Celtics/Sixers trade idea (based upon logjams at guard and center)

[tmcdon]

What have you seen of Embiid? Because, well , no one else has seen anything yet besides his Twitter skills


Yes, his antics on social media are very much why I would rather not see Embiid in a Celtics uniform.
It is possible I am simply too judgmental, and that I should care more about what he does on the court than off of it, but I believe strongly that how one behaves off is an excellent indicator of how one behaves on it and vice versa.  Character is important. 

Apologies if I am being offensive or am speaking ignorantly. 

[Bostoncelticsforlife7]

Philly and Boston do make great trading partners because of the redundancy in talent, however,

1) Despite media rumors, Danny Ainge is not actively shopping Marcus Smart. 
2) Sullinger is better than Noel at this stage, Bradley and Smart are both high quality back court defenders (Smart already so as merely a rookie, and one that we are far from seeing his best yet).  I believe your deal severely over pays for Embiid (who's health is far from certain at this stage). 

I believe a deal can be reached for one of Philly's big guys, but it would seem Noel is the only one they are willing to part with at the moment.  Any deal that includes Smart and multiple draft picks is far too rich at this point.  I am disturbed by the fact Boston fans are so willing and eager to part with a player who so clearly has:

A) such a strong work ethic to go with his obvious talent
B) an excellent attitude as a team mate when it comes to accepting his role and providing on-court leadership
C) is by all accounts to the discernible eye and audible accounts from insiders developing into a transcendent defensive player and cornerstone player

Would it be great to pry away one of Philly's promising three big men (although from what I see of Embiid he is not the type of player I personally would like to see in a Celtics uniform)? Sure.  At the price you are suggesting? No.

Finally someone who doesn't want to trade Smart! That's exactly the way I feel.

[crimson_stallion]

2) Sullinger is better than Noel at this stage

Umm...I think most people would disagree.

Noel is already one of the best defensive players in the NBA, and was the only player in the league to rank top 10 in both blocks AND steals, and offers elite physical attributes (length, height, athleticism, etc).  He is a below average offensive player, and an elite defensive player.

Sullinger isn't anything near the best in the NBA at anything - he's an average offensive player (slightly above average at best) and a below average defensive player.

I'm not sure how that equates to him being better than Noel?

I'm sure you could come up with some statistical number that suggests Sully's overall stats are better, but fact is that Noel is able to dominate games with his defense, while Sully can't really dominate anything right now. He's basically a stretch four that can't shoot threes.

Any deal that includes Smart and multiple draft picks is far too rich at this point.  I am disturbed by the fact Boston fans are so willing and eager to part with a player who so clearly has:

A) such a strong work ethic to go with his obvious talent
B) an excellent attitude as a team mate when it comes to accepting his role and providing on-court leadership
C) is by all accounts to the discernible eye and audible accounts from insiders developing into a transcendent defensive player and cornerstone player

The problem right now is that there are two ways to be ultra competitive in this league:

1) Lots of star power
2) Not much star power, but a very well rounded roster that has no real flaws and tonnes of depth

We aren't really in either of those situations.  We have a lot of positional redundancies (too many guards, too many power forwards, not enough small forwards or centers) and we are stacked with too many players of the same time (smallish defensive / hustle guards, stretch fours).   Our roster has no balance at all.

IF we can manage to secure ourselves one or two big name stars, then maybe we can continue on with an imbalanced roster and still win a lot of games...but so far it's questionable as to whether that's going to happen.

If we DON'T end up picking up any big name stars, then the only way we can potentially get better is to acquire players who fill our gaps/weaknesses.  The only way we are likely to be able to do that is to give up some of the talented players that we love, but who are redundant to us.

Our three most glaring weaknesses right now are:

1) Lack of a starting caliber rim protector
2) Lack of quality outside shooting
3) Lack of a 'go to' guy who can put points on the board in a hurry, consistently

If we have an opportunity to fill one of those holes (which we do, by adding Noel) then you have to take advantage of that opportunity.   If that means trading out a guy who is partly redundant in your lineup, then (much as you may love that player) that's what you've got to do.

Marcus Smart and Nerlens Noel have, IMHO, similar upside and both are a similar age.  I don't think either of those guys has the potential to be much more than a borderline all-star.  Both are high motor guys who bring a winning attitudes.  Both are great defensive players who are limited offensively so far.  Noel has more defensive impact than Smart, while Smart is less of an offensive liability.

To be fair, they are pretty equivalent in terms of what they offer now, and in terms of their future potential...but Noel is a big, and big men are always higher valued in this league.  Especially hyper athletic bigs with ridiculous wingspan.  If you really HAD to pick one of those guys to be a star, Noel has the higher chance - He's a similar player to who Dwight Howard was in his rookie year just without the metal issues) so the upside IS there...but I still think he'll be more Tyson Chandler than Dwight Howard.   Smart I really think maxes out as a smaller Andre Iguodala, which is not as valuable as a Dwight Howard.

Noel has more value right now, and Philly need a PG, so if we wanted to get Noel right now, then we'd likely ahve to include Smart (as our highest upside prospect)plus at least one pick to sweeten it.

[LatterDayCelticsfan]

I want either one or both of Embiid, and Okafor.  My fellow Africans :-)