Evan Turner is no longer a member of the Celtics, but that doesn’t mean he doesn’t have some suggestions for GM Danny Ainge on the team’s next move. As Steve Bulpett of The Boston Herald details, Turner praised Boston’s young core, but said that adding a veteran player and improving team defense should be priorities for the club. And he even has an idea of what the C’s could offer to upgrade their roster.
“I think you’ve got to probably trade that (2017 Nets) pick,” Turner said, suggesting that the Celtics can afford to give up a top pick in a draft heavy on point guards. “I mean, if you have to take a point guard, you’ve got Isaiah (Thomas) playing how he’s playing, and Marcus (Smart) is developing. There’s no room. You barely get to play Terry Rozier, and that kid can play. And you don’t want to overload with the young guys, because you run into the same thing where you have to cut a young, promising guy. … I know Danny’s going to do the right thing, and a lot of teams might want that first pick, so maybe he can get some great things for it.”
As Ainge takes Turner’s suggestions into consideration, let’s check in on a few more items from around the Atlantic…
- A pair of Atlantic stars are out of action for the next few days. Raptors guard DeMar DeRozan will miss at least two games for Toronto before his ankle sprain is re-evaluated, according to the team (Twitter link). Meanwhile, league sources tell Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical (Twitter link) that Joel Embiid is expected to return to the Sixers on Friday after missing three games.
- The Knicks finally managed to pull out a clutch victory on Monday night against Indiana, much to the relief of head coach Jeff Hornacek. “We lose another one like that, guys probably would’ve quit, called it a year probably,” Hornacek said, per Mike Wells of ESPN.com. While Hornacek may be exaggerating a little, another bad loss on Monday likely would’ve intensified calls for a rebuild in New York.
- Speaking of the Knicks‘ roster building, Stefan Bondy of The New York Daily News provides a list of the 10 worst moves Phil Jackson has made since taking over as the club’s president.
Jaylen, Rozier, Brooklyn’s first this year, Celtics pick next year for Butler
Way too much. Jimmy Bucket is not really Superstar caliber right now ( too inconsistent). I would rather trade for a rim protector. Either get rid of smart and brown or the 2017 draft pick. Someone like Noel would be a good fit as we are struggeling on the boards. We don’t need another 2 with defensive abilities, we already have ab
Wrong, Butler is a star, and frankly, probably throw a second rounder and Jerebko for Miritic, and I really like jacob’s trade for both teams.
What part of boston are you from
New Hampshire
Trade #1: Brown, BKN 2017 Pick Swap, Johnson, Jerebko and Jackson for Butler and Mirotic.
Trade #2: Smart for Noel
Rotation:
PG – IT, Rozier
SG – Bradley, Butler
SF – Butler, Crowder
PF – Horford, Miritic
C – Noel, Olynyk/Zeller
I think a Smart for Noel swap helps both teams long term.
Jaylen and a future second round pick for Andrew Bogut. Who says no?
Probably the Celtics.
Definitely the Celtics.. lol what is wrong with you!!!
LOL I’m with ya….horrible
Maybe the Celtics 1st in ’19 gets it done.
Straight up, I mean.
Bogut stay in Dallas please. Maybe a young big like Noel or Willie Cauley-Stein could be added before trade deadline.
I hate the Smart for Noel trades. He’s one of the worst shooters in the league. Worse than MCW and Rubio. He’s Lance Stephenson 2.0 with his floppery too.
Smart is a back-up PG on every team in the league except… Nets and Clippers w/Lin & Paul out. Noel would start on 1/4 of them. (Charlotte, GSW, Houston, Lakers, Knicks, Blazers, Kings, Spurs w/out Gasol,)
Sixers don’t need passing guards, they need shooters who play some D. Smart for Noel is not smart at all.
Is there any indication that the Bulls are shopping Butler? You don’t trade a great player for a bunch of good ones (no matter how big the bunch) in the NBA, unless you start with a desire to move the great player for other reasons (contract, age, etc.). All players have ups and downs, but (bigger picture) Butler is a young two-way star with a team friendly contract situation.
They had serious discussions at the draft with the Wolves and to a lesser extent Boston, but this year is an indication that this team is not going anywhere soon. 2 nets picks, or one plus jaylen brown, Bradley/Crowder/Smart/, Rozier. These are just some things the Celtics could offer. I believe that the Celtics have enough to entice Chicago to consider blowing the roster up, the question is whether or not Chicago would go through with it.
Ballzy. Always liked Turner. But ballzy.