(From PHX), and Sebastian Telfair(From PHX).
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According to the ESPN Trade Machine, if this trade takes place, the Celtics are projected to win three more games, the Suns are projected to lose one extra game which would actually benefit the Suns come the NBA draft this June, and the Sixers are projected to break even. With the trade-deadline about a week away, these three teams will certainly look to make some moves.
Why would any of these teams agree to such a trade? Let’s begin with Philadelphia.
Mar 07, 2012; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Boston Celtics forward Brandon Bass (30) shoots a jump shot during the second quarter against the Philadelphia 76ers at the Wells Fargo Center. The Sixers defeated the Celtics 103-71. Mandatory Credit: Howard Smith-USA TODAY Sports
Philadelphia are missing Andrew Bynum; they’re missing him bad. The Sixers got great play this season from Jrue Holiday, but everyone else has been relatively inconsistent which is ultimately the root of the Sixers struggles. According to the Delware County Daily Times, this is what Bynum had to say on his injury situation. “I’m not sure,” said Bynum. “(This pain) limits me from continuing to go. Like, I was on the court for two hours (Sunday), so that’s good. And I hope to keep going at clips like that. I should be back soon.”
Turner has been good for the Sixers this season, however he’s been inconsistent; I’ll vouch for that twice given he’s on my fantasy team! Turner is already 24 years old and is in the midst of his third season in the NBA. Since being the second overall pick in the NBA draft coming out of Ohio State, Turner has shown very marginal improvements. Turner has yet to post the NBA average PER(Player efficiency rating) of 15 and his lack of improvement has definitely been a growing concern in Philadelphia. Looking at Turner’s per 36 minute numbers, there isn’t a significant difference between his current numbers and his rookie season numbers; not a good sign.
Philadelphia is unlikely to make the playoffs this season as they currently have a 16.1% chance to make the playoffs according to John Hollinger’s playoff odds. The Sixers now have even more competition for that last playoff spot as Toronto is flying high on the back of Rudy Gay; the Raptors are 4-2 since acquiring Gay from Memphis.
If Philadelphia pulls the trigger on this deal, they will get Brandon Bass in return who is a quality power forward but more importantly Philadelphia will get a future first-round pick which can become a huge factor for them moving towards the future. Bass would provide the Sixers with solid play from the power forward spot with Thaddeus Young still out, and let’s call the kettle black, Lavoy Allen is not the answer for Philadelphia! Jrue Holiday has shown he’s ready to take the next step as he’s responded with a career year this season, but Turner is still an enigma for Philadelphia.
There’s a real chance that the Sixers may decide to hold on to Turner for now given his upside but as much incentive as they have to keep him, they have just as much incentive to move him. ESPN’s Chad Ford has Evan Turner ranked 7th overall as the top 10 players to watch at the trade-deadline.
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Jan. 13, 2012; Phoenix, AZ, USA; Phoenix Suns guard Sebastian Telfair (31) and teammate Marcin Gortat (4) during game against the New Jersey Nets at the US Airways Center. The Nets defeated the Suns 110-103. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports
The Celtics are obviously the team that will be getting the most out of this deal. With addition of Gortat, the Celtics will get some much needed help in both rebounding and shot blocking; the Celtics are ranked 25th in blocked shots and 29th in rebounding. Gortat’s presence will take a lot of pressure off of Kevin Garnett and will allow Garnett to move back to his natural position at power forward.
The Celtics would also get a quality back up point guard in Sebastian Telfair. The Celtics are in a desperate need for a point guard after losing Rajon Rondo and Leandro Barbosa in a two-week stretch. Boston currently has no natural point guards on their roster as both Avery Bradley and Jason Terry are combo guards.
With Telfair on-board, there will be much less pressure on the young Bradley and the old Terry to make plays. Oh yeah, can one imagine Bradley and Telfair playing in the same back-court? That’ll be a tough back-court to score on.
Bill Simmons of ESPN and Grantland tweeted this a couple of days ago:
“My 1st choice for Boston’s Barbosa replacement: our old friend Bassy Telfair. Quality back–up PG, great teammate, and underrated defensive pest.”
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Finally there are the Phoenix Suns. The Suns have been using Gortat as trade-bait all season long, but serious talks has yet to take place between Phoenix and a secondary party regarding a deal for Gortat.
Jan. 2, 2013; Phoenix, AZ, USA: Philadelphia 76ers forward Evan Turner (12) lays in the ball in the first half against the Phoenix Suns at the US Airways Center. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports
Gortat is an aging center and his value is at it’s peak right now! If the Suns don’t move him now, his value will only decrease and ultimately Gortat will likely end up walking away two summers from now and the Suns would get hot-air in return. Gortat has expressed his displeasure with the Suns this season through those controversial interviews done in Polish. He isn’t jumping for joy about being in Phoenix so why don’t the Suns trade him and do both parties a favor?
In this deal the Suns would be getting a solid building block in Evan Turner. Trading for Turner is a medium-risk, high reward type of deal. Turner may have shown little improvement throughout his three seasons, however he has the talent to be an all-star in this league. He’s a big wing player who can rebound, pass, and score, but he’s still figuring out how to package all of that together in order to take the next step towards becoming a great player.
By acquiring Turner, the Suns would have a player they can potentially build around, and unlike Michael Beasley, Turner hasn’t had a lot of off-court issues; Turner has kept his nose relatively clean. At worst Turner will become the next Tayshaun Prince however at best he can be a slightly better version of Andre Iguodala.
As far as Sebstian Telfair goes, he’s already been replaced by Kendall Marshall in the Suns rotation. Quite frankly, Telfair didn’t deserve to lose his spot but it was something that was expected to happen after Lindsey Hunter took over. In this situation, the Suns would get in-return that second-round draft choice they’ve been asking for in exchange for Telfair all season long.