Offseason question about Ray Allen's spot

[housecall]

I would like to see Ray signed for less money if Danny is able to a find bigger,younger,more athletic 2g,and if Ray is willing to except a bench role. He may not want to come off the bench out of pride,and i can't see him as a starter for another few seasons.

[Roy Hobbs]

If the Celtics were to bring back Ray is there a limit to what they can pay him?

There's a limit, but it's 105% of his current max contract of $18,776,860.  In other words, he won't approach that (and it's very doubtful that any team would want to pay him that, even in a sign-and-trade.)

[Roy Hobbs]

Is it possible for a big name to come to the Celtics and get a graduated contract where they sign for five million and gradually have their income go up over a period of five or six years?

I mean, Miami isn't going anywhere. If Wade wants to win a championship, wouldn't he have to take less money somewhere? The guy has to make a ton in endorsements.

Raises are limited to 8% of the first year value of the contract every year.

In terms of Wade, Miami can give him a six year contract (starting at a max value of around $16.5 million in the first year), with raises equal to 10.5% of the first year salary every year. 

Other teams with cap space (i.e., that can fit his entire $16.5 million salary under their cap) can offer a five year deal with raises equal to 8% of the first year salary.

[jdpapa3]

I wouldn't be surprised if Dirk's name was thrown into this FA ring a little more often if Dallas goes down easily to San Antonio.

I think people are underestimating the S&T factor a little bit. A team like Toronto has sort of an advantage where they can hold some cards because of the extra year and subsequent 20 million or so dollars that will come paired with that. I'd definitely shop the league if I were them when you consider that there's a very low chance Bosh will be back in a Raptors uni. Houston has a ton of sign and trade assets in the form of draft picks with a decent chance of becoming home runs.

[gpap]

If I were Danny Ainge, I'd be all-over D-Wade, Lebron, Bosh and Nowitzki like white on rice!

There's not a whole lot that Danny can do to get any of them, though.  A sign-and-trade (of maybe Ray + Rondo + #19) is the only real opportunity, and I can't see that landing any of the major FAs.

Well, I could see a combination of Ray + Perk + a couple draft picks enticing a team, if one of those guys really wanted to come here.

I think the case where it would be most likely would be Joe Johnson.  He would be a good fit here, and Atlanta may want to get value for him, rather than paying him.  Ray would slide right in, and keep them relevant, if not a contender, and Perk would be valuable since they struggle so much against Howard.  And of course there is the possibility that Johnson's (short) experience in Boston was positive, and that he would be interested in returning (a max contract that he may not necessarily get from a team under the cap helps as well).

If Joe Johnson scored as well for the Celtics as he has with the Hawks (vs. the Celtics), I would definitely give up a package of Ray and either Rondo or Perk plus the #19 for him.

[openairmovie]

If nothing else I want Eddie House back instead of Nate "The Great"    what a joke of a trade that   was


I see Ainge re-signing Ray and us running with essentially the same team next year,  Marquis may be gone and we could pick up some MLE

Tony Allen...not sure    part of me says id like to have him back  but another part of me reminds me how often he disappears in the regular season

[Fan from VT]

If I were Danny Ainge, I'd be all-over D-Wade, Lebron, Bosh and Nowitzki like white on rice!

There's not a whole lot that Danny can do to get any of them, though.  A sign-and-trade (of maybe Ray + Rondo + #19) is the only real opportunity, and I can't see that landing any of the major FAs.

Well, I could see a combination of Ray + Perk + a couple draft picks enticing a team, if one of those guys really wanted to come here.

I think the case where it would be most likely would be Joe Johnson.  He would be a good fit here, and Atlanta may want to get value for him, rather than paying him.  Ray would slide right in, and keep them relevant, if not a contender, and Perk would be valuable since they struggle so much against Howard.  And of course there is the possibility that Johnson's (short) experience in Boston was positive, and that he would be interested in returning (a max contract that he may not necessarily get from a team under the cap helps as well).

If Joe Johnson scored as well for the Celtics as he has with the Hawks (vs. the Celtics), I would definitely give up a package of Ray and either Rondo or Perk plus the #19 for him.

boy, leaving a team that's getting over the hill without a point guard or center, either of whom is young, and no draft pick, for a 28 yr old shooting guard to amax deal sets the team backwards i think

[crownsy]

If nothing else I want Eddie House back instead of Nate "The Great"    what a joke of a trade that   was


I see Ainge re-signing Ray and us running with essentially the same team next year,  Marquis may be gone and we could pick up some MLE

Tony Allen...not sure    part of me says id like to have him back  but another part of me reminds me how often he disappears in the regular season

I hate to say this, because i'm a huge eddie house fan, but i don't think it would have mattered.

The way he was shooting and getting beat on defense, I think he would have been right where nate is, out of the playoff rotation.

At least nate can handle and drive the lane. They both shoot a comparable three point percentage, so on the off chance we need a 5th outside shooter at the end of games to pair with ray, finley, pierce and KG, he can do that as well.

At this point in there respective NBA careers, i consider Bill Walker the more valuable chip we traded, not that he would have gotten the playing time he needs to develop here anyway, with our SF rotation.

[Brendan]

I think it will be hard to improve this team much, outside of getting really lucky with Joe Johnson - that's about it, and really that'd be a reach. I could see a S&T with Ray Allen and a couple of throw ins - but once you talk about giving up Perk or Rondo - you improved SG, but by how much? And how do you replace Perk or Rondo? In that scenario is Nate your PG? (And yes Nate is better to have than Eddie. They have Finley to catch and shoot and not play D - and he's better at that and with more size than Eddie. As you see from the rotations - Nate's main purpose is insurance. If Rondo got in foul trouble or injured, Nate is the only guy you can even think about using heavily at PG. Eddie would have been a disaster at PG.)

The Rasheed signing really commits this team to next year. Perk is probably the only guy that could have real value. I think OKC should make a run at him. They could use his no nonsense approach to lock up the middle.

Ray Allen will just be a question of what he'll take to play here. If its a reasonable offer (couple of years, maybe a team option) at 7-10 million per, he'll be resigned. The harder question will be Pierce the year after. To me Pierce is a history guy and would resign with the C's because he's getting high in career totals - but I'm not sure how much of a discount he'll take. I think Danny keeps everything together until he has Pierce resigned - then he can look into blowing the whole thing up with Pierce in the role of Reggie Miller (i.e. the transition veteran.)

As a complete side note - the guy the should move to the bench if they were to move one of the wings would be Pierce. I'm convinced Pierce could be a very rich man's Posey in 08 and that he's more effected by the minutes than Ray Allen is, Ray's conditioning is better and Ray's game seems to result in a lot less physical abuse. I could also see moving KG to the center spot if they moved Perk and could bring in a PF worthy of starting, except I don't think KG goes for it.

[Greenbean]

We would need Red Auerbach in his prime to get any superstar free agents this off season.

[slamtheking]

The main players for next year will remain mostly the same.

In addition to the 6 players already under contract, Ray and TA will be resigned. 

Finley will probably retire but I wouldn't mind him returning.  Nice shooter to have coming off the bench but probably not enough minutes and not really the young, athletic SF we need on the bench.

Daniels, Scal and Shelden will most certainly be gone.  I wouldn't mind Shelden returning but he's shown he's worth more than a vet min deal and I don't think Danny will offer more than that to resign.

Nate would be the question mark.  He's probably looking for more minutes than he'd realistically get behind Rondo and for more $ than Danny probably wants to pay.  I think he's gone.

The two kids Danny signed for summer camp invites would be a surprise to make the team next year.  Maybe the PG will make it as the 3rd stringer--showed he's got some potential.

That gives us our core 8 players back.  Add to that an MLE player (most likely the athletic 3 we need), a couple of vet min fillers and their 1st and 2nd round picks, that'll be the team next year.

So hold on for this playoff ride.  This'll be our best shot for the next few years unless Danny strikes gold late in the next couple of drafts.

[openairmovie]

If nothing else I want Eddie House back instead of Nate "The Great"    what a joke of a trade that   was


I see Ainge re-signing Ray and us running with essentially the same team next year,  Marquis may be gone and we could pick up some MLE

Tony Allen...not sure    part of me says id like to have him back  but another part of me reminds me how often he disappears in the regular season

I hate to say this, because i'm a huge eddie house fan, but i don't think it would have mattered.

The way he was shooting and getting beat on defense, I think he would have been right where nate is, out of the playoff rotation.

At least nate can handle and drive the lane. They both shoot a comparable three point percentage, so on the off chance we need a 5th outside shooter at the end of games to pair with ray, finley, pierce and KG, he can do that as well.

At this point in there respective NBA careers, i consider Bill Walker the more valuable chip we traded, not that he would have gotten the playing time he needs to develop here anyway, with our SF rotation.

Im with you 100% that walker was the more valuable piece...but for what Nate has given the team  I'd rather Eddie back    we traded away a young gun and fan favorite for a guy thats seeing no minutes in the playoffs  and will leave the team at the end of this year.  I've accepted the fact that we wont ever get Walker back given how he performed in NY ,  but theres still a chance to fix at least half of the mistake this offseason. Even if Eddie sees no time,  he was part of that bond w/ this team   he was part of the leadership this team had. 

[Witch-King]

I would have to agree with earlier comments concerning a preference for Eddie House rather than Nate, though for me it comes down to what each player is able to offer in the post-season.

While it is obviously Doc's call as to who is in our rotation come playoff time even if Nate was getting minutes there is almost no way that I'd be more comfortable seeing him come off of the bench instead of Eddie House. Not trying to hate on Nate Robinson or anything, I just question whether he'd be able to immediately adapt and be able to make positive contributions for us in a playoff series, is all.

[gpap]

The main players for next year will remain mostly the same.

In addition to the 6 players already under contract, Ray and TA will be resigned. 

Finley will probably retire but I wouldn't mind him returning.  Nice shooter to have coming off the bench but probably not enough minutes and not really the young, athletic SF we need on the bench.

Daniels, Scal and Shelden will most certainly be gone.  I wouldn't mind Shelden returning but he's shown he's worth more than a vet min deal and I don't think Danny will offer more than that to resign.

Nate would be the question mark.  He's probably looking for more minutes than he'd realistically get behind Rondo and for more $ than Danny probably wants to pay.  I think he's gone.

The two kids Danny signed for summer camp invites would be a surprise to make the team next year.  Maybe the PG will make it as the 3rd stringer--showed he's got some potential.

That gives us our core 8 players back.  Add to that an MLE player (most likely the athletic 3 we need), a couple of vet min fillers and their 1st and 2nd round picks, that'll be the team next year.

So hold on for this playoff ride.  This'll be our best shot for the next few years unless Danny strikes gold late in the next couple of drafts.

I don't agree. I know personally as a fan, I won't stand for Danny Ainge operating under the status quo direction the next couple years and not doing anything.

I think at the very least, Danny uses the MLE and lower level MLE to get a couple decent big men and a decent SG if Ray Ray leaves.

If the team just stays inactive and accepts second-best, I will move onto something else.

[Mr October]

I would like to see Ray signed for less money if Danny is able to a find bigger,younger,more athletic 2g,and if Ray is willing to except a bench role. He may not want to come off the bench out of pride,and i can't see him as a starter for another few seasons.

I still consider Ray Allen to be in the top 10, top 15 of all shooting guards. Finding someone that can surpass him right away for the MLE or whatever is perhaps too high of a task.

I see Ray continuing to punish people with his great stamina, 3 point stroke, and versatile scoring ability for a few more years. He is easily aging the best out of the big 3, despite being the oldest of them.

Definitely the C's need to find a young wing with starter potential, but I don't think this unnamed player needs to be forced into the starting line up. Make him earn it.