Post by Deleted on Jun 20, 2015 10:10:08 GMT -5
Hello D720 General Managers,
D. Ainge from the Celtics here & I've got a trade that I'd like to present here but, unfortunately there have been some issues ahead of time that also need to be sorted out.
So, the proposed trade was: R. Rondo & a 2nd round pick for K. Leonard & an $8mil expiring.
While I know that all trades are subjective I believe the following facts make this a fair transaction for both parties.
To start, the Kings are far over the cap ($68mil in 15/16) & have zero chance of resigning K. Leonard so, moving him this year is a necessity or the Kings risk getting nothing for him.
Next, the Kings are also one of the better teams in the league & their roster construction clearly shows that the Kings are built to win now. (Their entire starting roster is rated 65+ - Bogut, D Will, Dragic, Taj, etc. are all 29/30+yrs old)
As a result, Rondo & his expiring contract help the Kings to achieve several goals.
First, Rondo is a Top 25 player for the entire 14/15 season as he's rated as a 72 overall.
(Note: the Stock Watch will not affect our players ratings until the 15/16 season & Kawhi is only a 70 atm)
Also, according to Basketball GM's rating system Rondo is a PG with: Rebounder, Premier defender, Ball handler, Passer & Athlete attributes. So, this will undoubtedly help the Kings in their title run.
Next, Rondo's expiring will have no adverse effects on the Kings cap moving forward.
And, the draft pick from a lottery team like the Celtics, allows the Kings to add younger talent, which won't negatively impact their cap & obv. help their franchise for years to come.
Further, the Celtics should be rewarded in some measure & not punished for spotting the Kings need to shed Leonard's contract as well as having the foresight to draft an asset, like Rondo, that was intended for this exact purpose.
That is, drafting a highly rated player, with large expiring contract, which was intended to aid a team in their run at a championship.
This situation happens all the time in *real life*.
A team must sell a younger player, at less than market value because, they've got no chance at resigning them & the team needs to win right now.
We need to only look at the real life Rondo trade where Dallas gave away many good young pieces in order to win in the short-term. I'll be the first to point out that it didn't work out for Dallas but, Vegas changed their odds on the Mavs to win it all drastically after that deal.
Although it needs to be said, that with no injuries in our league & Rondo guaranteed as a Top 25 player throughout the entire season, the Kings are getting a 100% sure thing with Rondo playing at the peak of his powers.
On top of all this, the Kings are also able to add a high draft pick from the Celtics who will be a lottery team.
In summary, I feel that this deal is very helpful to both parties & am sure that this committee will see it this way as well.
I presented this trade to the Kings & it was accepted. He's a screen cap of the PM the Kings sent me.
After that, I approached billy for advice regarding the cap hit.
(I want to pause now & say that billy his been the most patient & attentive commissioner I've ever dealt with.
I'm new here & he has always replied quickly & honestly. Not to mention how unbelievable he's been in managing the hours upon hours of helping us work through this draft.)
Now, billy told me that the numbers would work out no problem but, that the trade wasn't fair in his eyes.
And, I can accept that, he wasn't a fan.
I'd have been happy to take feedback on the deal & re-work it slightly if need be once the trade committee saw it.
But here's the problem, billy then took it upon himself to privately message the Kings & relay his personal feelings about the deal. (I was not copied on this message)
This resulted in the Kings 100% reneging on the deal.
(In fact, the Kings attitude changed so much after that exchange I was told I could go "Eat a dick.")
Also, billy then took the deal & ran it by another member of the trade committee.
(Again, I was not Cc'd on the PM)
Regardless of what the deal was, a commissioner shouldn't use their power & information gained privately to inject their personal feelings regarding a deal before a trade has been made public.
As you can see this leaves us all in an awkward spot. This has tainted any objective view some can have about the deal.
Ok, so with that bit out of the way if you'll indulge me just a bit more I'll wrap this up I promise.
I get that everyone outside the person who lands Kawhi is motivated to not allow this trade to go through because, Leonard is one of the most sought after FA on the market.
But, our jobs in evaluating a trade isn't if it is the absolute best deal someone else could have got.
We can't say to ourselves "Hey, I would have offered way more, so I'm going to veto this trade!"
We want to reward GM's who recognize an advantageous situation & act quickly.
We should reward GM's who leave themselves flexible in regards to the cap just so they can land a RFA on an expiring deal.
Hey, I didn't take a rookie on a good deal in the 3rd round.
Instead, I intentionally took a highly rated player on an expiring contract for this exact reason.
I took a risk & planned ahead.
I planned to make a deal with someone who was going to be gunning for a championship & they'd need a guy like Rondo to put them over the top.
Further, I intentionally sacrificed in regards to taking on salary during the draft, just so I could go out of my way to fit a max free agent under the cap.
So, I'd ask that you please to leave any personal feelings about the player, GM's or this deal aside.
And, I'll ask that you judge this on the merits listed above as they related to the Kings & the Celtics only.
To recap:
The Kings must deal Kawhi due to their cap situation.
The Kings cannot get open market value for Kawhi because everyone knows (now) that they must sell to a team that has room to resign him.
The Kings are 100% in win now mode.
Rondo & the Celtics draft picks directly address all of these concerns.
The Celtics recognized a situation & acted quickly.
More importantly, the Celtics put themselves in this position ahead of time by having the right kind of players & contracts to make a deal like this possible.
To conclude, as an act of good faith the Celtics will give the Kings R. Rondo & all of their 2015/16 draft picks to ensure that a fair deal we already shook hands on can go through despite all the other on goings behind the scenes.
I thank you very much for taking the time to read all this folks. I really do...
-Danny Ainge
Celtics GM.
D. Ainge from the Celtics here & I've got a trade that I'd like to present here but, unfortunately there have been some issues ahead of time that also need to be sorted out.
So, the proposed trade was: R. Rondo & a 2nd round pick for K. Leonard & an $8mil expiring.
While I know that all trades are subjective I believe the following facts make this a fair transaction for both parties.
To start, the Kings are far over the cap ($68mil in 15/16) & have zero chance of resigning K. Leonard so, moving him this year is a necessity or the Kings risk getting nothing for him.
Next, the Kings are also one of the better teams in the league & their roster construction clearly shows that the Kings are built to win now. (Their entire starting roster is rated 65+ - Bogut, D Will, Dragic, Taj, etc. are all 29/30+yrs old)
As a result, Rondo & his expiring contract help the Kings to achieve several goals.
First, Rondo is a Top 25 player for the entire 14/15 season as he's rated as a 72 overall.
(Note: the Stock Watch will not affect our players ratings until the 15/16 season & Kawhi is only a 70 atm)
Also, according to Basketball GM's rating system Rondo is a PG with: Rebounder, Premier defender, Ball handler, Passer & Athlete attributes. So, this will undoubtedly help the Kings in their title run.
Next, Rondo's expiring will have no adverse effects on the Kings cap moving forward.
And, the draft pick from a lottery team like the Celtics, allows the Kings to add younger talent, which won't negatively impact their cap & obv. help their franchise for years to come.
Further, the Celtics should be rewarded in some measure & not punished for spotting the Kings need to shed Leonard's contract as well as having the foresight to draft an asset, like Rondo, that was intended for this exact purpose.
That is, drafting a highly rated player, with large expiring contract, which was intended to aid a team in their run at a championship.
This situation happens all the time in *real life*.
A team must sell a younger player, at less than market value because, they've got no chance at resigning them & the team needs to win right now.
We need to only look at the real life Rondo trade where Dallas gave away many good young pieces in order to win in the short-term. I'll be the first to point out that it didn't work out for Dallas but, Vegas changed their odds on the Mavs to win it all drastically after that deal.
Although it needs to be said, that with no injuries in our league & Rondo guaranteed as a Top 25 player throughout the entire season, the Kings are getting a 100% sure thing with Rondo playing at the peak of his powers.
On top of all this, the Kings are also able to add a high draft pick from the Celtics who will be a lottery team.
In summary, I feel that this deal is very helpful to both parties & am sure that this committee will see it this way as well.
- Background of this Trade:
I presented this trade to the Kings & it was accepted. He's a screen cap of the PM the Kings sent me.
After that, I approached billy for advice regarding the cap hit.
(I want to pause now & say that billy his been the most patient & attentive commissioner I've ever dealt with.
I'm new here & he has always replied quickly & honestly. Not to mention how unbelievable he's been in managing the hours upon hours of helping us work through this draft.)
Now, billy told me that the numbers would work out no problem but, that the trade wasn't fair in his eyes.
And, I can accept that, he wasn't a fan.
I'd have been happy to take feedback on the deal & re-work it slightly if need be once the trade committee saw it.
But here's the problem, billy then took it upon himself to privately message the Kings & relay his personal feelings about the deal. (I was not copied on this message)
This resulted in the Kings 100% reneging on the deal.
(In fact, the Kings attitude changed so much after that exchange I was told I could go "Eat a dick.")
Also, billy then took the deal & ran it by another member of the trade committee.
(Again, I was not Cc'd on the PM)
Regardless of what the deal was, a commissioner shouldn't use their power & information gained privately to inject their personal feelings regarding a deal before a trade has been made public.
As you can see this leaves us all in an awkward spot. This has tainted any objective view some can have about the deal.
Ok, so with that bit out of the way if you'll indulge me just a bit more I'll wrap this up I promise.
I get that everyone outside the person who lands Kawhi is motivated to not allow this trade to go through because, Leonard is one of the most sought after FA on the market.
But, our jobs in evaluating a trade isn't if it is the absolute best deal someone else could have got.
We can't say to ourselves "Hey, I would have offered way more, so I'm going to veto this trade!"
We want to reward GM's who recognize an advantageous situation & act quickly.
We should reward GM's who leave themselves flexible in regards to the cap just so they can land a RFA on an expiring deal.
Hey, I didn't take a rookie on a good deal in the 3rd round.
Instead, I intentionally took a highly rated player on an expiring contract for this exact reason.
I took a risk & planned ahead.
I planned to make a deal with someone who was going to be gunning for a championship & they'd need a guy like Rondo to put them over the top.
Further, I intentionally sacrificed in regards to taking on salary during the draft, just so I could go out of my way to fit a max free agent under the cap.
So, I'd ask that you please to leave any personal feelings about the player, GM's or this deal aside.
And, I'll ask that you judge this on the merits listed above as they related to the Kings & the Celtics only.
To recap:
The Kings must deal Kawhi due to their cap situation.
The Kings cannot get open market value for Kawhi because everyone knows (now) that they must sell to a team that has room to resign him.
The Kings are 100% in win now mode.
Rondo & the Celtics draft picks directly address all of these concerns.
The Celtics recognized a situation & acted quickly.
More importantly, the Celtics put themselves in this position ahead of time by having the right kind of players & contracts to make a deal like this possible.
To conclude, as an act of good faith the Celtics will give the Kings R. Rondo & all of their 2015/16 draft picks to ensure that a fair deal we already shook hands on can go through despite all the other on goings behind the scenes.
I thank you very much for taking the time to read all this folks. I really do...
-Danny Ainge
Celtics GM.