By trading Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce to the Nets and letting Doc Rivers leave for the Clippers, the Celtics headed in a new direction last offseason. Sure enough, Boston went 25-57 and missed the playoffs for the first time in seven years.
Now, with Kevin Love headed to Cleveland, indications are the Celtics will trade Rajon Rondo and fully commit to rebuilding.
Where does that leave Brandon Bass?
Bass, 29, was Boston’s fifth-oldest player last season. Three of the older players – Keith Bogans, Gerald Wallace and Kris Humphries – came to the Celtics only to make the the Garnet-Pierce trade work financially. The other, Joel Anthony, was also acquired in a salary dump.
Really, Bass – who has a $6.9 million expiring contract – is the only one whose on-court value nears his salary. But it’s also difficult to see him remaining helpful once Boston is ready to win again.
So, you know where this leads.
The Celtics have tried like hell, but they can’t get anything of value on the trade market for Brandon Bass
But they won’t – and shouldn’t – just dump Bass. They can always just let him walk in free agency next summer if it comes to it, though it’s best to get some return now if possible.
Bass is a quality mid-range jumper shooter for his position, but he lacks 3-point range. In today’s NBA – as Lowe thoroughly details in his article – that severely diminishes Bass’ value.
As the trade deadline nears, barring a surprisingly successful season to that point, Boston will only get more desperate to take any return for Bass. In the meantime, Bass has proven himself a consummate professional, even on a bad team. So, there’s no rush to deal him.
If another team offers an asset with future value like a young player or draft pick, the Celtics would likely trade Bass. But they’re not going to just give him away.