Ainge tweet on FA

[nickagneta]

Let's not forget that a max deal given out this year will be a major bargain in two to three years when the salary cap could be approaching $95 million. So giving a RFA a max deal now who is young and has only 4 years of service is going to mean getting a tremendous amount of value on the totality of that contract, especially if the player performs up to expectations.

[LGC88]

This is THE year that most of the 2nd tier player will be overpaid, because of the raise after next year. So, every team in nba will and HAVE to overspend, or else you stand pat and you will have to pay your second tier players even more money in 2 years time. Overall you overpay now to save  on the last years of the contracts, making it even or maybe a bargain if you are lucky.
To not spend your money this year will be the dumbest thing to do as a GM.

[greece66]

Since we are on the topic, here's Tanguay's opinion on how we should C's money: Aldridge.
Tbh, it does not look like T. has inside information: just giving voice to his personal wishes, ie not to be taken more seriously than anything else written in this forum.
Still, he makes a good case:
//So why would Aldridge want to leave Portland for Boston? First of all, it's not like the climate is worse here; rain or snow both suck. Second, players want to play for a guy like Stevens. Third, and most important, Aldridge is never getting to the NBA Finals if he stays with the Blazers. The Spurs, Clippers, Thunder, Rockets, Grizzlies and Warriors are blocking Portland's path in the West. In the East, if you put Aldridge on the Celtics and make a couple of other solid moves, well, they're a bad LeBron series from the Finals. Hey, if Aldridge had been on this year's Celtics team, the series could have gone seven.//
Full source http://www.csnne.com/boston-celtics/brad-stevens-is-the-boston-celtics-bait-for-stars-like-lamarcus-aldridge

That's so very Tanguay.

First, as a native New Englander now living in Portland, I can definitively say that the climate here is SO much better. You don't have to shovel rain to get out of your driveway in December. Or March, for that matter.

Second, while that may be, it's not like the rest of the head coaches in the NBA are all trolls.

Third, what's to stop Aldridge from signing with one of those Western teams (if you can't beat them, join them)?

Thanks for showing all the holes in his argument. I felt the same way when I read it -lots of wishful thinking involved- still I got lured by the prospect of fantasizing if only for a few mins that Aldridge could possibly join us. As for the weather thing, yeah that was totally lol

[celticsclay]

The East has been comparatively weaker than the West for a while now.

Has that been reflected in free agency signings the past few years? Asking legitimately.

I am thinking that there actually has not been a lot of massive free agent movement the last few years, with a lot more being done in trades (and most players staying with their current teams).

I also think the discrepancy may be at an all time high because teams do not seem to view the Cavs with the same fear they viewed the first 3 years of the Heat team. So two years ago the East was weaker, but there was a really dominant team to get through (a younger lebron, wade, bosh, ray allen). I am not sure that is still the perception (I guess I am mainly basing this on linesmakers and power rankings that would have the Cavs as underdogs in just about any Finals matchup coming into this season and throughout it.

That all aside, I am trying to think of the players that stayed with their teams or switched teams last off-season. Carmelo, Lebron, Bosh all chose to stay in the east. Love seemed to choose to get traded to an eastern team and there was never any mention of him considering a western team (Bosh at least flirted with Houston). Gasol was pretty coveted and switched to the West. Parson's stayed in the west. Am I forgetting any major movement?

[Csfan1984]

Instead of spend wisely should say save and spend later wisely. 2016 FA>2015 FA.

[Chief]

Just don't sign an over the hill Dominique Wilkins again.

Or Dana Barros.

[greece66]

Just don't sign an over the hill Dominique Wilkins again.

Or Dana Barros.

Since we are on the Human Highlight Reel... In his short passage from Panathinaikos Athens he managed one of the most disgraceful finals appearance in the history of the Club. He was injured (or maybe just wanted to relax a bit) at game 3 of 5, and literally took the plane back to the States despite still having a second year to play according to his contract (and, yes, he never came back).
In game 5 Panathinaikos had the heaviest lost in recent finals history 73-38. Yes, they scored 38 points in 40 mins...

[albas89]

I've said this many times before, so won't hurt to say it again.  The worst thing you could do when building a team is overpay for guys.  So say hell no to maxing restricted free agents just to challenge the current team to match.  So that mean no to guys like draymond green, denadre jordan, and even jimmy butler.  Doing that will hamstring the organization moving forward.

I get that idea for players like Middleton, Harris and Monroe but Deandre Jordan and Jimmy Butler? These are both easy max deal players.

They might be max players given the current landscape of the league (in that, someone one will pay them the max).  But are they worth it?  Are they stars that are going to carry, at least in part, a franchise?  Not even close.

And paying guys a max salary to guys that cannot produce at that is a recipe for bad cap management IMO because they will inhibit your ability to build.  Nevermind what may happen once they are removed from the current, much better situation.  Worst-case scenario is they completely bomb.  Then you're really stuck.

I think for the C's more than any other team in the league, singing DeAndre Jordan or Jimmy Butler with a max deal should be a no-brainer if given the chance.

The former is the rim protector we haven't had since forever and a rebounding beast and would become the best center in the East right away. Just imagine a defensive lineup of DeAndre, Smart, Bradley and Crowder...
The latter is one of the best young wing players in the league. The guy is a legit LeBron stopper and for that reason alone he should be getting some really good money this off-season. Adding to that, he has improved greatly on offense to the point that he doesn't seem to have a problem being the go-to scorer for a good Bulls team throughout the season. And he's only gonna get better (he's just 25)...

I understand your reasoning, but max contracts are not just for the LeBrons and Kevin Durants of the world. Acquiring either of these 2 players would automatically make the Celtics a HCA team in the East imo...

[chambers]

I've said this many times before, so won't hurt to say it again.  The worst thing you could do when building a team is overpay for guys.  So say hell no to maxing restricted free agents just to challenge the current team to match.  So that mean no to guys like draymond green, denadre jordan, and even jimmy butler.  Doing that will hamstring the organization moving forward.

I get that idea for players like Middleton, Harris and Monroe but Deandre Jordan and Jimmy Butler? These are both easy max deal players.

They might be max players given the current landscape of the league (in that, someone one will pay them the max).  But are they worth it?  Are they stars that are going to carry, at least in part, a franchise?  Not even close.

And paying guys a max salary to guys that cannot produce at that is a recipe for bad cap management IMO because they will inhibit your ability to build.  Nevermind what may happen once they are removed from the current, much better situation.  Worst-case scenario is they completely bomb.  Then you're really stuck.

The cap is going to almost double, so these guys at max deals now are going to be great value in 2 seasons time whilst improving the team.

You could sign 3 guys to $15 million deals and still have $63 million left in 2017.

$14 million in 2017 is the same % of the cap that we paid Jeff Green on his post surgery deal.

[nickagneta]

I've said this many times before, so won't hurt to say it again.  The worst thing you could do when building a team is overpay for guys.  So say hell no to maxing restricted free agents just to challenge the current team to match.  So that mean no to guys like draymond green, denadre jordan, and even jimmy butler.  Doing that will hamstring the organization moving forward.

I get that idea for players like Middleton, Harris and Monroe but Deandre Jordan and Jimmy Butler? These are both easy max deal players.

They might be max players given the current landscape of the league (in that, someone one will pay them the max).  But are they worth it?  Are they stars that are going to carry, at least in part, a franchise?  Not even close.

And paying guys a max salary to guys that cannot produce at that is a recipe for bad cap management IMO because they will inhibit your ability to build.  Nevermind what may happen once they are removed from the current, much better situation.  Worst-case scenario is they completely bomb.  Then you're really stuck.

The cap is going to almost double, so these guys at max deals now are going to be great value in 2 seasons time whilst improving the team.

You could sign 3 guys to $15 million deals and still have $63 million left in 2017.

$14 million in 2017 is the same % of the cap that we paid Jeff Green on his post surgery deal.

TP chambers. Some people just aren't getting this

[hwangjini_1]

Let's not forget that a max deal given out this year will be a major bargain in two to three years when the salary cap could be approaching $95 million. So giving a RFA a max deal now who is young and has only 4 years of service is going to mean getting a tremendous amount of value on the totality of that contract, especially if the player performs up to expectations.

nick, this is a real question by me.

i dont know the details of the upcoming changes, but if you sign a player to a max contract, isnt that a percentage of the total salaries under the cap? if so, then to sign a max deal now at X% simply means that the actual salary balloons under the new cap until it reaches X% of the new cap.

so, for max contracts they would eat up the same percentage of available salary space regardless of the dollar amount now. no? please let me know if i am missing something here.

however, for NON-max players, i think your point is correct. signing them now for $X means savings for a team later on.

[nickagneta]

Let's not forget that a max deal given out this year will be a major bargain in two to three years when the salary cap could be approaching $95 million. So giving a RFA a max deal now who is young and has only 4 years of service is going to mean getting a tremendous amount of value on the totality of that contract, especially if the player performs up to expectations.

nick, this is a real question by me.

i dont know the details of the upcoming changes, but if you sign a player to a max contract, isnt that a percentage of the total salaries under the cap? if so, then to sign a max deal now at X% simply means that the actual salary balloons under the new cap until it reaches X% of the new cap.

so, for max contracts they would eat up the same percentage of available salary space regardless of the dollar amount now. no? please let me know if i am missing something here.

however, for NON-max players, i think your point is correct. signing them now for $X means savings for a team later on.

No. A max contract for a player with 6 years or less service is ~25% of the available cap at the time they sign the contract. So a max contract for Toby Harris for next year would be 25% of $66 million(next year's expected cap) or about $16.5 million the first year with 4.5% raises of the $16.5 million each year for a total 4 year deal of about $68.2 million. Just because the salary cap goes up does not mean the contract is adjusted. It stays at the amount that the max was set on in the year the contract is signed.

So in year 3,  Toby Harris is making $16.5 million plus two years of raises at $725K per year or about $18 million. That same year if the salary cap is at $95 million signing a player with less than7 years experience would cost ~25% of the $95 million or $23.75 million in the first year. That 4 year deal would be about $98 million.

So because the cap rises it devalues the contracts signed under previous salary caps. Toby Harris' contract in 2017 would only be about 20% of the cap when he signed the contract under the auspices of it being 25% of the salary cap at the time he signed it.

Sounds crazy but if Toby Harris thinks he could still be max contract worthy in 2017-18 then his best bet would be to take just a two year max yearly salary this year and when 2017-18 comes along and he is eligible for 30% of the cap as a max contract because he is entering his 7th year, become a free agent and sign a four year max deal then because his yearly salary over the next two years would rise from the $18 million or so he would have made signing a four year deal this year to close to $30 million if he just signs a two year deal and then signed a four year deal.

That's why it would be so important to sign a great young player to a 4 year deal this year because the dollar value of the last three years of the contract will be significantly below the going rate for max level players. By 2017 and 2018 seasons players signing max level contracts for four years this year, if they are worth the contract, will be over $10 million a year bargains as compared to their brethren who sign max deals in 2016 and beyond.

[crimson_stallion]

I've said this many times before, so won't hurt to say it again.  The worst thing you could do when building a team is overpay for guys.  So say hell no to maxing restricted free agents just to challenge the current team to match.  So that mean no to guys like draymond green, denadre jordan, and even jimmy butler.  Doing that will hamstring the organization moving forward.

I get that idea for players like Middleton, Harris and Monroe but Deandre Jordan and Jimmy Butler? These are both easy max deal players.

I don't see how Jordan is worth more money than Monroe. 

Monroe has been putting up consistent 15/9 numbers his entire career while also shooting efficiently from the field.  For a guy who only attempts some 12 field goals a night, those are very nice numbers. 

Jordan has unquestionably had a breakout season this season, but it took him a long time to get there.

I think either Monroe or Jordan is a clear cut max contract guy. 

If Monroe was give more offensive touches on his team (say 16 FGA instead of 12) he has the potential to be a 20 PPG scorer, and he seems to be showing signs of improving defensively.

Monroe has a better chance (I think) of becoming a two-way player, but to be honest either guy would be an awesome score. 

[tarheelsxxiii]

Aldridge is a beast. Do we have enough reason to question whether the Bulls would match an offer for Butler? I would take either or both, but Butler in particular seems worthy of the max imo. He is an animal that fills a pretty big void for us. Really like Bradley, Turner, etc., but this is a guy that would solidify the 2/3 that has been an issue for us in recent years.

We obviously really need a rim-protecting big. No clue where that is going to come from, and doubt it happens this year, but we are starving for one. At this point, I would not mind trading way up in the draft, with all of our assets, to land a big with a bright future.

Towns, or, if we can land WCS (more practical) and get some offensive firepower (e.g., T. Harris, K. Middleton), we could make a little noise in the playoffs next year. Broadly, it seems like the draft is a better option than FA this year at least for Boston.

[greece66]

Aldridge is not walking through that door fans lol
(He prefers SAS)
http://www.poundingtherock.com/2015/5/1/8525177/lamarcus-aldridge-has-spurs-at-the-top-of-the-list-in-free-agency-per?_ga=1.100036509.2066883060.1408565954