NBAhtml Although the NBA 4 season has come to an end, the player trading market has begun to surge. In order to compete for the championship next season, each team is secretly planning transactions and trying to strengthen the lineup. Among them, the craziest team is undoubtedly the team that just won the championship. The NBA "overall runner-up" who failed in the finals - the Boston Celtics!
As we all know, this year Celtics with the double pick in the team, the growth of Tatum and Jaylen Brown, as well as the progress of Rowe, Smart and others, in The playoffs have been making great progress, sweeping the Nets 4-0, eliminating the defending champion Bucks 4-3, defeating the Eastern Conference's No. 1 Heat 4-3, and leading Golden State 2-1 in the finals. The Warriors were eventually defeated by the Golden State Warriors 2-4, and unfortunately missed this year's championship.
After the end of the 21-22 season, the Celtics senior management held a summary meeting. The attendees included all the Celtics management. In addition, they also specially invited the former general manager of the Green Army Danny Angie to participate as a special consultant. This is an open meeting. Many fans know that the NBA says that where there is Danny Ainge, there will be big trades. In 2007, the Big Three of Garnett, Pierce, and Ray Allen were formed through trade, and they won the championship in 2013. In 2010, Garnett and Pierce were traded away, establishing today's double-top pick lineup. Danny Ainge deserves the title of "Trading Madman" in the NBA.
In this closed-door meeting, the Green Army conducted an in-depth analysis of the strengths and weaknesses of its own lineup, as well as the development situation of the east and west of the league in the next few years, and came to an important conclusion. The Celtics missed the best window to win the championship this year. , if no transactions occur in the next three years, it will be difficult to win the championship due to the depth of the lineup. Therefore, with the participation of Danny Ainge, the Celtics' senior executives began a crazy brainstorming and brewed three sets of trading plans. As the date for the opening of the free market approached, these plans were exposed one by one. !
Plan 1: The Green Army sends Tatum + White and gets Clippers Leonard
This plan does seem a little crazy at first glance, very much like Danny Ainge's style. Let’s not talk about whether the Clippers are willing to send Leonard. Why are the Celtics willing to send their own star Tatum? Fans who have watched this year's finals know that the 24-year-old Tatum's performance in the finals was indeed not outstanding. He averaged 40.7 minutes per game, contributed 21.5 points, 6.8 rebounds, 7 assists, 0.7 blocks, and 3.8 turnovers. The shooting percentage was 36.7%, the three-point shooting percentage was 45.5%, and the free throw percentage was 65.6%. Especially in the critical third and fourth quarters, he habitually stretched his hips to hide, and faced the suffocating defense of Wiggins . It's a performance of being helpless.
In contrast, Jaylen Brown, another prospect of the Green Army, averaged 38.8 minutes per game in the six games of the Finals, averaging 23.5 points, 7.3 rebounds and 3.7 assists. He led the team in points per game and averaged rebounds per game. Third, behind Horford and Lowe. Jaylen Brown's performance at the critical moment of the game was obviously much better than Tatum. However, due to the competition for FMVP, Tatum did not pass the ball to him, leaving Jaylen Brown with nothing to use.
From this transaction plan, we can see the Celtics' true intention, to give up Tatum, who has a softer style of play, to establish Jaylen Brown's core position, and to introduce Leonard to strengthen the team's attack at critical moments on both offense and defense. Ability, Leonard's defense is not even slightly better than Tatum. At the same time, whether it is mid-range shooting or impact in the paint, Leonard is much better than the current Tatum. The only uncertainty is Leonard. The injury situation, this may be the real reason why the Clippers are willing to trade Leonard in exchange for a healthier and younger Tatum!
Plan 2: The Green Army sends Horford + Lowe + Gerway + 2024 first-round pick + 2027 first-round pick + 2026 first-round pick swap rights to get Trail Blazers Lillard
Lillard is developing It is a well-known fact that people are unhappy. Recently, there has been an open recruitment for Durant on the Internet. With CJ McCollum leaving the Pelicans, if the Trail Blazers don't get a lineup that can compete for the championship through trade, the 32-year-old Lillard will definitely not stay in the Trail Blazers. Therefore, the Trail Blazers traded Lillard for the future, obtained three first-round picks in the future, and the team entered a complete reconstruction. This is a completely acceptable result and a deal that everyone is happy with.
The chips sent by the Green Army were also sincere enough to form a lineup of Tatum, Jaylen Brown, and Lillard. It was similar to when Irving and Kemba Walker were there. Although Lillard is not good at organization, Lillard has more offensive methods and is better and more stable than Irving and Kemba Walker in long-range shooting. The most important thing is that Lillard was selected into the 75th Big Five. Superstars, while neither Irving nor Kemba Walker has one. At the same time, Lillard has been making wild claims recently, calling himself "Curry No. 2", claiming that apart from Curry, there is no better point guard than him in the league.
When facing the Golden State Warriors in this year's finals, the Celtics' weaknesses in offensive power and organizational skills in the backcourt were infinitely magnified. With the addition of "Curry's second" Lillard, the Celtics can indeed improve immediately. The Celtics' backcourt problems allow Smart to focus more on defense. There are definitely pros and cons to a transaction. The Celtics sent away Horford, Lowe and Gerway, leaving Theis as the only available insider. The inside advantage is gone. If they face the Bucks again, the inside It is very likely that they will be directly defeated. Not to mention winning the championship, it will be very difficult to break out of the Eastern Conference. The Celtics' management must be aware of the pros and cons and weigh the pros and cons.
Plan 3: The Green Army sends Jaylen Brown , Smart, Pritchard, Grant Williams, a 2024 first-round pick and a 2026 first-round pick to get Durant from the Nets
As soon as this trading plan came out, it quickly detonated the Internet, and all the big guys complained: If Durant can't beat him, then join 2.0! As we all know, in the first round of this year's playoffs, the Nets were swept out by the Celtics 4-0. Durant was very embarrassed by the Celtics' targeted defense, averaging only 26.3 points per game and missing three shots. The shooting rate is a pitiful 38.6%, the three-point shooting rate is even worse, only 33.3%, and there are 5.3 turnovers per game, and the average is 26.3 points per game, mainly by averaging 9.5 free throws per game.
In this year's playoffs, the reason why Durant's performance was so bad, to be honest, there are three main reasons! First, two fists are hard to beat with four hands! Durant's offense also needs to open up space, but the Nets don't have anyone who can hit it. Let the Celtics double-attack Durant as soon as he dribbles. Either the pass will be missed or there will be no return, and Irving will only be able to do it. Isolation means not passing the ball. Second, Nash "Piracy Death Five" is really a scam! Nash copied Cole's tactics and used the "Piracy of Death Five", Durant + Irving + Brown + Curry Jr. + X, causing the Nets to be pressed to the ground by the Celtics and rubbed. Fourth, Durant is too tired! Durant averaged 44 minutes per game in the playoffs, ranking first in the league. If you include the regular season and playoff playoffs at the end of the season, Durant played more than 42 minutes in 13 consecutive games. Nash is really dead. Use Durant.
After the Thunder were defeated by the Golden State Warriors in 2016, Durant joined the Golden State Warriors the next season. This time after the Nets were defeated by the Celtics, Durant joined the next season. It's not impossible for the Celtics, so it's understandable to call it "Durant can't beat him, so join 2.0". Recently, the issue of Irving's contract renewal has been aroused. Durant also expressed his disappointment in the latest interview. The 34-year-old Durant still wants to win the championship, and there is indeed not much time left for him. It is reasonable to want to team up and compete for the championship again.
As a club that aims to compete for the championship, the Nets certainly do not want to trade Durant. However, because Irving cannot be understood by common sense, it is very likely that he will not renew his contract with the club and "run away from home" in frustration. scattered. At the same time, it is very likely that "good brother" Durant will also be interested in leaving. Everyone must know that the Nets have not treated Durant badly. Now Durant has a four-year maximum salary contract of US$198 million. , will be implemented next season. If Durant really wants to leave the team, trading Durant will become the only remedy for the Nets to recover their losses!
On the other hand, the Celtics chose to send away Jaylen Brown, which is equivalent to establishing Tatum's core position, and is more optimistic about Tatum's future development prospects, and whether Tatum's upper limit can surpass him. The idol Kobe still gave many people very high expectations and room for imagination. After all, Tatum is only 24 years old and has been selected to the league's best team. His progress in the past few years is obvious to all. Next season, the frontline duo of Tatum and Durant will definitely be at the level of the league's nuclear weapons. Compared with now, the Celtics with Durant are definitely better at critical moments in offensive and defensive capabilities, and they are more confident about competing for the championship!
The three trading plans are indeed more crazy than the last. From this point of view, the Celtics are indeed willing to pay all costs for the 18th championship in team history. In the end, it will take time to test whether these trading plans can be successful, but from behind these trading plans, we can find that there are indeed problems with the distribution of ball rights and mutual incompatibility between the Celtics' two top picks. Judging from the performance of the two competing for FMVP in the finals, the personal relationship between the two is not as harmonious as they say. So the question is, if the Celtics forcefully demolish the two top picks, Tatum and Jaylen Brown, in order to compete for the championship, who do you think will be sent away?
(This article is original by "Meto Little Fans" and first appeared on Toutiao. Please indicate the source when reprinting! Everyone's likes, comments and attention are our greatest encouragement!)
