Maggette says he could be willing to take pay cut to come to Boston

[rondohondo]

This morning on WEEI  on the Dale and Holly show, Dale made a very good point. The cltics MUST have offered Maggette a longer deal then James Posey because Posey would have signed a 4 yea full MLE . So does this upset James Posey knowing that the organization offered Maggette a longer deal after he helped them win it all ? I would think so....

So if James is p---ed off and Maggette wants to be a starter somewhere else, we kind of screwed ourselves......

[BCelts]

It is all a matter of perspective.  For the guy with no money, $1,000 is a fortune.  For the guy making $50,000, $10,000 is a hugh amount of money.  For the guy making $500,000, $100,000 is a fortune, and so on.  Just because these guys are on a different scale of salary than I am does not mean that they don't sweat the 250,000 difference or so in state taxes.  I think they do.

That said, you have a strong point.  First, there are those guys that care more about winning than others, and will take a pay cut to win.  Is Maggette one of them?   I don't know.  Also, there is more money in winning.  If you team wins, you are more valuable the next year, rightly or wrongly.  
[/quote]

Is food more expensive if you make a million
than if you make 100,000? That's kinda silly.
Sorry, that's just how I feel. If you have the
right decision makers (i.e. agents etc) at your
side, you should be able to make it last.
I'm stressing "should" here.
[/quote]

Food is more expensive if you make millions.  Those with bunches of money tend to eat at fancier establishments that cost more.  Regardless, I understand your point of view.  From the perspective of about 99% of the people posting here, $5m is a bunch of money.  For others with multi-millons, it does not seem as much.  Rightly or wrongly (wrongly from my point of view) the NBA players have quite expensive lifestyles that involve spending millions per year.  Since they are not going to be able to play forever, if they want to maintain a million-per-year lifestyle, they have to make tons of money now.  While I also don't agree with it, I understand the mind-set of why many NBA players are all about the money now.  While we might not care much about the difference between $5 and $6 million - seeing it as butt load of money regardless - the NBA players don't see it as nearly as much of a windfall, and are probably far more sensitive to the difference.

[dooyork]

This morning on WEEI  on the Dale and Holly show, Dale made a very good point. The cltics MUST have offered Maggette a longer deal then James Posey because Posey would have signed a 4 yea full MLE . So does this upset James Posey knowing that the organization offered Maggette a longer deal after he helped them win it all ? I would think so....

So if James is ****ed off and Maggette wants to be a starter somewhere else, we kind of screwed ourselves......

Agreed.  The Celtics just won the championship.  Without Posey they would not have won it.  This is not brain surgery.  What are they thinking?  Is management so used to being in perpetual rebuilding mode that the only offseason mindset is "change it up"?  Hello, you built a championship team!  It worked!  This group of guys worked together!  Don't change it!!!  Grrrrr...

[Who]

I didn't think money (since he was renounced) was going to be the deciding issue as much as playing time and opportunities to be the player he is. Teams like Orlando and several others can offer more of that.

[Brendan]

Agreed.  The Celtics just won the championship.  Without Posey they would not have won it.  This is not brain surgery.  What are they thinking?  Is management so used to being in perpetual rebuilding mode that the only offseason mindset is "change it up"?  Hello, you built a championship team!  It worked!  This group of guys worked together!  Don't change it!!!  Grrrrr...

1. Very few championships teams just bring the same top-9 back and repeat.
2. Sure we don't win if you just take Posey out, but what if you take Posey out and replace him with Player X. The marginal downgrade is not as bad as the absolute.
3. Posey is also not in a position to get the money (nor have the second ring) he will if he signs with NJ instead of BOS last year, its a two way street.

As for Maggette, if Ainge could explain to him how he'll get to play starter minutes, and how as the primary scorer for a lot of his time in his numbers won't go down, and structure the contract in a way that gives Corey the opportunity to try out FA after polishing his resume, then maybe he comes here. I think ORL is the best fit, but if he goes there, they should look to upgrade from Turk to a big who can play next to Howard.

[BCelts]

I didn't think money (since he was renounced) was going to be the deciding issue as much as playing time and opportunities to be the player he is. Teams like Orlando and several others can offer more of that.

Perhaps there is slightly more pt in Orlando, plus the possibility of starting.  But that has to be weighed against which team offers the best chance of winning it all.  I think there is no argument that the team with the best chance of winning it all next year, based on last year's performance, is us.  (BTW, I really enjoyed typing that sentence.)

[galen]

As much as I love Poz, I just want to point out that Maggette is a much better offensive player, with a higher FG%, very comparable 3pt% and a much higher career 16ppg over poz 9.  Just looking at the past season, his numbers are even better in relation to posey.  He also has a slashing game that posey just doesn't have.  I think we lose a good amount of leadership, plus some D, but I can only imagine the improvement maggette might make on defensive end playing with the Celtics.

I think we'll be doing great with either one of them.  He would not start in Orlando either imo, unless you move Lewis to the 4, which i'm not sure i want to do if i'm Orlando

[the_Bird]

I'd rather they bring back Posey, in large part because he's better at playing some backup minutes at the 4 than either Pierce or Maggette.  I have a hard time seeing how Allen, Pierce, and Corey can be on the court at the same time.

Why I'm INTERESTED in bring aboard Maggette...

If you assume that Powe (or BBD, or someone we'd sign) could handle the backup 4 spot, and Maggette was willing to play ~25 minutes a night, two things you could do:

1. Curb Pierce and Allen's minutes to 30-32ish each most nights, keep them fresh for these 100-game seasons we're expecting,

2. Potentially do something interesting with Ray Allen in a trade in 12 months.  Pierce and Maggette are somewhat duplicative, but you could play both of them together.  You could get something of real value for Ray Allen (Camby?), perhaps moreso in 12 months when he's officially an Expiring Contract.  It would give them some more flexibility next summer.

I'd still rather see Posey come back, but Maggette intrigues me.  But, I tend to think that Corey would be a much better fit in San Antonio, and I think he'd really make them the team to beat again out West.  He'd be a huge improvement over Michael Finley's corpse and what's left of Bruce Bowen.  He's start at the 3 and be a nice, strong complement, a poor-man's Pierce to complement the slashing of Parker and Ginoboli.  All things being equal, I think he'd be better off in San Antonio, and I think he's an excellent fit for them - all of this assuming he stays healthy.

[Who]

I just want to point out that Maggette is a much ...... very comparable 3pt%

Just on his 3pt% alone

I'm not sure how much I trust Corey to repeat last year's number of 39%. The year before he shot 20% from three. For his career he was around 31% prior to this season.

Maybe he has improved greatly
Maybe he was a one hit wonder

I'm not sure

[MBunge]

This morning on WEEI  on the Dale and Holly show, Dale made a very good point. The cltics MUST have offered Maggette a longer deal then James Posey because Posey would have signed a 4 yea full MLE . So does this upset James Posey knowing that the organization offered Maggette a longer deal after he helped them win it all ? I would think so....

So if James is ****ed off and Maggette wants to be a starter somewhere else, we kind of screwed ourselves......

Why would Maggette WANT a 4 year MLE deal?  He's clearly worth far more than that but is just getting squeezed because of the particular situation this off season.  If Maggette signs with someone for the MLE, it will almost certainly be a Posey-like 1 year with a player option.

I would hope that Posey's enough of a pro to recognize, and that Ainge has made it clear, that Maggette is really the fallback position in case Pose walks for more money elsewhere.

In the short run, I think the Spurs and Orlando might look better to Maggette because they can make him a starter.  But with Ray's expiring contract, Boston is better positioned to resign him to a big money deal down the line.  I think it'll come down to Maggette choosing to go back on the market next season or looking for some long term stability.

Mike

[LB3533]

Maggette could use the Celtics interest in him to drive up his own value.

He'd get paid and start for a playoff team...everything he dreamed of having.

[BCelts]

Maggette could use the Celtics interest in him to drive up his own value.

He'd get paid and start for a playoff team...everything he dreamed of having.

As has been written a few time above, unless Philly, Memphis, or Charlotte sign Maggette, the NBA salary cap rules prevent him from earning, this year, more than the MLE.  It is not possible for him to get paid more than the MLE and start for a playoff team this year.

[LarBrd33]

I just want to say that I love Posey and thought he was a terrific help to our team.  He hit a bunch of key three pointers, was a main "glue guy" and is known as a tough defensive player.    But some people have mentioned some things about Posey's defense not really being that great last year.   He definitely didn't seem to play better defense on Kobe/LeBron than Pierce and Ray did.  I think Posey is a valuable guy to this team, but here is my opinion...

The full MLE over multiple years would be overpaying Posey.

The full MLE over multiple years would be underpaying Maggette. 

If I had to pick I think I'd go with Maggette.  I hate the idea of messing with our chemistry, but I think Maggette is a superior player and would just be giving Ainge another big asset to play with. 

Ideally I'd sign Maggette to the full MLE and hope Posey would take a smaller contract.  Someone mentioned that the most we could offer Posey without offering the MLE would be like 5 years 22 mil. 

[P2]

Money isn't a problem now if we want to get Maggette (as the Clippers are the only team able to offer him more than the MLE). It's the minutes. He would instantly be the starter on the Spurs and Lakers, but would only be a backup here. But I agree with another poster, if you cut down their minutes to 30-32 MPG, Maggette could very well play more than 25 minutes, which is still 10 minutes short of what we would get on teams where he would be the starter.

BUT, we would expect him to be a scorer off the bench, basically the primary option, which I think he definitely likes. In addition, he would be going to the World Champions who rely on his services, which would be a confidence booster, and also he would have the best chance at winning the title. He said he felt like it was an honor that the C's called him. So we'll see.

If the two options are signing either Maggette or Posey to the full MLE with 4 or more years years, you definitely have to go with Maggette, who would only be 32 at the end of this contract, compared to Posey, who is 32 in January 2009. That factor alone wouldn't let me think twice.

[FLCeltsFan]

He is willing to take a pay cut to go to a contender. Reports are that the Spurs are making him a good offer. If what matters now is truly getting a ring,  he needs to decide which of those teams has the best shot at winning the championship and go with them, no matter what the offer is. And if getting a ring is that important to him, he needs to decide if he can sacrifice minutes and starting for the good of the team as the other Celtics did last season.   For most free agents, it will come down to how much is a ring worth.