Guys, here's a few thoughts on the off-season with the team's financials in mind.
The Celtics have nine players under contract for 2009-2010: Garnett, Pierce, Ray Allen, Perkins, Scalabrine, Tony Allen, Rondo, Giddens, and Walker. These guys make a combined salary of $69.5M next season.
House has a player option for about $2.9M, which I expect him to exercise. That would put the total at about $72.4M.
The team holds an option on Pruitt for $729K.
Now, given that the expected luxury tax threshold for next season will be about $70M, and with the first 10 players mentioned above already making more than that collectively, I cannot imagine the Celtics picking up this option, and basically committing almost $1.5M to Pruitt when you consider the dollar-for-dollar tax. So, I believe this is it for Pruitt.
Davis and Powe are restricted free agents since both have less than four seasons of service.
Powe, because of his injury, and the fact that he will be out most of next year, will probably play out one of two ways. Either the Celtics renounce him and have his salary come off the cap, or they will use the minimum player salary exception and offer him a one-year contract while he rehabs. I expect they will probably do the latter, given how the team feels about his personal history, then re-evaluate him after the rehab is complete.
Davis' value is harder to estimate, but I don't think it will come to $10M given the economy and the fact that about 15 teams took up the NBA's offer of a loan to cover operating losses. Best case scenario is that he eats up most of the team's mid-level exception of about $5.6M and ends up making something in the neighborhood of Perkin's $4.3M salary next season.
That leaves Marbury and Moore, who are unrestricted free agents. I don't think anyone expects Moore back.
As far as Marbury goes, though, I personally would like to see him play for the Celtics with a full pre-season under his belt. The question is whether he would take less money to stay with the team.
If so, I expect him to take the full bi-annual exception of about $2M and whatever is left over of the mid-level that didn't go to Davis. If not, I expect Ainge to remember what he saw of Lindsey Hunter and Anthony Johnson in the playoffs and spend about half of the bi-annual to sign a veteran point guard (perhaps the selfsame Hunter, Steve Francis, or Jason Williams who wanted to come out of retirement this year). He will likely keep the other half in his pocket with an eye towards players who might be bought out mid-season, ala Moore and Marbury.
So, that leaves two roster spots open vacated by Pruitt and Moore. We definitely need size, but with only $1M left in exceptions and no first round pick next season, I do not know how we will fill this with a quality big man.
The only bargaining chips the team has left are the expiring contracts of Scalabrine and Tony Allen. House will technically have an expiring contract, as will Ray Allen, but I do not expect either to be moved.
The best case scenario is that one or both of Allen and Scalabrine is/are traded for a serviceable big man, leaving up to three roster spots open for which Ainge can scrape the bargain bin.
Pachulia will likely be out of reach financially, as will Rasheed Wallace, Odom, Gooden, Marion, and maybe even Nesterovic and Jeff Foster.
Some free agent big-man bets (with a few SFs) -- old friends Mihm and (I hate to say it) Antoine Walker, Ryan Hollins (loved what he did for Dallas in the playoffs), Brandon Bass (too much of a Powe/Davis clone IMO), McDyess (probably won't sign here given his history with Garnett), Chris Anderson (on whom the team passed in favor of O'Bryant), Jason Collins, Stromile Swift, Sean Marks, Melvin Ely, Chris Wilcox, Joe Smith, Gortat, Grant Hill, Matt Barnes, Garbajosa, Jarron Collins, Millsap (clone, too), and Josh Powell (clone).
Others who are running on fumes or career-long scrubs -- Juwan Howard, Dwayne Jones, Aaron Gray, Lorenzen Wright, Mbenga, Foyle, Fazekas, Brian Skinner, Magloire, Ratliff, La Frentz, Calvin Booth, and Voskuhl.
Topic: Where Do We Go Now? (Celts off season plan) (Read 34477 times)