Who says 'no'? Charlotte or Boston?

[ssspence]

Charlotte gets: Jeff Green, Brandon Bass
Boston gets: Ben Gordon, Jeff Taylor, Portland's 2014 1st

By the way, I choose Taylor over MKG, partly because I like his game better, partly because he makes a lot less money (more cap space in the summer of 2014), and partly because I assume MJ would be less reluctant to part with him.

Makes sense for both sides, doesn't it?

Personally I'm against the following.... but for all you Melo fanatics out there, you could then go  convince him to come join his buddy Rondo this summer in Boston AND still re-sign Avery Bradley and  sign all 3 1sts (if none get traded). I think. Can someone confirm that (Fafnir? Roy?)

[BleedGreen1989]

In not sure if salary relief and a late first is enough for me to move Green, but I wouldn't be shocked to see Danny make a move like this.

[hardlyyardley]

C's give up too much....Portland #1 next to useless unless packaged

[clover]

I could see something for Rondo that starts with Walker, a pick and Gordon.

[2short]

Boston says no

[ssspence]

C's give up too much....Portland #1 next to useless unless packaged

Late firsts are useless? Want me to make a list of players picked in the 20s or later who are as good or better than Green or Bass? Bass himself was a 2nd round pick. Is Tony Parker useless? Is Rondo useless?

[ab9515]

Boston; but they say yes if you include Charlotte's pick from the pistons, which would be between 15-17.

[jambr380]

C's give up too much....Portland #1 next to useless unless packaged

Late firsts are useless? Want me to make a list of players picked in the 20s or later who are as good or better than Green or Bass? Bass himself was a 2nd round pick. Is Tony Parker useless? Is Rondo useless?

Almost every draft has a nice surprise later in the first round or even in the 2nd. Obviously Marc Gasol isn't useless and he was taken at 48, but most of the players around him are not in the nba anymore (and 2007 was actually a very decent draft).

Rondo and Parker were great surprises, but even they were taken before Portland's projected pick. We are currently in a funny state where teams are hoarding their firsts because of the the salary cap. But, usually contending teams looked at players like Brandon Bass and Jordan Crawford (before we traded them) and compared them to what they could get in the crap shoot of a late first. The current and guaranteed production almost always outweighed the possibility that somebody could turn into Parker or Rondo.

The fact that we are talking about whether or not Green is worth a first is quite amazing. He was the 6th best player taken in that same 2007 [Marc Gasol] draft.

[Smokeeye123]

C's give up too much....Portland #1 next to useless unless packaged

Picks in the 20s are useless? Is Jared Sullinger useless? ****.

[Vermont Green]

Who ever said that the Portland pick would be "useless" was exaggerating if taken literally but that pick is not of much use to us.  My opinion is that Boston has plenty of picks so trading two relatively productive players for an expiring, a young player who hasn't done much, and a late pick is really not giving us anything we need or couldn't easily get.

So if Danny Ainge were to ask my advice on this trade, I would recommend No.

[Smitty77]

C's give up too much....Portland #1 next to useless unless packaged

Picks in the 20s are useless? Is Jared Sullinger useless? ****.

Sully went 21 in 2012 and the Portland pick is currently slated at 28.  There IS a difference!!!

Smitty77

[Smitty77]

This is an absolutely TERRIBLE trade!!  Taylor is coming off an ACL tear and his explosiveness, which MAKES his game effective, might NEVER be the same.  ESPN's team site is down so I cannot get to efficiency ratings, but I am about 99.9% sure that Taylor's E.R. was under 7 this year.  That is horrible!!!

Smitty77

[shammondwilliams]

I feel like Ainge could find a team that would be willing to give more than that.

[ssspence]

Who ever said that the Portland pick would be "useless" was exaggerating if taken literally but that pick is not of much use to us.  My opinion is that Boston has plenty of picks so trading two relatively productive players for an expiring, a young player who hasn't done much, and a late pick is really not giving us anything we need or couldn't easily get.

So if Danny Ainge were to ask my advice on this trade, I would recommend No.

How about a taker for Green and Bass' deals? I don't think the phone lines are burning up with requests for either these days, and Ainge clearly wants to keep shedding veterans for more valuable / tradable assets.

Teams value 1st rounders more than ever. In the new CBA, every team needs role guys on rookie deals, not to mention young players who could turn into something more.

So while the Portland pick might not be a huge asset, it is an asset... and it's inclusion in the pool of picks Ainge has to offer other teams certainly is.

Not hard to guess where I fall on this: I would rather have financial flexibility, a capable young player on his rookie deal, and a 1st round pick than two players who have virtually no impact on the franchise. But I'm more interested in the future (coming faster) than I am about the present.

I think Ainge does this deal if it were there for the taking. I suspect the Cats / Hornets would be the harder side to convince.

[Depalma2002]

I agree with those that ask for the Pistons' 1st instead.

"useless" is an overstatement for Portland's pick but historically there is not a huge difference in expected value between picks 27-50, so right now Portland's pick is not much more valuable than a second round pick.

And while there are many individual examples of spectacular hits in this range. Average expected value is that a player selected in this range will be a deep bench player.

At least in the 11-26 range where the Pistons pick will fall if it conveys this year, historic expected value is that of a rotation player and the examples of those hit higher such as Sully are more numerous.

Also, the protection on the Detroit if it is not conveyed gets more attractive in 2015 and is removed entirely in 2016. If the Pistons' keep making more decisions like overpaying Josh Smith to a four-year contract, that pick could become quite valuable.