Listen to the Audio! He is indeed reffering to be under the cap enough to offer a Max deal!
which is impossible under the current cap rules unless we are renouncing paul pierce and then resigning him for a massive pay cut (like, near the minimum cut).
Wyc's talking out of his behind.
If they don't sign Rondo and Paul Opts out and signs a back loaded 3 or 4 year deal starting at say 14 or 15 million it is possible.
not with a max contract offered its not, you'd have to renounce paul's bird rights to offer the max to someone, and thus we would only have the MLE or minimum contract available between ray, rondo, and paul after this hypothetical max offer.
The reason he wouldn't "expound on how" in the interview is because he doesn't know, IMO.
According to Hoopshype the Celtics are on the books for:
$44,726,729 next offseason.
If Paul opts out of his contract at $21,513,521 the C's fall to
$23,213,208
Pierce resigns at $15, $16, $17 and $18 million with Bird rights now putting the Celtics at
$38,213,208
This gives the C's $18 million under the cap for summer of 2010.
1. you didn't count rondo's qualifing offer cap hold at all (4 million)
2. that still has the problem of leaving about 1 million dollars even to resign every other FA on our roster that year (post max offer). (including paul and rondo, who under this scnario, has not been extended a qualifing offer)
again, He either doesn't know what he's talking about, or we are about to see the end of this era of celtic's basketball and he's looking to move ray, rondo, and paul for short term contracts that come off in 2010.. heck he could keep ray, but he'd have to move paul so he had another contract to expire with ray's, as long as getting rid of rondo now before you let him walk for nothing next year.
EDIT: also, you can't get out of his contract and then use bird rights. In order to max the max offer, you have to renounce those rights in order to lose his cap hold, which means you can't go over cap to sign him via bird rights you no longer have.