In the very long Kemba thread, every few pages someone asks/assumes that Horford will return if we sign Kemba, and then someone else reminds/informs that person that we are using cap space created by Horford’s departure to pursue Kemba. And while that is largely correct, it is possible for Horford to resign with the Celtics at the amount he is rumored to be seeking and sign Kemba to a max deal. It doesn’t even necessitate trading Hayward or anyone else in the rotation as of today. It is certainly unlikely to occur, but if it did, it would be a farewell gift from Kyrie. Here’s how:
Celtics re-sign Horford, receive Kemba Walker in a sign-and-trade for the max.
Kyrie finds his new home via a S&T, his new team gets future draft considerations for helping out.
Charlotte signs Terry Rozier via a S&T to a contract between $12 million and $21.25 million in year 1 (those two can negotiate the exact amount, that’s just what works CBA-wise to match salaries, and is clearly in the range of a deal Rozier would seek). Charlotte might also receive draft considerations.
Explanation:
In order to acquire Kemba via a S&T, Boston would either need a trade exemption equal to Walker’s year 1 salary ($32.7 million) or would need to send $26.08 million in outgoing salaries. Boston doesn’t exactly have those salaries to offer from its current roster (aside from Hayward), but it could use Kyrie’s signing to account for approximately $20.1 million of that amount (his salary from last year). Thus they would need to only send out another $6 million in salary to match Kemba’s incoming salary. I propose that Rozier could be this additional salary, although his salary would only count half for matching purposes because he’s be getting a significant raise from last year, this his starting salary would need to be at least $12 million.
Why for Celtics:
I think this is obvious, but replacing Kyrie with Kemba while keeping Al and most other key pieces would be pretty much the best we could hope for at this point.
Why for Kyrie’s new team:
Get draft picks for someone you were going to sign anyway leaves you in a better position than when you started. That said, the negotiation is probably easier if Kyrie goes to a Western Conference team, who won’t be worried about potentially helping the Celtics, and easiest if Kyrie goes to the Lakers, since they’d need to make a trade to accommodate his salary anyway (if it is even possible for them at all).
Why for Charlotte:
If Kemba leaves, they become a capped out team with only TreVeon Graham as their PG. While Rozier has his warts, he is very likely better than any of their other options, and it allows them to utilize them MLE to improve a different part of their team. This is why I don’t think Charlotte would necessarily need draft considerations, especially if they realize that saying no to the deal means they just lose Kemba for nothing. Certainly I don’t think they need anything too steep, as they aren’t taking back bad salary.
If this miraculously happened for the Celtics, they’d be subject to the hard cap, but with most of their roster filled out they should be able to survive that constraint.
Also, if Charlotte has no interest in Rozier, the Celtics could loop in Phoenix, using Baynes’ outgoing salary to make up most of the extra salary needed on top of Kyrie’s deal. Charlotte would then get their choice of Ojeleye, Robert Williams, or Yabusele (one never knows who Jordan would want), and Phoenix would presumably get cash for playing along. This deal would be a little more complex (four teams instead of three and the rules that are involved with such trades), but it is an option if Charlotte isn’t interested in Rozier or vice versa.
Again, the likelihood of any of the above happening is incredibly low, but it’s not impossible, for those of you who want to be optimistic.
Topic: Keep Al, Sign Kemba idea that works within cap rules (Read 24329 times)