ESPN Boston's Celtics Summer Forecast rolls on today by asking the panel of eighteen the ninth question on the list. Who is the first player cut or traded from the Celtics? Last season it was Lester Hudson, who got cut after a few brief stints in the D-League with the Maine Red Claws.
This season it's going to be...
Brandon Paul, Gino's Jungle (Semih Erden)
I don't know a whole heck of a lot about Erden and I guess that's why I put his name down. He's spent a few years overseas trying to prepare for the league and his numbers weren't astonishing. If he can't do it over there, there's likely no way he can do it over here. I think he'll see some time with the Maine Red Claws but eventually will be cut or included in a trade.
Brain Robb from Celtics Hub and Lee Herman from North Station Sports agreed with me, while three of the guys went with Oliver Lafayette, two with Von Wafer, and one with Nate Robinson.
I would have gone with Oliver Lafayette, had I known that we were including non-guranteed contracts in this whole deal. In my opinion Lafayette and Gaffney will both be gone after training camp, and Erden will soon follow as the first guranteed contract to disappear from the team.
The fun part of this series is getting a bunch of unique perspectives from other Celtics bloggers, and that is exactly what we received today. When thinking about this question, not once did Nate Robinson or Von Wafer cross my mind. But, in all reality, if a trade happens those two guys will most likely be the one's to go.
Jay Ouellette, Red's Army (Nate Robinson)
This is a tough one. But I have a feeling that Robinson won't last the season. He has a friendly contract for a trade and I doubt he'll be here long term. He may be the player the C's ultimately trade for Rudy Fernandez once his trade restriction expires. Robinson is a Seattle native and I'm sure he wouldn't mind running with his boy Brandon Roy.
Although I don't agree with Jay here, this is a very unique perspective. Should Nate play well to begin the season, he will have a high trade value, and could be used as trade bait. I, however, believe that he will prove himself as a key member of this squad early in the season and will be a player Danny will not want to trade away.
Either way, this will be something to keep an eye on during the season. With Danny Ainge as the king of the castle, anything is possible.
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