<div class="quote_poster">Quoting celtsfan2589:</div><div class="quote_post">the clips are making all the right moves getting solid vets to mix with some younger guys like brand....us on the other hand are getting rid of all our vets with play off expirience for youger guys with no play off expirience....i dont get it? why trade the captain for a pg who does have potential but is injury prone and maggette who puts up ok numbers but its always been just him and brand someone needed to carry the load...and both of them have 0 playoff expirience....are only vet would be lafrentz...and hes probabley on his way out....and lest not forget how big paul steps up when the playofs do role around....he made hitory this year he had a game with 30 + points 7 boards 7 assits 3 steals 3 blocks...peirce is our vet captain who needs to stay with this team</div> Every team has to rebuild and the Celtics are beginning to in rebuild IMO.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting playmaker14:</div><div class="quote_post">Every team has to rebuild and the Celtics are beginning to in rebuild IMO.</div> i agree everyteam at somepoint needs to rebuild but you always keep a nucleus to rebuild around.....that is paul...hes a vet with playoff expirience and only 27 years old...keep paul...surrond him with young talent....and go from there
if they are serious they picked the wrong time to do it cause teams are stronger than ever and this year in particular will be tough on the up and coming teams.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting eyes only:</div><div class="quote_post">if they are serious they picked the wrong time to do it cause teams are stronger than ever and this year in particular will be tough on the up and coming teams.</div> Isn't this the best time to rebuild? The Celtics are good enough to make the playoffs, but I doubt even die-hard Celtic fans agree they have a shot at the title or even the ECF. However, in a couple of years, their young players will be ready to make some noise in the East. Shaq will be one step closer to retiring, the Pistons might dismantle (Big Ben is a free agent next summer), Jason Kidd & AI are aging, so the Celtics have a better shot two years from now. celtsfan2589 Trading Pierce is a tough decision, it does leave the team without any veterans, aside from LaFrentz. However, it still seems he's fallen out of favor with the ownership and deciding to cut ties now to get a promising PG for the future, plus a solid SF, might be the best deal out there for him.
Maggette is not far behind Pierce to tell the truth, and you have to remember the Clippers are playing in a conference that has been much harder the past years. Injuries have been a big part of all the losing the team has suffered the past 3-4 years to tell the truth. If you look at this season, the Clippers won 37 games in the West. Jaric and Livingston both missed a substantial amount of games, Maggette was out, and so was Kaman for a while. In the East and without all those injuries, the Clippers were capable of winning 45+ games. Remember they were in the playoffs till injuries struck and they went 0-8. Also while Maggette is not too far behind, he's also a lot cheaper than Pierce, which increases his value too. Livingston will not get traded, it's just stupid, especially for a guy like Pierce that gurantees nothing for the team. Cassell is a nice addition. He brings some other dimensions to the team. With him being a natural scorer too, they can play with Livingston at PG, and Cassell at SG at times, and it gives the team a nice backcourt rotation.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting og15:</div><div class="quote_post">Maggette is not far behind Pierce to tell the truth, and you have to remember the Clippers are playing in a conference that has been much harder the past years. Injuries have been a big part of all the losing the team has suffered the past 3-4 years to tell the truth. If you look at this season, the Clippers won 37 games in the West. Jaric and Livingston both missed a substantial amount of games, Maggette was out, and so was Kaman for a while. In the East and without all those injuries, the Clippers were capable of winning 45+ games. Remember they were in the playoffs till injuries struck and they went 0-8. Also while Maggette is not too far behind, he's also a lot cheaper than Pierce, which increases his value too. Livingston will not get traded, it's just stupid, especially for a guy like Pierce that gurantees nothing for the team. Cassell is a nice addition. He brings some other dimensions to the team. With him being a natural scorer too, they can play with Livingston at PG, and Cassell at SG at times, and it gives the team a nice backcourt rotation.</div> I disagree, Maggette is far from Pierce, there's a reason why Pierce is a perennial All-Star and Maggette has yet to be considered. The two main differences seperating the two is the fact Pierce is more consistent and he draws double teams. There are other intangibles, but those would be my top two. Pierce would also fit it a lot better than Maggette, because he can hit the open jumper all night when teams double down on Brand. Maggette gets a lot of open jumpshots, but he makes 1 out of 3. Bobby Simmons cashed in on the open looks Brand got him, and putting Pierce in the same opportunities along with Cassell & Mobley on the floor, would be deadly for the Clippers. Chris Kaman is no slouch either, so as a coach how do you stop that team on offense? If you double on Brand, you'll get destroyed from the perimeter, and if you don't double brand he'll have a field day inside. If I'm the Clippers I do this deal in heartbeat, Pierce is still only 27 and you are getting a proven player. The lineup is good enough to make it to the 2nd round or further in the post season, but with Livingston you have to wait 3 to 5 years before he comes around. I'd rather be in the playoffs for the next 5 years instead of waiting on him to MAYBE lead my team there.
Far makes it seem like Maggette's a much inferior player to Pierce. Maggette is not as good as him, I agree, but he's a capable player, and a guy that can be an All-Star himself. I've already said I'd trade Maggette for Pierce in the right situation, because Pierce's is a smarter and better player, but his biggest advantage, he's more durable. With consistency though, I don't agree with that. When Maggette's game is on [when he's not injured lol], he's one of the most consistent perimeter scorers in the league because of his ability to get to the basket and convert. If you look at I think March and April, he scored 20+ PPG about every game, and averaged something close to 25 PPG in those months. Maggette's biggest problem right now is that he doesn't make others better. EDIT: Okay, here are the numbers - <font color="Navy">March:</font> 25.3 PPG, 6.5 RPG, 4.1 APG, 46.8% FG, 31.7% 3PT, 11.5 FTA/G <font color="Navy">April:</font> 26.5 PPG, 5.3 RPG, 2.8 APG, 50.9% FG, 54.5% 3PT [6-11], 11.5 FTA/G When Simmons was still in the plans, Pierce was also a more fitted SG as he is a better passer and ball handler. I also preffered him because of his superior clutch abilities which was a need on the team, and his shooting ability. Those aren't fators anymore with Simmons gone and Mobley in. With the addition of Mobley, outisde shooting is not a huge need anymore, and Mobley is also been a clutch shooter himself as he's shown in his career. Also adding Cassell who is a post up/mid-range guy, can hit the long shots, and is a guy who is known for his clutch abilities takes away another need. Those 2 guys are mainly outside players, and Maggette compliments them well because he's mainly a penetrator. Pierce is good at getting to the basket, but Maggette is even better. All the advantages Pierce had on Maggette: Ability to play SG, Clutch abilities, Shooting, and passing has been filled by the additions of Cassell and Mobley. So Maggette's smaller contract makes the margin between them in terms of team needs minimal. Pierce makes about $5.5 million more than Maggette, that right there can get you a starter, a good player, or even 2-3 nice rotation players. I'd rather have the chance of being a consistent playoffs team, and very good in the future while being capable of going far with Shaun, than just making it one year, and struggling to get in later. Banks hasn't shown ability to be a starting PG in this league, they trade Livingston, and who starts at PG after Cassell leaves? Livingston might be 3-5 years away from leading the team, but even this year he's capable of improving the team with his abilities, he was already averaging about 7+ APG as a starter last season, and holding it down defensively. In April [10 GP], he averaged 11 PPG, 4.4 RPG, 7.4 APG, 2.9 TPG, 1.4 SPG in 35.9 MPG.
I don't see what all the hubbub is about. We all know that Pierce isn't long for this team, we all know that Maggette is formidable, if not Pierce, and I think we can now assume that Livingston is not part of this deal, because Ainge doesn't have the upper hand in negotiations. Banks, Pierce, and a pick for Maggette and filler would probably be all we're looking at here, if they were to deal that package. Sadly, the C's just aren't going to get what they want out of a Pierce trade. Ainge has proven to be pretty shrewd in the past, but I don't think he has quite the leverage he's used to.
There is no one on the Clippers I owuld want for Pierce and that includes Brand. Al Jefferson is a Brand clone in the making. Now if you put Livingston and Brand together then we got a deal. Livingston is the only one on that team worth thinking twice about but not straight up. A deal with Pierce for Magette, dont make me laugh. Someone eluded to the fact that Magette is not far behind Pierce. That couldnt be farthest from the truth. Magette comes through with a great game once every two weeks where as Pierce does it on a nightly basis. Well not nightly but he is more consitant than Corey. I hope someone puts this rumor to bed early.
I think the door has closed on any potential deals between these two teams. More than likely, the Clips were calling to see if a Jaric/Maggette deal could land Pierce. I'm sure Danny then demanded Livingston in the deal, causing the Clips to go with Plan B, which was Jaric for Cassell.
