Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett and Doc Rivers Reportedly Interested in Clippers

BS Report with Simmons (& Russillo)

Mostly about this, some draft talk too.

Spoiler

Simmons: He(Doc) has damaged his relationship in Boston. Anyone who thinks the Celtics owner is happy about what has happened the last 4 weeks and Doc flirting with another team and trying to orchestrate a deal, bringing KG into this, if you think he is happy, you are insane. He gave him $35 million two years ago. Two years later, Doc is trying to flee. No way he is happy about this.

Any tweet or report that says the Celtics are happy taking him back is coming from Doc's camp, it's not true.

You're seeing the same free pass now(that he got before). I don't disagree what he's trying to do but be open about it. Don't go back to Boston now. You crossed the point of no return. You quit on the team by trying to orchestrate this trade to another team. You can't come back now and coach these guys. Imagine being a player and Doc is your coach again, he's telling you what to do, you tried to get out of here in June. Why am I listening to you? I think he's going to lose the respect of his players because I don't think you can do that. It matters to them. He's basically saying this isn't a good enough situation for me and I'd rather have this situation.

Wojnarowski reports that Doc is telling the Clippers not to put Bledsoe in the deal. Let's say that's true and I'm going to say it is because Woj is dead on. All the sudden, the theory of Doc trying to leave the Celtics in good shape goes out the window. DeAndre Jordan making 11 million is not a bargain. He's a limited center, who has upside, can't make free throws, great when you're up 12, not nearly as good a defender as you think, you'd like him if he was being paid $5 million a year but not 11. Bledsoe is key to this trade. He's an asset. I can spin him for something. If that's true and Doc said that, that's unbelievable to me and tells me he doesn't care what shape Boston is in after the trade.

Jordan is a great guy, really popular, great personality, great athlete, that's it. You think he's a good defensive player but he's not. He can't shoot. FT shooting is abominable. There is a trade kicker. If you got a 1st round pick, congrats you got the 29th pick. I do think there is a version of this deal that would not have Bledsoe in it but the Clippers would have to take Lee & Terry. Doc, KG, Terry & Lee - Jordan, Green, Butler, and a number one pick. That enables you to shed those contracts. You move on from Doc and KG then you figure out what to do with Pierce. I would lean towards doing that vs not doing that because that also enables you not to pay Doc 7 million a year. Is that enough for Doc and KG?

Chris Paul is the puppeteer here. All these guys know each other and talk to each other.

Russillo: Chris has done a lot of the same things 'Melo, LeBron and Dwight have done and gets a COMPLETE pass for it. He, compared to the others, he doesn't get any heat.

Simmons: I doubt the Lakers and Clippers would trade. Adande tweeted this yesterday, If Dwight has thin skin already, what I wouldn't do is flip from the Lakers to Clippers. That will not go over well in the city of LA.

Russillo: I understand the Lakers public play(saying they'll make him take a 4 year deal somewhere else, we won't help you). But when it comes down to it, and you can't add any assets because of your cap situation, don't you have to trade him for an asset? If that asset is Blake and Dwight is willing, you go ahead and do it. Blake is a weird guy. He started off, he was this "dynamic" star. People talked about him as a top ten player. We looked closer and said wait a minute. This guy isn't that guy, he's limited. It's as if the tide has turned so much on Blake that people act like he is a one trick pony and is overpaid and overrated. No. Maybe the hype was beyond who he was a player but he's still a hell of a rebounder and can get you 20 points a night. Why wouldn't you want to do it if you're the Lakers? Orlando should have done it.

Simmons: He's a little underrated at this point. He has low esteem with other players and former players and that whole network of the Barkley's. None of them like Blake's game. I think he is a work in progress.

Pierce's contract, they have to decide by June 30th. Let's say they get Bledsoe. Look at the Celtics roster. They don't need Bledsoe. Who have the Celtics liked the past 2 years? Josh Smith. Smith, an Oak Hill teammate of Rondo, a close friend of Rondo, about to be a FA. Could you see if they got Bledsoe, a Pierce and Bledsoe S&T for Josh Smith and if you're the Hawks, don't you have to do that?

Russillo: I like Ainge but I don't understand how you can invest in a losing player. Josh Smith is a losing player, Monta Ellis is a losing player, most of Sacramento's roster is losing players. Going to a winning team with established players is one thing. If you're overhauling this roster, he scares me man. I understand what he's worth because of the production but when you watch him, I just don't see it. We act like it's going to change. He's been in the league like 10 years. This is who he is.

Simmons: I like him more than you. He's been on good teams. He's not Monta Ellis. He's been the first or second best player on a team that has made the playoffs every year.

Russillo: I think they won one playoff series in six years.

Simmons: At the very least, 45 wins a year. They made round two in '09, '10 and '11. ... He's a good 2 way player. He's a good example of my theory on Russell Westbrook - the 90% theory. You don't focus on the 90% they do well, you focus on the 10%, it's so glaring, you can't stop thinking about it. Meanwhile, he's steady at 18 and 9, good defense, runs the floor, doesn't get hurt, really durable. If I'm Atlanta and I'm losing him anyways and you offered me Pierce and Bradley or Pierce and Bledsoe, I don't think about it.

Simmons: This is why they want Bledsoe, having another asset opens the door to do some other things. It also gives them a possible Rondo trade.

Simmons: Best case scenario: Clips cave. Doc and KG for Bledsoe and DeAndre. That's the trade. Then they trade Pierce to the Cavs for the 31st and 33rd picks. Then they trade Bradley to the Hawks with the TE from the Cavs to get Josh Smith. Jordan, Smith, Green, Rondo, Bledsoe, 16th pick, Brandon Bass, I don't know, that'd be a fun team. ... I'm grasping at straws. We're screwed. ... I think this trade is going to happen and Bledsoe won't be in it and the Celts make the Clippers take some salary. If it doesn't happen, I don't think Doc comes back, he takes a year off, does TV. The other part with Doc, he can do speeches. ... He can patch together a 5 million year not coaching. I don't think money is that big a thing for him. You might see a buyout too. Who knows.

Russillo: My prediction: I'm gonna say all the pieces come back and they hope with healthy Rondo, Green with another year under his belt, and I'm gonna with the boring route, I haven't heard anything that makes a ton of sense for them. I haven't heard anything concrete for them, as far as options to tweak this thing.

Simmons: Doc comes back?

Russillo: I'll say he's back next year.

Simmons: Do you feel like this is Popovich here? The best he ever coached this team is when he had the most overqualified assistant coach the last 15 years. They basically co-coached the team. They had a nice run a year ago. They came within one LeBron performance of sneaking into the Finals. That probably happened because Rose got hurt. It was fools gold. I think he is a top five coach. I don't know if he's on that Popovich level and I don't want to pay him 7 million to coach my 42 win team.

Simmons: Do you know what 87-77 is? That was Phil Jackson's record with the Lakers in 06-07. Point is, you're only so good of a coach when you don't have great players. To pay 7 million for Doc for the team they're going to have next year, unless they blow it up, doesn't make sense to me.

Draft Express released a mock draft today. I'm higher on this draft than others are. For instance, I like Oladipo. I think he's going to be a really good player. 5th to the Suns, that's a steal. I think Bennett is a potential all-star. That Alex Len isn't a stiff. Noel is good. I like McLemore. Am I wrong to like this draft a little bit?

Russillo: Yeah, it's bad man. ... Noel, who is hurt, has a injury history beyond the ACL, no feel offensively, and one skill and he's going number one? McLemore, who disappears in games, especially on the road. Oladipo, who I like too, to think he's in the mix for one or two, that's crazy. Skill wise, we're talking about a guy who should go in the back end of the lottery in most drafts. The Noel thing is most interesting. He has, by all reports, he has some epic bad dudes with him. He hasn't signed with an agent. World Wide Wes tried to get a meeting with him and blew him off. Rich Paul, LeBron's guy, couldn't get a meeting with him. He had a meeting with one agent who he blew off six times in a row. His handlers are looking for something here and they have him, I don't brainwashed, scared? because they have attached themselves to him, that maybe they don't even want him to sign with an agent and are kinda trying to figure out the best deal for themselves. You factor in he's hurt, this growth plate thing that happened in HS(soph), this isn't Anthony Davis, you saw a wide set of skills, I'm wondering if he'll even go number one now. I heard Washington say if he was on the board at three, they wouldn't even take him. These agents are frustrated. It's kinda sad. It's not on Noel but so many times we hear about the guys involved in the process that make it far more difficult for the player to pursue this career when they're supposed to be the ones helping him when they're helping themselves.

Simmons: I agree on Noel. Massive, massive red flags. You can go down the line. ... I agree, not a consensus number one pick. ... I like some of these guys in the draft but don't think there is a number one pick. I like McLemore. I won't judge him for being passive on a team full of seniors. I like Alex Len. I like Oladipo. I like Bennett. I like Burke. I like McCollum. I think he's going to be a good combo guy. I like a couple of the foreign guys. I like the German PG - a good Darren Collison. I like Giannis Adetokunbo. He grew 3 inches this year. I love when guys grow. I love young guys with giant hands who grow. I want them on my team. I think it will be a fun draft. I think there is going to be trades. I don't think Noel is going number one. At some point, those red flags get redder and redder. On top of it, who is he? What is his NBA doppelganger? ... The answer was this: The guy said Theo Ratliff. I went and looked at Theo Ratliff, he was good for 12 points, 8 board and 3 blocks a game for a 6 year stretch. You'd take that from the number one pick.

Russillo: ... If you could say that's who he is going to be, that'd be awesome. Problem is, Theo knew his offensive limitations, Noel clearly doesn't.

Simmons: If he turns into Theo Ratliff, that's a decent number one pick in a bad draft. My question is: he had one knee surgery, the growth plate thing, the other thing you brought up, those are three monster red flags and make me nervous.

Simmons: Oladipo is the safest bet to me out of all these dudes. At the very least, I know he's going to be an incredible defensive player. He's a great guy. (Jalen and I) loved him. He's big. He's physical. Only 20. Worst case: He's Tony Allen with a three point shot. Right?

Russillo: I think he's better offensively already than Tony Allen.

Simmons: Jalen and I are on the telecast this year. I've been studying for the last month, watching Youtube clips.

 

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p>While Clippers and Celtics have stalemate in Doc Rivers situation, I'm told Pacers assistant Brian Shaw will interview for a 2nd time soon.</p>&mdash; Sam Amick (@sam_amick) <a href="https://twitter.com/sam_amick/statuses/346409639241469952">June 16, 2013</a></blockquote>
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p>Timing unclear, but former Memphis coach Lionel Hollins is not expected to do a 2nd interview. Two-man race independent of Rivers situation.</p>&mdash; Sam Amick (@sam_amick) <a href="https://twitter.com/sam_amick/statuses/346409951679369216">June 16, 2013</a></blockquote>
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http://espn.go.com/blog/truehoop/post/_/id/49149/another-superstar-joins-another-super-team

Add the LT of 85 million to the salary of Griffin and Bledsoe and that is how I came up with 100 million

 

The $85M isn't all attributable to Griffin and Bledsoe-- it's for being $30M above the tax line and these two make only $16M together. In fact, without these two (I.e. if they just let Dwight leave via free agency) they'd still have $35M or $40M or so in tax obligations.

If the Lakers want to save $ while getting Griffin, they can amnesty Metta and/or trade Gasol. If they do both and add Griffin and Bledsoe, they will only be slightly over the tax line-- losing Gasol and Metta would be well worth it to get an near elite young star like Griffin for their future.

 

I guess when this happen, this just means Rockets just sit down tight and just prepare for 2014.

 

Well Rondo is a free agent after next year. So if the Celtics don't have something to work with he is going to bounce and leave you with nothing. Plus if Rondo is on a team with no talent he risks his free agent value going down and people blaming the knee. It's a risk for all parties in my opinion. Plus if Celtics are going to blow it you got to shoot your shot. Also Danny owes Mchale for sending him KG!!! Lolol

 

Great athletic ability
Tutored by CP3
Still has great upside.
Excellent trade chip.
Still on rookie contract so potential pay vs production can be high.

 

Chris Mannix:

I'll make it simple: If Bledsoe is thrown in, it'll go down. Simple as that. C's are okay with Jordan even though they believe he is overpaid. They don't like giving up Doc but they'll take the deal if Bledsoe is in it. They believe Bledsoe can play along Rondo or if they deal Rondo, can be a starting PG in this league for the next 10 years.

The Clippers believe Bledsoe, who they know they can't hang on to, believes he's a bigger chip than dealing him for Rivers and Garnett.

He's(Doc) burned this bridge. I'm not sure how he goes back to them. We might have reached the point of no return.

No S&T with Dwight?

No. You can't say never because when your back is against the wall and Dwight is saying I'm walking to Houston, and you're getting nothing in return and Houston says I'll give you Omer Asik and Jeremy Lin, then the Lakers may consider doing that as a last resort but the Lakers are not flipping Howard for Griffin and Bledsoe. I've been told that in strong words over the last couple days. That is not happening.

 

The Boston Celtics and Los Angeles Clippers are discussing possible compromises to including guard Eric Bledsoe into the Kevin Garnett-Doc Rivers deal with hopes of completing an agreement on Monday, league sources told Yahoo! Sports.

Discussions over a blockbuster deal reached an impasse on Saturday when Boston general manager Danny Ainge held firm that Bledsoe had to be a part of package that included DeAndre Jordan and a first-round pick, but sources say that Boston has shown a willingness to find another asset to supplant Bledsoe and complete the complicated deal, sources said.

The Clippers are prepared to give Rivers a five-year deal to coach and believe acquiring Rivers and Garnett – who will waive his no-trade clause – will lock up the re-signing of free-agent superstar Chris Paul, sources said.

The prospects of bringing Rivers back to the Celtics have become less appealing for Boston, who understand, as one league executive said, "There's no putting the genie back in the bottle. You can't pretend this didn't happen and just go back to work."

 

Definitely hope they lose Bledsoe. That's a big blow, to lose a valuable trade chip like that for a guy with 1-2 years left, maybe 0 if he gets injured (likely). That'll handicap them for a good long while.

 

Yep. I think that would seal if for the Lakers. Howard would just tell Paul "Sorry" and the Rockets would sign him outright.

Best thing about it is Asik could be moved when the dust settles.

 

So Pierce would probably end up signing with the Clippers once the Celtics settle on a buyout no?

 

If this goes through, in any possible scenario, can Clippers still sign / trade for Dwight?

 

Or we keep Asik, like Dwight wants. It can't "clog the lane" more than Greg and Asik, can it?

 

Yeah, he could. It's a logical spot. Maybe the Celtics trade him somewhere else. Who knows.

 

The Clippers can be scary if this goes down and they keep Bledsoe.

Think about it, lets say they deal Jordan+1st rounder+another asset (pick?) for Doc and Garnett. They'd still have Blake Griffin to trade for Dwight Howard. They'd also have Bledsoe plus the expiring contract of Caron Butler (plus other smaller non- or partial-guaranteed contracts) to deal for another player in a S&T. It's been reported that they have interest in Granger, but one would also think that a team about to lose a free agent like Josh Smith or Paul Millsap would be similarly interested.

So, if you are Dwight Howard, the prospect of playing with CP, Garnett, Crawford, Doc, plus somebody of the Granger/Josh Smith/Millsap caliber would look really good. There may be concerns, but for the purpose of "win now" it's hard to beat that combo.

 

Yes, they can, as long as they convince Dwight to come to the Clips and Dwight makes Lakers believe that they are choosing between a S&T to the Clips and him walking away to Houston (or whatever team with cap room), I am pretty sure the Lakers will take Griffin for Dwight.

 

Ow well, there goes our pursuit of the top free agents. Lakers can talk all they want, when it's losing for Howard for nothing or Bledsoe & Griffin you take the latter anyday of the week - though I'm not impressed with Blake at all.

 

See, I'm not sure about that. Will the Lakers want to make their cross town rival the alpha dog team in the city? I think the Lakers would rather have Dwight walk than the possibility of shifting the powers way over in Clipper's favour.

Think reputation and ego of the two teams are at stake with this trade proposal and I just can't see the Lakers pulling this off.

 

@WojYahooNBA: Eliminate one possible candidate to replace Doc Rivers in Boston: Houston's Kevin McHale. Rockets wouldn't let him leave, sources tell Y!