Celtics Transactions Visualized

sibpin

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Jul 20, 2005
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Fresh off the boat
I made this chart to indicate how the Celtics have acquired all of their players. I originally created this chart at the end of the 2012 season - back then, the team had made so few transactions that it was easy to sort the columns chronologically. The transactions have become more frequent and more complex, so the columns are much more loosely classified:
 
First column: Generally players from the pre-KG era
Second column: Generally players from the KG era
Fifth column: Current roster (and some cut players)
Sixth column: Assets under control for next / future seasons
 
Not included in this chart: the Celtics' own future picks, unless they have already been traded, and the all-important trade exceptions.
 

In general, Danny seems to continue extracting value out of players in the form of future assets. For example, Jordan Crawford and MarShon Brooks were out of the league less than a year after being traded, and yet they'll continue providing dividends over the next two years in the form of three second-round picks. The only recent vine to die out has been the Courtney Lee - Jerryd Bayless trade, although the two years of those two players still ended up being more valuable than JaJuan Johnson, E'Twaun Moore, and others.
 
It also seems pretty consistent that the players shipped out have turned out to be less valuable than the return haul. Really the only possible debate is that the #6 pick in the 2009 draft was a part of the Kevin Garnett trade - that ended up being Jonny Flynn, who was picked just ahead of Stephen Curry. Otherwise, nobody who has been traded away looks to come back and bite the Celtics in the future.
 

charlieoscar

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Sep 28, 2014
1,339
interesting approach. I tried tracking Red Sox' trades: what a player had done in the Boston system, then what he did afterwards; what a player did before becoming a Red Sox and what he did as a team member. It was a nightmare and I'm not sure can be done in 2-D.
 

Jed Zeppelin

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Aug 23, 2008
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sibpin said:
It also seems pretty consistent that the players shipped out have turned out to be less valuable than the return haul. Really the only possible debate is that the #6 pick in the 2009 draft was a part of the Kevin Garnett trade - that ended up being Jonny Flynn, who was picked just ahead of Stephen Curry. Otherwise, nobody who has been traded away looks to come back and bite the Celtics in the future.
 
I was curious about this so I did some digging and I'm pretty certain this isn't technically accurate, which actually makes the point even better. In the KG trade the Celtics traded two 2009 1st rounders to Minnesota, their own and the one that had been acquired from Minnesota in the Davis/Wally trade. Since the Wolves already owed LAC a 1st (top 10 protected through 2011, unprotected in '12) from the Cassell/Jaric trade, the Celtics couldn't receive the Davis/Wally 1st (which had some protections of its own) until two drafts after that pick was conveyed to LA.
 
Relevant passage from NBA.com:
If the Timberwolves send a pick to the Clippers in 2007, we receive the Timberwolves' pick in 2009 if it falls outside of the top 14, in 2010 if it falls outside of the top 5, in 2011 if it falls outside of the top 3, or in 2012 unconditionally. If the Timberwolves send a pick to the Clippers in 2008, we receive the Timberwolves' pick in 2010 if it falls outside of the top 14, in 2011 if it falls outside of the top 5, or in 2012 unconditionally. If the Timberwolves send a pick to the Clippers in 2009, we receive the Timberwolves' pick in 2011 if it falls outside the top 14, or in 2012 unconditionally. Finally, if the Timberwolves send a pick to the Clippers in 2010, we receive the Timberwolves' pick in 2012 unconditionally.
 
Minnesota famously tanked to keep their pick at the end of '06, and were bottom 10 again in '06-'07. Of course that led to the KG trade, ensuring that the Wolves wouldn't convey the LAC pick until its unprotected year in 2012 (it became part of the CP3 trade). In an alternate universe where KG was traded to the Lakers or Bulls for a similar collection of crappy futures that kept Minny terrible, the Celtics would have never actually received the Wally/Davis 1st. Since trades can't go beyond 7 drafts ahead, it would have become a 2012 2nd rounder.
 

Koufax

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Jul 15, 2005
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sibpin said:
I made this chart to indicate how the Celtics have acquired all of their players. I originally created this chart at the end of the 2012 season - back then, the team had made so few transactions that it was easy to sort the columns chronologically. The transactions have become more frequent and more complex, so the columns are much more loosely classified:
 
First column: Generally players from the pre-KG era
Second column: Generally players from the KG era
Fifth column: Current roster (and some cut players)
Sixth column: Assets under control for next / future seasons
 
Not included in this chart: the Celtics' own future picks, unless they have already been traded, and the all-important trade exceptions.
 

In general, Danny seems to continue extracting value out of players in the form of future assets. For example, Jordan Crawford and MarShon Brooks were out of the league less than a year after being traded, and yet they'll continue providing dividends over the next two years in the form of three second-round picks. The only recent vine to die out has been the Courtney Lee - Jerryd Bayless trade, although the two years of those two players still ended up being more valuable than JaJuan Johnson, E'Twaun Moore, and others.
 
It also seems pretty consistent that the players shipped out have turned out to be less valuable than the return haul. Really the only possible debate is that the #6 pick in the 2009 draft was a part of the Kevin Garnett trade - that ended up being Jonny Flynn, who was picked just ahead of Stephen Curry. Otherwise, nobody who has been traded away looks to come back and bite the Celtics in the future.
Bump because I love this chart and don't want it to fall off of the first page.
 

Koufax

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I think this chart has a error.  It seems to show that Tyler Zeller came to us as part of the PP/KG deal.  That's not correct.  Zeller was acquired in 2014, whereas that other deal happened in 2013.
 
The Zeller deal involved our acquiring him, Marcus Thornton and a Cleveland first round pick in exchange for a highly conditional second round pick (which rounds to zero).  Thornton and the Cleveland pick were, as shown, traded for Isaiah Thomas.
 
So essentially we got Zeller and Thomas for nothing.  This might be the best deal of the Ainge era except of, course, the one that brought KG here.
 

Papelbon's Poutine

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Dec 4, 2005
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Pretty sure the trade exception generated from the PP trade was involved in the deal with Cleveland, which was the only way the Celtics could take on those salaries. Hence the connection.
 

Koufax

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OK, that explains it.  Trade exceptions are beyond my comprehension.