Chad Ford - Top 25 Players to be Dealt

[Who]

Kirk Hinrich or Corey Maggette

A combo guard (PG + SG) or a wing (SG + SF)

A solid all round player or a go-to scorer off the bench

[snively]

I think Hinrich is a better fit than any one available for the MLE.  Our back-up guard play has been our biggest weakness in the last two playoff runs, especially with Ray so hit-and-miss.  House, the best of the bunch, is just too difficult to hide defensively and too streaky to depend on offensively.

Hinrich is great in that he's MLE quality at the 1 and 2, giving the team two back-ups for the price of 1, which not only saves money, but keeps the team from having to trot out 2 bench guards (say Anthony Carter and Raja Bell) in the playoffs.

If we were to get Hinrich, I'd want them to retain Marquis Daniels or someone of similar quality.  By replacing Scal/House/TA/JR Giddens (all non-minimum contracts) money with Hinrich money, I think they could squeeze a little raise for Daniels before filling out the rest of the roster with minimum signings.  I don't think we want Bogans or Carney or Q. Ross as the 8/9 man in our rotation. 

   

My concern with Hinrich is next season and the year after. Not this season. It's the remaining years of his contract.

The concern is the finances and the need to sign a new main backup wing next season. That will be after paying the starting five roughly $61 million (Ray @ $6.5mil) and another $15 million for Wallace and Hinrich. Only seven players and the Celtics are already at $76 million with a likely luxury tax threshold of around $65 million. If the Celtics had minimum contracts throughout the rest of the roster (15 man squad) they'd still be adding another $6.6 million. That would give a payroll of about $100 million after luxury taxes. Oh, and Glen Davis, and a draft pick, minus those two minimum contracts, so another $3.7 million after luxury taxes. $104 million.

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Actually, that's the wrong way to look at it ... or at least misleading by itself

(1) If the Celtics spend their MLE, and I fully expect them too, they'd be adding close to $6 million in salaries anyway. So Hinrich is only $3 million more than that, well doubled to $6 million ... so that's the difference financially.

(2) A Kirk Hinrich + Brad Miller led bench was a formidable combination against the Celts in the playoffs last season. A Rasheed Wallace + Kirk bench would be similarly strong only with more defense from their big man.

With those two playing a large chunk of the minutes and Davis cleaning up the second big man role, the Celtics would only need a 15 minute a night backup at SF. An Ime Udoka or Keith Bogans type. Even with a lesser player like Quinton Ross or Rodney Carney things could work out fairly well.

(3) Can you build a better bench with the MLE to sign a new backup guard and a new backup wing? A better unit than Kirk Hinrich + minimum contract wing + Glen Davis + Rasheed Wallace? The rest of the squad will be filled out with minimum contract players in either situation.

And if the Celtics were to use their MLE on a wing and then to re-sign House for say $2 million. The difference between that and Hinrich + a minimum contract wing closes further ($2mil doubled).

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Then Perkins contract is up in 2011 and will be looking for a large pay rise. But I expect the Celtics to use their MLE anyway so not much difference here (MLE increasing contract, Hinrich decreasing contract, so $1.5mil doubled).

[Brickowski]

Everyone knocks Hinrich, yet every time I see him play he does pretty well.  Myabe he's overpaid, but he's a fundamentally sound player.  I will point out that the Bulls started winning when they inserted him into the starting lineup.