USA TODAY International Edition
Time is right for Celtics face lift
Rebuild could be too appealing for Boston to pass up
Doc Rivers wants out, Paul Pierce is old and Kevin Garnett is older. Is this a bad time for the Boston Celtics? No, actually it’s the right time, and no better time to rebuild and remake a franchise than now.
Celtics general manager Danny Ainge should look at the landscape in front of him and see solutions instead of problems. The Celtics are sinking, and everyone is looking for a life preserver, led by Rivers, who has sent cryptic messages about wanting to be released from a contract that has three years to run. You can certainly see why. The Celtics are stuck in mediocrity with no intriguing influx of young talent ready and able to pull them through.
Meanwhile, the pieces from the 2008 championship team are either gone or ready to jump. Ray Allen, wisely, left last summer to join the Miami Heat. Rajon Rondo is coming off a knee injury. Pierce, the modernday Mr. Celtic, is coming off an embarrassing playoff performance and can be bought out for $ 5 million. And KG, who has two years left on his contract, doesn’t want to stick around for a rebuilding project.
Neither does Rivers, apparently. He signed a contract extension last summer and already is waffling. Asked recently if he wants to return to Boston, he said, “I’m not sure.” Which means, he wants out.
These aren’t problems for Ainge and the Celtics. These are opportunities. With a few wise moves and decisions, Ainge can begin remaking the storied franchise and put the Celtics in position to win again by 2014 or 2015 at the latest. No matter what Ainge does from here, the Celtics will go through an ugly spell. There’s no avoiding it. The trick is to keep the pain at a minimum, and Boston fans, some of the smartest in the NBA, will understand. So will ownership. Here’s what Ainge should do: Write the $ 5 million buyout for Pierce. He would have little to no trade value if Ainge brings him back for $ 14 million, because, even though that’s a one- year deal, teams won’t swallow that much money unless they send big money back to Boston. And Ainge should keep the Celtics as flexible under the cap as possible.
Put KG on the market. This is the tricky part, because KG has a notrade option and likely won’t waive it unless he goes to the team of his choice. With a home in Malibu, Calif., KG would be open to the West Coast.
Give Rivers to the Los Angeles Clippers — that’s where he wants to go — for compensation. Demand the Clippers take Jason Terry and the two years on his contract for Eric Bledsoe and an unprotected No. 1 pick, and also get Caron Butler ( who has an expiring contract) for Brandon Bass ( who has two years left).
The Celtics would suddenly be cap friendly and ready to remake themselves. They would only have Rondo, Courtney Lee and Jeff Green signed beyond next season. Jared Sullinger would be back healthy and ready to get big minutes on a stripped- down team minus Bass, who plays the same position. They would have two No. 1 picks in 2014, one likely in a talentrich lottery. And they would be roughly $ 30 million under the cap by then, enough to sign one or maybe two free agents next summer.
Essentially, the Celtics would be transformed from a team with an old core and a heavy cap to a team with assets to either keep or trade, along with money to spend.
So this isn’t a bad time for the Celtics. It’s a refreshing one.
The move that could send Boston Celtics coach Doc Rivers and forward Kevin Garnett to the Los Angeles Clippers is still alive, but the teams are at an impasse in discussions about how to make it happen. Still, a resolution is expected in the coming days.
The only question that matters at the moment is whether Celtics general manager Danny Ainge will eventually decide that acquiring fifth- year center DeAndre Jordan and two future first- round picks is fair compensation for losing his coach and 37- year- old big man. If Ainge does, according to two people with knowledge of the situation, this deal likely will get done.
If he doesn’t and he instead insists that third- year Clippers point guard Eric Bledsoe must also be in the trade, then Rivers and Garnett would stay put and the Clippers would simply hire one of the coaching candi- dates who have interviewed for their vacant job. ( Former Memphis Grizzlies coach Lionel Hollins and Indiana Pacers assistant Brian Shaw lead that group.) While Celtics small forward Paul Pierce is not part of the trade talks, he could be bought out of the final year of his contract this July ($ 5 million of his $ 15.3 million) and join Rivers and Garnett with the Clippers as a free agent if this deal went down. The people spoke to USA TODAY Sports on the condition of anonymity because of the private na- ture of the talks.
While Rivers would not technically be part of the trade, the Celtics would allow the Clippers to sign him as part of the agreement. Rivers has a non- compete clause in his contract that would be nullified, and he would forgo the three years and $ 21 million remaining on his Celtics contract. The Clippers are prepared to pay him just less than $ 7 million annually, but only if they can bring him in without mortgaging their future by losing Bledsoe.
Yet if Rivers were willing to give back some of his earnings as a way to ease Ainge’s pain, that could be a way to nudge these negotiations along. The Celtics could move forward with a new coach whose salary would be, in essence, paid for by the old coach.
The Clippers’ refusal to let go of Bledsoe has everything to do with his potential as a trade piece to help them add another star player in the future. And the revelation of how they see him as part of their possible plans has exposed a new truth: The Clippers have considered the idea of trading power forward Blake Griffin.
Their interest in holding onto Bledsoe is, in part, tied to the notion that they could put him in a package with Griffin to do a sign- and- trade for Los Angeles Lakers center and free agent- to- be Dwight Howard. It’s unclear whether the Lakers would consider the proposal if Howard decided not to re- sign with them, but it is a clear sign that the Clippers no longer see Griffin as the untouchable asset he was once believed to be. Howard is merely one of a number of options being considered internally by the Clippers, with Orlando Magic guard Arron Afflalo and Pacers small forward Danny Granger also known to be on their radar.
For all the focus on the Clippers’ short- term aspirations to re- sign Chris Paul as a free agent this summer and win a title next season, this is all part of their approach to sustain a new level of success. Garnett is at the tail end of his career. He has two seasons and a combined $ 24.4 million left on his deal, though the final season ( worth $ 12 million) is only protected for $ 6 million if he’s waived before July 15, 2014.