Soncis and Celtics do-da-deal

[CelticsGM]

Sonics trade
John Tyler
Frederick Griffith
Jerome Veen

Celtics trade
Shawn "Matrix" Marion
Edmundo James


Celtics agree ...

[SonicsGM]

Sonics trade
John Tyler
Frederick Griffith
Jerome Veen

Celtics trade
Shawn "Matrix" Marion
Edmundo James

Sonics agree.

[SonicsGM]

Ok, why do this deal?  There are a few reasons.

First, let's examine why the Sonics deal John Tyler, only a season after stealing him in free agency away from the Sixers.

A. The emergence of three other big men (Bill Cartwright, Shane Wedge, Phil Hubbard) on rookie contracts who easily fill the scoring that Tyler gives.
B. Tyler was playing out of position with the Sonics at SF, a position that needs to be filled with said young big men on the roster.  Marion will fit that right away.
C. John Tyler has missed 20 and 18 games the past two seasons.  Is he injury prone?  Maybe, maybe not.  Call this a "hunch"
D. Tyler is making "max" money, and I am not 100% convinced that he is a "max" player.

Now, let's examine what Marion brings to the table

A. He is an elite defender, even if he downgrades in training camp at the age of 37.
B. I have never had two elite defenders next to eachother, and the Matrix/D-Wade combo could be downright nasty on the wing for me.
C. Marion's defense could really help Hubbard/Wedge/Cartwright


There are drawbacks, but I can live with them:
A. Marion could be a rental (due to retirement after this season).  If so, I will have the money to go hard in the FA pool next season.
B. Tyler may be a dominant PF, while I played him out of position last year at SF.   But I am confident that the younger bigs on my club are better suited to play right now and into the future than sitting on the bench.

A side note:  The "secondary" deal within the deal (Edmundo James for Griffith and Veen) is definitely in my favor, in my opinion, making this overall trade lean in my favor.

[CelticsGM]

Man, i feel pretty lucky.

Now while I know that i might run into salary cap issues there's little doubt Tyler is a great replacement for aging Matrix. The former #1 pick was the cornerstone of a great Sixers team and is still some years away from peaking. Now Tyler and Strait will be my frontcourt of the future, which will make rebuilding after Dirk/Matrix a lot easier.

Griffith and Veen will get their audition, but since both are expiring there's little pressure to contribute.

By Matrix, thanks for leading my team (just not always when it counted) and good luck in the pacific northwest !!!
 

[CelticsGM]

...
A side note:  The "secondary" deal within the deal (Edmundo James for Griffith and Veen) is definitely in my favor, in my opinion, making this overall trade lean in my favor.

James never really fit into my rotation last season, mostly because he couldn't get it done on the defensive end. But maybe he only didn't get enough opportunity as he never started.

At age 29 I guess this is what you get with him, and Tyler sure will cover that ...
 

[NetsGM]

This deal makes a whole lot of sense for the Celts.

Intriguing for Sonics, especially if James pans out.

[MagicGM]

This deal makes a whole lot of sense for the Celts.

Intriguing for Sonics, especially if James pans out.

key word.

terrible trade, IMO. I think other team could offer more for Tyler had SonicsGM waited.

[NetsGM]

As a rule, I'm not opposed to this kind of gamble. James is an excellent rebounder (per min) and has shot on good percentages in his career. Nice size, so he can hold his own in the paint. His PT has been so piecemeal so far, that its tricky to say what he can produce - but as the fourth part of a C-PF rotation, he's a solid piece.

Sonics is likely in a good position again for next years FA class (if Marion retires that is), which beats the be-jeebus out of this one, in the meantime he has added a more natural 3 with a very good pedigree who makes his team better for now. Marion is a guy who's been POTG in over 1/4 of the games he's played in his career, who had a down year for him, but still - 1/4 of the time, the best player in a game.

[KingsGM-old]

Awfull. Definitely don't like it from my perspective.

[CelticsGM]

My title dreams pretty much were over once Emeka went to Texas instead of New England (and the last attempt to get a big man in Tyson failed), and I've tried for 2 seasons to milk everything out of Dirk and Shawn.

I always did well until midseason, then went .500 the rest of the way, and then choked in the playoffs.

Time to try something new, most likely without Dirk as well ...
 

[CelticsGM]

to back up some opinions here:

i wouldn't have done the deal the other way around ... unless I was completely confident I could contend for a title with Matrix. And honestly I don't see the Sonics being that far. If his current team would have 2, 3 more seasons experience, now that's something different. But Marion won't be here then ...

[CelticsGM]

...
A. He is an elite defender, even if he downgrades in training camp at the age of 37.
B. I have never had two elite defenders next to eachother, and the Matrix/D-Wade combo could be downright nasty on the wing for me.
...

btw, I think Marion is a perfect fit on SF nowadays. His offense is awesome there, his defensive shortcomings (age related) don't get exploited as much. Sure, the rebounding greatness get's downgraded to a mere good, but the rest will fit there.

Having Dirk at SF and no real SG starter otherwise (capeable of scoring a few buckets AND defend, I only had either with Przybilla and Tower/Schabinger) I didn't have the luxury of a Wade/Matrix lineup. So if the Sonics can get something out of that combo all bets are off ...