IDEA: Rondo to HOU; Teague/C. Zeller/Parsons/Capela/picks to Boston

[TheFlex]

I don't believe the selection of Marcus Smart by the Celtics spells their disinterest in slotting him next to a more diminutive counterpart next year. I do believe it spells their disinterest in keeping Rajon Rondo, however. The selection of Smart clearly depicted Ainge's vision of our team's future; not necessarily because the team is enamored with Smart and/or at odds with Rondo (though Smart admirers/Rondo detractors would point to signs that indicate such organizational outlooks), but because the idea of Rondo's game coexisting with Smart's game is unrealistic. Both are poor shooters overall when factoring in range (due to the emphasized importance of spacing in today's game) as well as accuracy, which creates questions about the duo's ability to create a free-flowing and effective offense. Staring down a season of more losses and now potentially a positional clash with Rondo and Boston's newly-christened lotto pick, Danny can't be certain that Rondo will stay with Boston after this upcoming season. This is not coming from someone who believes Rondo is overly-prickly or disrespectful. He is a leader unquestionably. But leaders would prefer to be on a team that they can help win the ultimate prize. And thus Danny must start exploring options in which Rondo could be exchanged for something of value, lest he expose himself and the franchise to the possibility of their star PG leaving them in 2015.

http://espn.go.com/nba/tradeMachine?tradeId=pfhqo7x

For the sake of satisfying salary cap restrictions on the trade machine, I provided a rough financial representation of the total packages that the proposed participants would swap.

BOS receives: Chandler Parsons (S&T, 4 years/$44 million), Jeremy Lin, Clint Capela, 2015 NOP 1st rounder (unprotected between picks 4-19), 2016 HOU 1st rounder

HOU receives: Rajon Rondo, Keith Bogans, Joel Anthony

I believe Houston will swing and miss this summer on LeBron James and Carmelo Anthony... However, after a stroke of luck in landing a decent asset out of an Asik salary dump (Pelicans 1st rounder), Houston now boasts a competitive offer for a long-desired target: Rajon Rondo.

http://espn.go.com/nba/tradeMachine?tradeId=matfwzk

BOS gives: Jeff Green, Kelly Olynyk, 2015 LAC 1st rounder
BOS gets: Jeff Teague, Cody Zeller

CHA gives: Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, Cody Zeller, Bismack Biyombo, Semaj Christon
CHA gets: Jeff Green, Kelly Olynyk, 2015 LAC 1st rounder

ATL gives: Jeff Teague
ATL gets: Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, Bismack Biyombo, Semaj Christon

Yes, yes, many will scream that Zeller is a downgrade from Olynyk (debatable, especially given the need Zeller fulfills). But it has been whispered that Teague is on the market and I believe he would be excellent next to Smart (look at his TS% and eFG% over his career). If we could net him and dump Jeff Green onto a third team for what projects to merely be a late first rounder, suddenly Olynyk for Zeller seems worth it.

Sign Patric Young to play PF/C (it appears Capela wants to immediately make the transition to the NBA so he'd likely see more minutes at PF). Cut Babb (as I've mentioned in other threads, find a way to keep him around in the D-League or elsewhere).

M. Smart/J. Lin/P. Pressey
J. Teague/J. Young/C. Johnson
C. Parsons/G.Wallace/[J. Young]
J. Sullinger/B. Bass/Patric Young
C. Zeller/V. Faverani/C. Capela/C. Iverson


I believe Smart would handle PG duties offensively while handling SG duties defensively, and vice versa for Teague. Keys to this team: Do Pressey and Chris Johnson continue to improve? How many minutes can Johnson play at SF? How NBA-ready is James Young and can he play SF in the pros? Will Zeller take the next step this year and how well does he fit next to Sullinger? How useful is Gerald Wallace this year and how much upside does Chandler Parsons have left? And, the most obvious question of all, can Smart and Teague coexist any better than Smart and Rondo can?

Can that squad make the playoffs as a 5-8 seed in the East?