Salvage Trades

As discussed below, Boston is not using free agency wisely. There is still hope of stealing a marooned free agent on the cheap or bringing in some bodies via buyouts (Troy Hudson?), but the best shot at picking up at least one more decent player in Boston is probably with a trade. The problem? They have no contracts. They've got three guys making $55 million and that's pretty much it. Kendrick Perkins makes $4.4, but they need him to log minutes at the 5 (by the way, everyone trashes Perkins, but I think he's pretty decent - at the very least he can do what Diop does in Dallas, right?). Rondo makes over a million, but he's their point guard of the future, err, present. Then they've got a bunch of loose change. It's really amazing to look at the salaries on this roster.

The only player with a salary meaty enough to move is Brian Scalabrine, but that is only because Ainge made the moronic decision to pay the guy $3 million per. Hard to imagine anyone wanting this stiff.

That said, trying to trade Scalabrine + one is probably Boston's only hope. Here are some possible deals that could help, all of them stretches (because that is the hand Ainge and Co. just dealt themselves):

(Note: for the players I thought Boston should have targeted via free agency, see this previous post.]

1. Scalabrine ($3MM) to the Warriors for Jasikevicius ($4MM). Boston would have to add a contract - any contract - to this to get within 125% on each side, but this trade might work. Golden State has no use for the former Maryland Terrapin/Team USA destroyer so they might be willing to get rid of him and save a few bucks on Scalabrine, who could have some value in Oakland as a backup forward. This is basically a swap of crap for crap, except that Jasikevicius could really help Boston and be a nice compliment to Rondo off the bench. He's good enough that he shouldn't be doing his best Mateen Cleaves impression and waving towels on the end of the Warriors bench. If G-State doesn't want him, maybe Boston can steal him away.

(Speaking of Golden State, now that KG is no longer an option, what exactly is the master plan over there? I still contend that the Richardson-for-Wright trade was a good one, but it seemed like that was the first of a series of moves. Are they going after Yi? Are they so excited about Bellini that they are calling it a day? When will they decide between Barnes and Pietrus? I'll admit, the Warriors interest me greatly.)

2. Scalabrine and Tony Allen (total $4.9MM) to Houston for Rafer Alston and Steve Novak (total $5.2MM). The Rockets are desperately trying to get rid of Rafer Alston and will probably see any successful attempt to do so as addition by subtraction. Plus, if Houston - who has added three point guards, Luis Scola, and tons of depth in the past two months - has one remaining weak spot it is the need for an athletic wing defender. With their depth, the Rockets can afford to gamble on Allen's return to health and they can absorb Scalabrine into the bench. Meanwhile, Boston gets a more experienced - if somewhat shaky - point guard to pair with Rondo and a much better shooter to bring off the bench in Novak. The loss of Allen - if healthy - would be tough to swallow, but the last thing this Jurassic team needs is another health concern. The addition of point guard depth and shooting makes it worth. Not to mention the fact that the Manuel signing would actually make some sense without Allen on the roster.

3. Scalabrine and Leon Powe (total $3.67MM) to Memphis for Damon Stoudemire ($4.3MM). This deal actually works for both teams and fits under the cap. If Boston believes Big Baby is ready to contribute then they have no need for Powe, since both are undersized power forwards. This allows the C's to include Powe with Scalabrine in an effort to tempt Memphis into giving up Stoudemire. It shouldn't be too hard. Mighty Mouse isn't in the Grizzlies' plans anymore and having Scalabrine rot on the bench won't be any different than having Damon rot on the bench. But the addition of Powe gives Memphis one more young player to add to a growing mix that includes Conley, Lowry, Gay, and Warrick, not to mention Mike Miller and Pau Gasol. As for the Celtics, they might not be getting a world-beater in Stoudemire, but he fills in all of Rondo's problem areas with scoring and experience and could really help their second unit. Plus, since Memphis recently waived Alexander Johnson, Boston could pick him up for cheap and it would be like getting two players back in the deal.

(By the way, Boston should right this minute be offering every bench player on its roster for Kyle Lowry. I doubt Memphis will trade him, but considering they drafted Conley instead of Horford, you never know.)

[Update: Clearly the California bar exam has fried my brain as Horford went #3 to the Hawks and Conley #4 to the Grizz, making my statement above impossible and idiotic. Still, drafting Conley one year after taking Lowry doesn't exactly scream "We love Kyle!" Maybe Boston could get him. I doubt it though.]

4. Future Pick to Portland for Jarrett Jack ($1.2MM). Boston doesn't have a lot of draft picks left to trade, but I don't know what else they can offer Portland that makes sense. Jack could really help Boston's bench and doesn't seem to have a place in Portland where Blake is the PG of now and Sergio Rodriguez is the PG of tomorrow. And the Blazers have so many players on the roster I can't imagine them wanting another asset in return. Maybe this could work. Also, Boston should keep an eye out for a Darius Miles buyout. He's a lunatic but they are officially in gambling mode anyway.

None of those trades are likely to happen, nor will any of them truly solve Boston's roster problems, but they might be the best chance the Celtics have of rounding out this team and competing for a spot in the Finals.