Celtics At 7: Cash In Those Chips Now!
BOSTON (CBS) - On Thursday night's edition of "Celtics At 7," Adam Jones makes the case for the Celtics cashing in trade chips like Brandon Bass and Jeff Green.
In trading either of those two, especially Bass, it will open more playing time for rookie Kelly Olynyk.
"If you're approaching the trade deadline, you don't have to hit a home run on every single trade. If you take a little less than what you can get this summer, there is value in that because you're a worse team in the interim, you lose more games and improve your draft stock," said Jones.
Read: Which Celtics Could Be Dealt?
"The other added benefit is you can play guys on your roster who deserve to play," he said. "I was skeptical of Olynyk when they drafted him but he is your first round pick. He's strung together back to back double-doubles. I'm not holding my breath that the Sullinger-Olynyk front court will be hanging banner 18, but at the same time you may as well figure out what you have with that guy. I don't know if you can do that if Brandon Bass and Kris Humphries are creating a logjam in front of him."
"The more you play him maybe he gets better in the meantime and you get a better read on what he is, and probably lose some games in the process," Jones said of Olynyk, who is averaging 6.9 points and 4.7 rebounds per game. "That's the best off all worlds, and why trading Brandon Bass is a no-brainer for the Celtics."
Rich Keefe agrees, even if the Celtics have to settle on getting a second-round pick and an expiring contract back for Bass.
"Open it up to the younger guys, and maybe you get a pick from the deal. More and more assets, which is what you're trying to collect over the next week," said Keefe. "You can probably get more for a guy like this right now, because you're giving a contending team maybe two playoff runs with Bass (who is signed through next season)."
Adam Jones: C's Need To Figure Out Olynyk's Ceiling Before Season Ends
While he would like to see Bass and Green send out of town for future assets, Jones says Kris Humphries and his expiring $12 million contract may be worth keeping around.
"I don't know if the Celtics want to give him up. If you're trading him and his $12 million, you have to take that back. Bass makes half of that, so you don't have to get a toxic contract back," said Jones. "To me, that's $12 million coming off the books anyways, and Humphries is a decent player to have around. He's not helping you win too many games, but he tries hard and fits the mold of what you want. He gives a quality effort even if they're not winning these games."
Jones and Keefe look at the value of second round draft picks
Celtics At 7: Cash In Chips Now!
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