Gorman On Toucher & Rich: Very Active Week Ahead For Celtics
BOSTON (CBS) - With the NBA trade deadline just over a week away, rumors are swirling around the Boston Celtics.
Jeff Green is reportedly being shopped hard by Danny Ainge, and teams are lining up for forward Brandon Bass. CSNNE's Mike Gorman joined 98.5 The Sports Hub's Toucher and Rich on Tuesday, and said to expect the Celtics to be involved in even more rumors as the deadline approaches.
"Danny is planning for the future, not the present, so there is a chance we could be very active over the next week," said Gorman.
Bass is the most likely to be traded, but it's not because Ainge and the Celtics don't think he'd be a good player for the future.
"I don't think Danny is looking to 'get rid' of Brandon Bass. He's performed very well when they've needed guys to perform well. But with the Celtics, it's all about the future," echoed Gorman. "Phoenix is a team being mentioned, and they have a bunch of first rounders stockpiled. Either first round picks or expiring contracts are the desirable commodities."
"You used to trade guys on the basis of 'I want your guy, you want my guy.' Now it's all numbers," said Gorman. "Whether you want the player or not seems to be incidental sometimes. It's expiring contracts, matching the numbers so you can trade one guy for another. It's really become a numbers game."
Boston forward Jared Sullinger logged his sixth straight double-double in the C's 102-91 win over the Milwaukee Bucks on Monday, but had to work for each of his 13 points and 10 rebounds. He commented after the game that teams are beginning to double-team him more in the paint, and Gorman has a simple solution.
Read: Sullinger Named Eastern Conference Player Of The Week
"He's starting to get double-teamed, and he's going to have to learn to pass better than he has out of double-teams. I don't want to call it a weakness, but f you were ranking his game passing would not be near the top," Gorman said of Sullinger. "Word is getting around that if you don't pay attention to this guy he's going to drop a 20-10 on you. So teams are starting to double-team him now in the box. The next step for him is to become a successful passer out of that position."
"He can be an All-Star player," said Gorman, noting that Sullinger could have been a Top 5 draft pick in 2012 had it not been a back issue during his college days. "We shouldn't be that surprised he's as good as he is, and I think he can only get better. If he can master his passing out of the double-team, the sky is the limit. He's a cornerstone guy you can build around."
Gorman also touched on what makes Chris Johnson so good, and if potential top picks in the draft may stay in school should the Milwaukee Bucks get the #1 pick:
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