The Kings and Pistons are discussing a Josh Smith trade? Wait, weren't the Kings rumored to want Rondo? And weren't Rondo and Smith high school teammates at Oak Hill Academy?
Yup, sounds right, time to fool around with ESPN's trade machine again.
Here is my three-way proposed trade between the Celtics, Pistons, and Kings:
Boston trades: Rajon Rondo (to Kings), Brandon Bass (to Pistons), and a 2015 1st Round Draft Pick (via the Clippers to the Pistons)
Detroit trades: Josh Smith (to Kings) and Greg Monroe (to Celtics)
Sacramento trades: Rudy Gay (to Pistons), Ben McLemore (to Celtics), and a 2015 1st Round Pick (to the Celtics)
(I know it doesn't work according to ESPN's trade machine. The Pistons would sign-and-trade Monroe to Boston, who would be able to absorb his new deal by trading Rondo and Bass as well as through the $4.3-million trade exception they acquired in their sign-and-trade of Kris Humphries to the Wizards).
The Kings get Rondo and Smith to pair with with DeMarcus Cousins. That's not a title team in the Western Conference but it's definitely a playoff team with a bright future.
The Pistons get Gay as a wing player to build their team around with Andre Drummond as well as Bass, a good shooting power forward who would complement Drummond's low post game. The first round pick is also a nice asset.
The Celtics get a skilled big man in Monroe as part of their rebuilding process and McLemore, a shooting guard with potential, to help with that as well. Danny Ainge also picks up yet another future first round pick, replacing the one he'd be sending to Detroit.
Boston would be taking a step back but Monroe is a good player with a good future in front of him. He just turned 24 and has career averages of 14 points and 9 rebounds per game. While more suited for power forward, at 6-11 and 250-pounds he can handle the duties of center. Adding him to a front court of Jared Sullinger and Kelly Olynyk is promising for the future.
McLemore is another piece for the future. His rookie season wasn't anything to boast about (8.8 points per game, 32% shooter from 3-point) but he's only 21 and given some time to develop his game and body (6-5 but only 190-pounds) he should also be a nice player in the near future. Remember, he helped carry Kansas to the national championship game as a freshman in 2012-13, averaging 16 points a game and shooting 42% from 3-point land as a Jayhawk.
Future is the key word for the Celtics. Ainge has been stockpiling draft picks and adding young talent as he tries to build the next Celtics title team. With a poor history in free agency, Ainge is likely going to have to acquire those players through the draft and trades so adding players like Monroe and McLemore either give him pieces of the puzzle to win a championship or assets to use in future deals to add those championship pieces.
Here would be the Celtics roster based on this trade:
PG - Marcus Smart, Phil Pressey
SG - Avery Bradley, Ben McLemore, Marcus Thornton
SF - Jeff Green, James Young, Gerald Wallace
PF - Jared Sullinger, Kelly Olynyk
C - Greg Monroe, Tyler Zeller
Thornton and Wallace would be unhappy veterans sitting behind younger players but the goal of 2014-15 for the Celtics if they do in fact move Rondo will be to develop their young players with an eye on the future.
This deal would definitely put the Celtics in the 2015 Draft Lottery, with an eye on adding another young piece. In his first "big board" for the 2015 draft (Insider account needed) ESPN's Chad Ford has several centers listed in the top 10, including Duke commit Jahlil Okafor and Texas commit Myles Turner.
This might not be the trade that Celtics fans want for this season but it would put Ainge in a good position to develop a championship contender for 2017, 2018, or 2019.
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