Showtime87

I don't know, this deal wouldn't seem to make very much sense for either team. From the Nuggets perspective, they could surely afford to trade Andre Miller because of their backcourt depth. But swapping Nene for another swingman, albeit a talent like Paul Pierce without receiving another post player in return doesn't seem to be a very logical move. Camby is skilled but fragile, aging and oft-injured. Why would they trade away a valuable front-court commodity like Hilario (especially in the western conference) only to recieve a player whose game is essentially identical to that of the franchise cornerstone Carmelo Anthony? In addition, the Nuggets just spent a first-round pick on talented SF/G Julius Hodge. This trade would seemingly bury him on the Denver bench behind two guys who are perennial all-stars.

To me this deal would seem to make more sense for Boston when taking a look at the big picture. The Celtics are going with a full-fledged youth movement and want to get value for Pierce's huge contract, so from Ainge's viewpoint I can somewhat understand why he would do the deal. Miller is solid and dependable as a frontline PG. He's an intelligent, pass-first, drive and dish distributor which is something the Celtics severly lack. Miller, though seemingly a grizzled vet by now is still only 29 years old with a handful of good years left in him. It's always important to have a guy like Miller running the point for a young team like the Celtics, someone to distribute the ball and dictate the offense to the kids will be essential in their growth process. As a Celtics fan you might ask if you couldn't have received a bigger name, but as far as value and quality in return this is not all a bad trade for Boston. Personally, I don't think it's true. At least not as it's been reported. I wouldn't be surprised if it were to go down that a third team ends up being involved. The Nuggets do not have enough depth in their backcourt with Francisco Elson being the only proven big man to spell Martin and Camby. But, I guess we'll see how it turns out. Vandeweghe is nothing if not shrewd, so I would have to think he's taken this into account and somehow has all of his bases covered.