The Latest

Breaking News: Celtics acquire Perry Jones III from OKC

Chuck - Red's Army July 14, 2015 Celtics News 37 Comments

Celtics will be acquiring Perry Jones, a second round pick and cash from Oklahoma City. Not really giving up anything. Tax deal for OKC.

— Steve Bulpett (@SteveBHoop) July 14, 2015

The Thunder will receive a protected second-round pick from Boston and a trade exception of about $2.1 million. But this is a salary dump.

— Darnell Mayberry (@DarnellMayberry) July 14, 2015

Unclear whether this Jones deal is start of something bigger. Source says the Celtics have “a lot of things in the cooker.”

— Adam Himmelsbach (@AdamHimmelsbach) July 14, 2015

The 6-11 Jones hasn’t done much in his 3 years with the Thunder. Anthony Slater of NewsOK sums up Jones:

Jones played sparsely in his three seasons with the Thunder and, when given the opportunity, generally struggled to make an impact. He had far too many 10-minute, 0-point, 1-rebound, 0-assist nights, floating around the perimeter and failing to take advantage of his elite athleticism.

But dating back to his days at Baylor, the 6-foot-11 pogo stick showed enough flashes to entice the Thunder to take a chance on him with the 28th pick. And that 32-point outburst in Los Angeles or his impressive defense on LeBron James during a random January 2014 game in Miami has convinced the Celtics that maybe the lightbulb will eventually click and a productive NBA player will emerge.

Danny Ainge is taking a flyer on an underachieving player. This is your classic low risk, high reward situation.

Sean McLaughlin

Found this picture of Ainge online… lol
- Richard Jensen
  
  HAH! How can you not like this deal, though? The Thunder apparently sent a pick, a guy, and a guy’s salary to the C’s in exchange for a pick that’s probably going to be top 55 protected until 2200AD.
  
  Not sure what to make of PJIII. He came to my notice when Baylor played South Dakota State (my alma mater) in the NCAA tournament in 2012, and a 6’4 guard named Griffan Callahan was assigned to him and took him completely out of the game, including blocking one of his shots late. In competitive fire, I think he might be more like Jeff Green than, say, Marcus Smart.
  - Sean McLaughlin
    
    Lol @ 2200AD! Oh i never said I didn’t like the trade. Just funny how Ainge gets semi quality players for next to nothing like Turner and Zeller. Good ol Danny “bargain basket” Ainge. 😛 even if PJIII doesn’t work out (which he honestly should) he’ll be a good trade piece.
    - Richard Jensen
      
      Honestly, I think that Brad Stevens is a better match for Danny “Factory Seconds” Ainge than Rivers was.
      
      I can’t help but think that Stevens would’ve gotten more out of guys like JET, Jermaine O’Neal, and yeah, even Sheed and Delonte West and the other misfits that Doc pretty much just spent his time yelling at and benching.
      
      I mean, depending on your analogy, Stevens is either the MacGyver of coaches, or the Iron Chef of coaches.
      
      (THEME INGREDIENT: POWER FORWARDS!)
      - Sean McLaughlin
        
        He’s definitely a mini Popovic. We’re gonna look back on this and say that was the best pick up in the entire rebuild no matter who we put out on the hardwood.
      - Banner18
        
        If the Nets pick ends up being top 3 this year and the Celtics land Ben Simmons or Skal Labissiere I think people will say the future superstar was the #1 acquisition. Is Brad the next Red? Other than Auerbach the stars always were viewed more important than the coach. Haclicek/Cowens over Heinsohn in the 70’s, Bird, Parish, McHale over Fitch/KC and Pierce/Garnett over Doc.
      - Sean McLaughlin
        
        If he becomes the next Popovic (for us anyway) yes he would become the new Red. Just too light in the a$$ to knock out an owner maybe. lol. Honestly, I DO credit Popovic more than Duncan, Parker and Ginobili for their consistent success. People often don’t give enough credit to coaches, in my opinion. To illustrate the importance of coaching, one only has to look to college ball where the same batch of ten or so coaches always seem to end up in the Final Four year after year.
      - Banner18
        
        I’d still say Duncan is #1 in importance to Spurs nearly 20 years of success.
      - Sean McLaughlin
        
        That’s a fair statement, even though I disagree. He’d be No. 2 for me…
Stimul8s

We have 16 contracts now, I can smell a 2 for 1 trade brewing.
thedude

I thought I remembered him playing fairly well (10-15 ppg) when covering for Durant early last season, but then he got hurt and faded into obscurity again once Singler arrived. Hopefully he can play at that level again. If nothing else, he was a huge prospect coming out of high school and his first year at Baylor, and I recall a lot of Celtics fans being pretty bummed we picked up Fab Melo instead of him when they were drafted. All of this being contingent on whether or not he’s actually kept…
- eddysamson
  
  It was 22.3ppg or something crazy like that but was only for 3-5 games.
  - Peter
    
    was a great week or so, though. used him in DFS, at min price. He won me some $, lol
- Mannie
  
  I though the same. He has great potential. I honestly believe he can be a star in Brad’s system.
Herman Bubbert

An underachieving player Ainge should have drafted instead of the rotting, fetid corpse that was Flab Melo.
- BamaCeltic
  
  Couldnt agree more Herm. Also , this is the perfect type of player I could see Coach BS turning into something and Ainge looking like a genius !
- stevemb34
  
  Why? We’re STILL looking for a rim protector. Fab could have been that. It was #21 and he was a defensive 7 footer. It was worth a shot regardless of the outcome.
  - Banner18
    
    Yup. Melo was a raw risk/reward upside player with serious bust potential that teams take risks on once you are are picking in the 20’s and especially when you have two 1st rd picks as the Celtics did that year. There are bigs like Melo taken in that 20-40 range every year who may or may not pan out. Nikola Milutinov this year, Clint Capela last year, Rudy Gobert in 2013, etc.
    - stevemb34
      
      Exactly! When you have two picks I’m always up for using one of them as a lottery ticket and swinging for the fences.
- Banner18
  
  Incorrect. Ainge should have drafted Draymond Green, Khris Middleton, Festus Ezeli, Tony Wroten, Miles Plumlee or Jae Crowder over Melo. Not Perry Jones III. Had we drafted PJ3 maybe he’d have gotten more playing time behind Pierce and Green than he did Durant, but maybe not, Durant was hurt a lot and THEN PJ3 got hurt trying to step in for him. We’d still be all worked up and angry as C’s fans if we had drafted Jones and be wishing for one of those above players instead.
  - Erik Willis
    
    He is a PF not a SF first off so he wouldn’t of played behind PP or Green . Secondly, how often do teams draft a guy like Dre Green at 35? Dare I say very rarely. Those other guys are good role players with Crowder being the best of the bunch and we have him now so that’s that. If anything PJIII could have learned from KG. Trust me when I say the Cs are on the up and up!
    - Banner18
      
      I don’t disagree that the C’s are on the up and up, just with most of your other comments. Are you saying Jones is a PF because you have watched a lot of film of him and feel that is the position where he will have the most success? He is listed as a SMALL forward. So “first off” he would have been behind Pierce and Green. Jones played only 631 minutes this past season but was the PF for all of 56 of them. He mostly played in lineups with Steven Adams and Serge Ibaka on the court with him, so he was definitely a SF 95% of the time. Crowder is better than Middleton or Wroten? Those two are big minute starters, not role players. How often do teams draft an all-star or very good starter around pick 35? Pretty frequently actually. There are the examples I gave you above from 2012, Jimmy Butler #30 and Chandler Parsons #38 in 2011, Hassan Whiteside at #33 and Lance Stephenson #40 in 2010, Danny Green at #46 in 2009, DeAndre Jordan at #35 & Omer Asik at #36 in 2008, Marc Gasol at #47 in 2007, Paul Millsap at #48 in 2006,,, on and on, there is at least 1-2 very good/great players drafted in the first half of the 2nd round every year. I’m not saying knowing which guy will turn into the star is easy, just that there is no way Perry Jones would be the guy I’d say the C’s “should have” drafted in 2012 over Fab Melo or that “rarely” are good players drafted around 35. Five max players from this summer’s free agency, plus Parsons last summer and Danny Green and Asik’s 11-12m a year deals. All were guys picked in the 30’s and 40’s.
      - Erik Willis
        
        I’m just saying at 6 ft 11 I don’t think he would of been a SF if I follow simple logic. He may not of been the best choice but I think we all agree better than Fab Melo even prior to discovering Fab Melo was a bust. And you raise a good point about early to mid second round players working out. I wasn’t saying it doesn’t happen. But percentage wise, over time the number favors them being average players. And my comment about Jae Crowder I stand by. He just needs to be given the chance. Case in point. If David Lee doesn’t go down with an injury how long is it before we see how good Dre Green is. All that being said, Ainge hasn’t drafted as well as some teams have during his tenure. Gonna have to wait and see how this draft class goes. I am hopeful Jordan Mickey will be at least half as good as Dre Green so the Cs can have their early second round gem. Again if he is given the chance I think he will flourish by mid season with at least 20 min a night. Okay I’m done analyzing now. Lol
      - Banner18
        
        I guess some people would see 6’11” and think “Oh he must be a PF” but that is simply not the truth. Your comment seemed to speak in absolutes that he wouldn’t have backed up Pierce and Green when he definitely would have. Yes the percentages overall don’t favor players picked in the 30’s and 40’s to become starters, but I didn’t say they did. I said you frequently find guys around pick 35 who become very good and there are like 15-20 examples from the last 7 years. You said it rarely happens. It is just hard to hit on the ones who will develop. I love Jae Crowder as well. I wouldn’t hold onto him over Middleton, but the other guys I would. Also, if you compare Ainge to the other GM’s during his tenure you will find he is one of the best in the business. Few GM’s make it a dozen years in the NBA to begin with, but DA has had like 18 1st round picks and only 3-4 have been busts (with jury still out on Young and this years picks) while only picking top 10 ONCE and in the lottery twice. WOW. He picked All-NBA 3rd team selections at 15 and 21. His second round picks have often been steals in guys like Gomes, Big Baby and Powe. Hoping Mickey is next in line as well. Also guys like Rondo, Big Al, Perk, Tony Allen, Bradley and Sully all would go 10 picks higher if teams got to re-draft.
  - Sean McLaughlin
    
    Agreed. Being an MSU fan, I was really disappointed that Green was still available and we didn’t pick him. Of course, I was biased based on fandom and had been watching him closely… still… I knew he’d translate well.
- Erik Willis
  
  True that!
- wil
  
  thats what we get when we draft for need in the late picks
Sean

All I want to know is if he can block shots or not
KGino

Everyone’s waiting for fireworks, meanwhile, Danny sits quietly in the corner, lighting yet another sparkler…
- Erik Willis
  
  Do you see that as a good thing or a bad thing?
  - KGino
    
    A good thing. He’s doing what he can do for now and making solid moves. Taking advantage of other teams (i.e. Zeller, DLee, PJIII).
    
    I meant the comment more like, everyones waiting for that big fish, but Danny has patiently caught lots of little fishies… Assuring we won’t be going hungry.
- Curt Hays
  
  Yeah, but have you ever duct-taped 15 sparklers together and lit them? It can be a pretty big deal.
Mannie

Now if we can get Gallinari…
zippittyay

We need the ability to select multiple players in the “Who is most likely to be traded” poll.
Andre

OMFG I’m so happy with this, this dude is sooooo underrated.
Banner18

Maybe Perry Jones is someone the Nuggets liked? There is still time to wait on Lee/Crowder and do a 2-1 or 3-1 deal with Denver for Gallinari. Perhaps Ainge offered Evan Turner and Olynyk and was told Turner wasn’t a fit out there but someone like PJ3 was?
- Erik Willis
  
  We need to give this kid a chance. He never really had one in OKC. I say get Gallo as well. and then make some trades.