Real-time grading of sports transactions is everyone’s’ favorite pastime. ESPN has their experts (normally I would throw that in quotes but I actually do consider Kevin Pelton an expert (can I make that joke on a TrueHoop blog?!)) grading even the most minor NBA trades and signings within hours of their completion. These often come with caveats that “we won’t really know for a few years” but that kind of traffic cone has never stopped the hot-takes truck from speeding through. It now has been “a few years” since the Celtics began their most recent rebuilding phase with the famed Nets trade so let’s look back on the series of moves that led the team through the lean years (lean year?) and grade them with the appropriate hindsight.

I’m going to include my initial opinion of the moves and what I perceived as the “fan take1.” These grades will be on a curve; it’s hard to give an A or F to a move that you would expect to have a minor impact at best, and I’m skipping a large number of very small, ultimately inconsequential transactions. Similarly, a move that included a large asset investment will be held to a higher standard. I’ll be grading on a combination of process and results, especially on some of the smaller moves.

1 I was a moderator of the Celtics Reddit group through this period and so will use my experiences there to grade the general fan perception.

Celtics trade coach Doc Rivers to the Clippers for a future 1st round pick

My initial grade (MIG): B+

Fans’ initial grade (FIG): B

Current Grade (CG): B

The simple fact that the team was able to trade a coach was a coup. That being said, Rivers is now not only the coach of the Clippers but the President of Basketball Operations. His handling of the ousting of Donald Sterling alone was worth what LA gave up to get him. The pick ended up being 28th; a slot that usually provides little or no value. Trading a coach is a fun thing to do, but Rivers is one of the better ones in the league and I’m separating this from the next move.

Celtics hire Brad Stevens to a six year deal to be the team’s Head Coach

MIG: A-

FIG: B

CG: A+

The fresh-faced Butler coach was second on my wish list (behind Steve Kerr but don’t ask who my 3rd and 4th choices were because they aren’t as impressive). I hadn’t heard his name from many fans before the hiring but I think most people were happy with the decision within a few days. In retrospect, we underestimated how good a hire it was.

Celtics trade the 16th pick and two future 2nd round picks to the Dallas Mavericks for the 13th pick on draft night

MIG: D

FIG: B

CG: C

I’m rarely a fan of trading up, particularly in this type of move where you shuffle up a few spots. The general fan, however, loves trade-ups. In this case, the team did move up to a spot that would have allowed them to take the best player in the class, but they then didn’t choose that player. The price to move up ended up being the 34th and 47th picks in 2014, the first of which could have been Nikola Jokic but actually was CleAnthony Early.

Celtics use the 13th pick on Kelly Olynyk

MIG: B (I rarely have a strong opinion on draft picks)

FIG: B

CG: B

This is the pick the team ended up making from the above trade. Giannis Antetokounmpo would have been a better pick here (or Rudy Gobert but it’s hard to fault a team for not vaulting someone up 14 picks) but Kelly has been better than the average 13th pick despite coming from a poor class and so really can’t be faulted.

Had the team not traded up they could potentially have taken Gobert at 16, or someone like Gorgui Dieng or Mason Plumlee who have produced similar value to Olynyk. The actual selection at 16 was Bebe Nogueira who doesn’t at all fit the profile of C’s picks from that period, but maybe they would have grabbed Dennis Schroder. Ultimately the trade up wasn’t great, and passing on Giannis hurts, but the pick that the team did make is good.

Celtics buy the rights to Colton Iverson for cash

MIG: A

FIG: Don’t care

CG: C

Bad teams, as the Celtics were going to be in the aftermath of the Nets trade, should buy low-end draft picks when possible. This move barely made a ripple when it happened but I’m always bullish on cash-for-asset moves. This one came to nothing, but the process is good.

Celtics sign undrafted free agent Phil Pressey to a 1+2 minimum contract

MIG: Don’t care

FIG: Don’t care, unless Mizzou fan

CG: B+

Grabbing Phil the Thrill after the draft was a below-the-radar acquisition (to say the least) but he provided actual value in his second season. That modest statement is more than you can say about the vast majority of undrafted free agents coming out of college.

Celtics sign unrestricted free agent Vitor Faverani to a 2+1 contract

MIG: B+

FIG: C+

CG: D

Like with buying Colton Iverson’s rights, I generally think that spending nothing more than money to acquire potential assets is a good thing. Bad teams need to be creative in how they acquire talent and dipping into the international pool is something the Celtics rarely did before this past draft. Taking a chance on Vitor seemed like a worthwhile play but it failed miserably. The thought process was good, though.

Celtics trade Courtney Lee and a future 2nd round pick for Jerryd Bayless and Ryan Gomes (waived)

MIG: C+

FIG: B

CG: D+

This trade was clearly about cap flexibility and team finances, but it still looked bad to me because I thought Lee was a good player who was mostly just not given a consistent opportunity in Boston. That’s proven to be the case, so dumping him for almost nothing looks bad in retrospect. For whatever reason, Lee was not a popular figure amongst the general fan base so I think they looked on this trade more favorably than me at the time. The balance sheet reasons for making the trade are understandable but I’m still giving this a low grade considering how Lee has played since leaving.

Celtics trade Jordan Crawford and MarShon Brooks for Joel Anthony, a protected 1st round pick (became two 2nd’s), a future 2nd round pick, and cash

MIG: A

FIG: B

CG: B+

I loved this trade at the time, but a lot of fans had become rather attached to Steez and were sad to see him go. The fact that he was out of the NBA the season after the trade should tell you how a good a deal this was. It gets a minor mark-down in the current grade because Jordan Mickey has only shown flashes of promise and the two picks conveyed this year became part of a trade-out and Ben Bentil (who is unlikely to even make the team) because of the mass of picks the team ended up accumulating in this one draft. A side note: Joel Anthony was technically traded for Jae Crowder as, in a paperwork maneuver, his TPE was filled by Crowder allowing the team to make a large TPE out of Rajon Rondo, which was ultimately renounced.

Report Card

Year Course Credits MIG FIG Current Grade Freshman Trading Doc Rivers 4 B+ B B Signing Brad Stevens 4 A- B A+ Trade-up 2013 Draft 2 D B C Kelly Olynyk 13 3 B B B Buy Colton Iverson 1 A- N/A C Flip Pressey 1+2 0.5 N/A N/A B+ Vitor Faverani 2+1 2 B+ C+ D Lee for Bayless 3 C+ B D+ Steez for Stuff 3 A- B B+ Freshman Weighted GPA 3.1 2.9 2.8

Check out Part 2 on the 2014-15.

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