On a sleepy evening in late July, the Boston Celtics completed a trade that stirred the imaginations of cap enthusiasts everywhere. After previously being reported to be waiving Abdel Nader, the Celtics instead reversed course and traded Nader to the Oklahoma City Thunder. Boston also sent an as yet undetermined amount of cash to OKC in the deal and acquired guard Rodney Purvis.
So, why did the Celtics make such a seemingly meaningless deal in late July? And why didn’t they just waive Nader? Much like The Bard’s greatest works, sometimes you need to look at things a couple of times for it to really make sense.