Why would we hesitate? Even if Jalen becomes an elite scorer there is no sign he will be average or better on defense. Jalen, KPJ, and 3 firsts.... not this year's lotto..
That doesn't mean Green will learn to play defense or become efficient. Known quantity versus unknow. We have reasonable certainty Green will always need help on the defensive end to hide him.
Why is it reasonable certainty? What do you think second year Jalen Brown would look like on this roster?
Let's not be Lakers or Warriors fans about this: trading for Jaylen Brown, even if he's only got a year left on his current deal, will require some heavy capital in the form of draft picks and existing prospects on our team. To not trade Green or Jabari in the process will be tough.
HOU out: KPJ Sengun Tate 2023 LAC first 2024 BKN first 2025 BKN first (swap) 2026 BKN first 2027 BKN first (swap) HOU in: Jaylen Brown BOS out: Brown Gallinari BOS In: Bradley Beal 2024 BKN first 2025 BKN first (swap) 2026 BKN first 2027 BKN first (swap) WAS out: Bradley Beal WAS in: KPJ Sengun Tate Gallinari 2023 LAC first Draft Wemby, Sign Harden + Cam Johnson with space, Biyombo + Ish Smith with room exception Starters: Harden Jalen Jaylen Cam Wemby Bench: KJ, Jabari, Tari, TyTy, Garuba, Biyombo, Ish Smith All works under the cap
Maybe Stone will cold-call knock on his door at 12:00 a.m. armed with an IPAD with a recruiting pitch from Rockets' legends generated by ChatGPT.
No Jaylen trade would happen with anyone in the league unless an extension were agreed already. And with the new CBA he can be extended on a max immediately, under the old one he couldn’t, that was the problem.
If Brown really wants out why not a three team trade between Houston, Toronto, and Boston. Boston isn’t going to want young pieces that aren’t contributing/ready to contend immediately. Toronto may be on the verge of a quick tear down rebuild so maybe something like the following? Houston gets Brown Celtics get Siakim, pick(s) from Houston Toronto gets Sengun, top pick if not Wemby Trade KPJ somewhere for cap space Sign Harden Trade remaining assets for Claxton 2023/24 roster Harden/TyTy Green/vet FA signing Brown/Eason Smith/Eason Claxton/Free agent
I think the Rockets try to keep their backcourt together, especially if its pick #2 - #3 being involved in a trade. #2 or #3 could be Scott or Brandon Miller. A pkg of Scoot, KJ, Sengun and 3 future #1s would be sufficient for Brown. This would give the Rockets PG - Green SG - KPJ SF - Brown PF - Smith C - Wemby
If Boston is getting Beal, they don't get the 4 picks... Washington would need the compensation for giving up Beal
Beal’s trade value is not that high. He’s a top 40 player paid like a top 5 player. Boston would like him more than most because he’s best friends with Tatum and they want to keep Tatum happy. Plus they get the picks to give them ammo for another upgrade and make up for the difference in value. If WAS is moving on from Beal they aren’t getting a KD/Harden/Donovan Mitchell level trade package — it’ll be a a few young players or picks and expirings.
What has Atkinson proved? He had one winning season in 4 years in Brooklyn? That one year he won 42 games he had a good roster and that team wasn’t a pushover. Udoka improved Celtics win total by 15 games. We don’t know how good Udoka would be since he only had one year but he took a 36 win team previous year into the finals almost knocking off the Warriors. Atkinson never reached this level of success.
