Not in a million years.
Noah is showing some obvious signs of major decline. He declined in a HUGE way last year, and he didn't even get a start in the Bull's first regular season game (he played like, 18 minutes).
Looking at how much he has declined on BOTH ends of the floor to this point, Noah is barely an upgrade over Amir Johnson. That's if he is even an upgrade at all.
To add to that we already have the Nets and Mavs picks in 2016, which will take up two roster spots and will likely be be top 15 (i.e. more valuable than the Grizzlies pick). That means the pick adds little value, as we can't likely find the roster space to add three rookies next year.
I'd honestly much rather keep Bradley and Zeller.
I think Zeller probably has the highest upside of any of our bigs (not that that's saying much) and I think the defense of that Bradley/Smart/Crowder front court is going to be crucial to our success this year.
On top of all this Noah has one of the most irritating, whiny personalities in the entire NBA. Watching that guy in a Celtics uniform would make me cringe. If he still was as good as he was a couple of years ago I'd tolerate that, but he's not.
1) Noah has not declined on BOTH ends of the floor. Noah went from 35.3 mins in 2013-14 to 30.6 mins in 2014-15 due in large part to the emergence of other teammates. That would also explain his decrease in rebounding.
Lets not forget the addition of Pau Gasol...who is obviously a SIGNIFICANT upgrade over Carlos Boozer. The emergence of Mirtotic...& Taj Gibson's ability to hit jump shots and defend well! Bobby Portis is going to surprise a lot of people with his ability to contribute to the offense with jumpers, as well as grab boards. Slowly but surely, the Bulls made their offense more of a priority. This year under coach Hoiberg, Noah is going to have to take a back seat.
This is exactly what I want. If Noah is starting and averaging a DD, everyone over values him. Now that he's coming on the bench, people are going to under value him. This makes him a great buy low candidate.
2) None of Lee, Johnson, Jerebko, Turner, Zeller, or Sullinger have guaranteed contracts next year. We have the flexibility to draft each of our 1st round picks in 2016. It all depends on how good the player in the draft is in comparison to the above mentioned players.
Trading Bradley, Sully, & Zeller and only taking back Noah, not only allows us to use Bradley's salary to sign Noah, but it also saves us two roster spots. With this trade we'd be at 13 guaranteed contracts (once Stokes is waived). Since 13 players can suit up for each team, we wouldn't have to send any of our rookies to the D-league (barring the addition of other players).
3) Zeller does not have the most upside out our 5 bigs. That title should go to either Olynyk (still has the potential to break out offensively) or Sully (EXCELLENT rebounder, and is a nightly threat for a DD if given the minutes).
Zeller is a great pick and roll player who knows where to be on the floor at all times. He runs the floor well! However...he's nothing more than a great backup C.
Last night during the 1st quarter I began yelling at the TV, trying to get Stevens to put Sully on Okafor & Amir on Noel. Being the genius he is--he figured it out right away!
Sullinger is our best bet when it comes to guarding Centers with massive size such as Okafor, Cousins, Howard, Gasol, etc. Sully's the only guy out of our rotation of bigs who can take the physicality that any of those centers bring to the table. But, he doesn't have the length or athleticism to consistently block their shots.
If Zeller had the tendencies of a guy like Rudy Gobert, I wouldn't mind his slender frame. Unfortunately, Zeller along with Olynyk, Amir, & Lee, lack the physicality necessary to be a defensive menace and get stops when they matter.
This is where Noah comes into play. He can take the physicality of any center in the NBA, all the while blocking their shots and keeping them off the offensive boards.
4) A backcourt of Smart, Bradley, & Crowder is tenacious defensively. Everyone is salivating over it. But what people fail to realize is we NEED SCORERS! Bradley is an undersized SG at 6'2. Last season he averaged 13.9 ppg in 31.5 minutes. If given some of those minutes, Rozier and Hunter could likely either match or top Bradley's scoring.
Hunter and Rozier can both hold their own on the defensive end. I view Rozier as either our starting PG of the future, or our 1st guard off the bench (if he and IT4 switch roles). Hunter could come off the bench as our BEST SHOOTER and provide us with some easy buckets.
Not to mention Bradley can be replaced by one of the many picks we have in the upcoming drafts.
5) What Noah would bring to the table outweighs the notion that he is "whiny". Most players in the league whine from time to time. He brings a toolset comprised of rim protection, rebounding, & intensity. Although Noah can often be seen clapping like a girl during an argument, his intense demeanor makes me LOVE EVERY SECOND OF IT.
Topic: Trade Idea: Celtics/Bulls/Grizzlies (Read 5404 times)