Celtics Off-Season News

[No Nickname]

What's the forecast for the Celtics to eventually dip below the 2nd apron?

Will they be in the same situation exactly one year from now?

[Celtics2021]

What's the forecast for the Celtics to eventually dip below the 2nd apron?

Will they be in the same situation exactly one year from now?

Hopefully they?ll be in the same situation.  Above the second apron means we?ve let our top 6-8 together, below means someone is gone.

[No Nickname]

How about Gallinari?  Sometimes it takes more than 1 season to fully recover from a major knee surgery.

I've thought about him. Wouldn't mind him.

The Gallo of 5 years maybe, not the one I saw playing for the Wizards and the Bucks. He would be a huge liability in our switch all defensive scheme. It's a lot harder to recover from a serious knee injury when you're in your 30s and were never great laterally to begin with.

Just as a general comment, as Celtics2021 said, being above the second apron, we are subject to the following restrictions:

• No access to the taxpayer mid-level exception. These teams can only sign players for the minimum.
• No access to buyout players. If a player's salary at the beginning of a league year is above the non-taxpayer mid-level exception, he cannot sign with a second-apron team if he is waived during that season.
• No aggregating salaries in trades. Basically, you can't trade two $20 million players for a $40 million player, or a $40 million player and a $10 million player for two $25 million players.
• No flexibility in matching salaries through trades. Second-apron teams must send out as much or more money than they are taking back in any trade.
• No giving away cash in trades.
• No sign-and-trading your own players in exchange for other players.
• No trading first-round picks that are seven years away. These picks become "frozen," meaning they cannot be traded, and if a team spends more than two consecutive years above the second apron, those picks automatically move to the end of the first round.

TLDR: If you are a second apron team like us, you're probably stuck with your team, barring minor changes like signing vet min guys. At least for a couple of years, until you make moves to get below it and reset the repeater luxury tax or until your contracts end.

It's great if you're a team like us that won, because it's not a bad idea to be locked in to our team - not good if you're the Suns, where you're locked in to a team that got swept out of the first round. They have virtually no ability to make their team better - they can only basically trade like for like money wise because they can't aggregate, they can't use their MLE, can't sign and trade, can't get buyout players...we are the same but thankfully our team should only need small tweaks here and there.

Thankfully the second apron doesn't preclude us signing extensions with our own players, so we should be able to sign White and Tatum to extensions, or in White's case, if he decides to test free agency we should be able to match offers. As for X and Luke who are both free agents, we could match offers for them if Brad felt they were worth paying extra tax for, since we are already over the second apron anyway.

Is there a list of NBA guys from last season who currently aren't under contract for next year?

I'm assuming these would be the only guys the C's could sign, and only if they signed for the vet minimum?

And how about undrafted free agents?  Only at the vet minimum?

[DefenseWinsChamps]

In an interview Stevens recently did, he commented that he thought there was a drop-off late in this draft because of players returning for NIL money. I wonder what that means for their 2nd round draft pick.

[Celtics2021]

In an interview Stevens recently did, he commented that he thought there was a drop-off late in this draft because of players returning for NIL money. I wonder what that means for their 2nd round draft pick.

Hopefully it means Ulrich Chomche.

[Vermont Green]

How about Gallinari?  Sometimes it takes more than 1 season to fully recover from a major knee surgery.

I've thought about him. Wouldn't mind him.

The Gallo of 5 years maybe, not the one I saw playing for the Wizards and the Bucks. He would be a huge liability in our switch all defensive scheme. It's a lot harder to recover from a serious knee injury when you're in your 30s and were never great laterally to begin with.

Just as a general comment, as Celtics2021 said, being above the second apron, we are subject to the following restrictions:

• No access to the taxpayer mid-level exception. These teams can only sign players for the minimum.
• No access to buyout players. If a player's salary at the beginning of a league year is above the non-taxpayer mid-level exception, he cannot sign with a second-apron team if he is waived during that season.
• No aggregating salaries in trades. Basically, you can't trade two $20 million players for a $40 million player, or a $40 million player and a $10 million player for two $25 million players.
• No flexibility in matching salaries through trades. Second-apron teams must send out as much or more money than they are taking back in any trade.
• No giving away cash in trades.
• No sign-and-trading your own players in exchange for other players.
• No trading first-round picks that are seven years away. These picks become "frozen," meaning they cannot be traded, and if a team spends more than two consecutive years above the second apron, those picks automatically move to the end of the first round.

TLDR: If you are a second apron team like us, you're probably stuck with your team, barring minor changes like signing vet min guys. At least for a couple of years, until you make moves to get below it and reset the repeater luxury tax or until your contracts end.

It's great if you're a team like us that won, because it's not a bad idea to be locked in to our team - not good if you're the Suns, where you're locked in to a team that got swept out of the first round. They have virtually no ability to make their team better - they can only basically trade like for like money wise because they can't aggregate, they can't use their MLE, can't sign and trade, can't get buyout players...we are the same but thankfully our team should only need small tweaks here and there.

Thankfully the second apron doesn't preclude us signing extensions with our own players, so we should be able to sign White and Tatum to extensions, or in White's case, if he decides to test free agency we should be able to match offers. As for X and Luke who are both free agents, we could match offers for them if Brad felt they were worth paying extra tax for, since we are already over the second apron anyway.

Is there a list of NBA guys from last season who currently aren't under contract for next year?

I'm assuming these would be the only guys the C's could sign, and only if they signed for the vet minimum?

And how about undrafted free agents?  Only at the vet minimum?

You can go to Spotrac or probably other sites and they list all FAs.  Then sort by Unrestricted.  That would be a list of potential signings so long as they would accept a Min contract to play in Boston (as that is all we can offer).

There is also a list of players with team or player options that could become UFAs.  I think the deadline for those is Jun 29 so in the next couple of days, there will be a batch of players added to the UFA list.

[Boss_D]

Brad Stevens should consider Andre Drummond.. Would be a big help for Celtics interior defense and rebounding better than Kornet.

[Birdman]

Brad Stevens should consider Andre Drummond.. Would be a big help for Celtics interior defense and rebounding better than Kornet.

I been wanting Andre for years & with Porzingis out 6 month, we need a vet center

[Goldstar88]

Brian Robb: Brad Stevens on Sam Hauser: ?We want him to be here for a long time.? ? via Twitter BrianTRobb


Jared Weiss: Brad Stevens wouldn?t speak directly about trying to re-sign Xavier Tillman and Luke Kornet, but he said, ?There is no doubt we?ll really value continuity in that.? ? via Twitter JaredWeissNBA


Souichi Terada: Brad Stevens on Porzingis: ?Surgery went great. I think the way that it impacts us is just making sure that we have the right amount of bodies for the start of the season. Obviously, he?ll be back at some point in the season.?  ? via Twitter SouichiTerada

[radiohead]

Brad Stevens should consider Andre Drummond.. Would be a big help for Celtics interior defense and rebounding better than Kornet.

I been wanting Andre for years & with Porzingis out 6 month, we need a vet center

Would it be possible to get him for the vet minimum?

[BitterJim]

Brad Stevens should consider Andre Drummond.. Would be a big help for Celtics interior defense and rebounding better than Kornet.

Is there another Andre Drummond in the NBA? Because the one I know isn't good defensively

[RMO]

Brian Robb: Brad Stevens on Sam Hauser: ?We want him to be here for a long time.? ? via Twitter BrianTRobb


Jared Weiss: Brad Stevens wouldn?t speak directly about trying to re-sign Xavier Tillman and Luke Kornet, but he said, ?There is no doubt we?ll really value continuity in that.? ? via Twitter JaredWeissNBA


Souichi Terada: Brad Stevens on Porzingis: ?Surgery went great. I think the way that it impacts us is just making sure that we have the right amount of bodies for the start of the season. Obviously, he?ll be back at some point in the season.?  ? via Twitter SouichiTerada

As I read this quickly the question marks really messed with me.  Subliminally it implied his tone before I recalled the issue with the site.

Had to take a deep breath.

[Phantom255x]

Dare I say... what if the Celtics decided to trade Derrick White? Maybe they think he's peaked as a player, and moving on from him would certainly ease up a lot of the 2nd apron fears and allow them to keep many others like Hauser, Tillman, the draft picks, etc.

I'm NOT in favor of this btw as I'd prefer to just extend White 4/130M as projected, but if the 2nd apron is a real concern then in theory this might be a way to go since Holiday is already extended.

I mean I'm just not sure how it's feasible to keep everyone including Hauser. Unless they are planning to let BOTH Tillman + Kornet walk but that's very risky too. The Hauser news was honestly a bit surprising to me, I thought it was a certainty he wouldn't remain here long term and sign a good 2nd tier contract like G-Will did elsewhere.

[Goldstar88]

Jon Chepkevich: Cleveland State?s Tristan Enaruna has agreed to an Exhibit-10 deal with the Boston Celtics, I?m told. The Dutch forward boasts an NBA-caliber physical/athletic profile at 6?8 ?? w/ a 7?1? wingspan and a 38? max vert. Earned MVP honors at the Portsmouth Invitational Tournament. ? via Twitter JonChep

[celticinorlando]

Dare I say... what if the Celtics decided to trade Derrick White? Maybe they think he's peaked as a player, and moving on from him would certainly ease up a lot of the 2nd apron fears and allow them to keep many others like Hauser, Tillman, the draft picks, etc.

I'm NOT in favor of this btw as I'd prefer to just extend White 4/130M as projected, but if the 2nd apron is a real concern then in theory this might be a way to go since Holiday is already extended.

I mean I'm just not sure how it's feasible to keep everyone including Hauser. Unless they are planning to let BOTH Tillman + Kornet walk but that's very risky too. The Hauser news was honestly a bit surprising to me, I thought it was a certainty he wouldn't remain here long term and sign a good 2nd tier contract like G-Will did elsewhere.

I would rather lose hauser, Kornet and Tillman and keep White. White is essential for this team.