Contract year for Baby makes for a tough decision for the Celtics.

[ssspence]

When he was a free agent before, the Celtics wanted him so bad they said they'd match any deal.

Link?  I followed the BBD negotiations pretty closely, and I'm pretty confident that that never happened.

Yeah, I know there were rumors that the C's would match a deal up to a certain level, but I don't think it was ever clear how high they would go (not knowing that scared teams off a bit).  Plus, I believe this was all speculation and rumor, not an "on the record" statement by the C's.  

GMs almost alway state / acknowledge that they'll match offers on RFAs -- it's by design to scare other teams out of making offers in the first place.

If I recall correctly, Baby was pretty bitter about the size deal he got from the Cs. And as recently this fall he was complaining about his role.

I like the stability & versatility Davis brings to the front court rotation right now. That said, I don't agree with posters who feel he has a higher ceiling than his current game. When he started in KGs place, he was awful. And I'm not exaggerating when I say that I believe he's the worst rebounder I've ever witnessed in the NBA.

It's a major weakness for the Cs, and he's a large contributor to that weakness. I'd simply not pay a 300 lbs PF more than $3-3.5mil a year if they cannot prove the will to rebound the ball.

[Birdbrain]

Also the C's do value him greatly; he's Doc's choice to finish out games over Perk.  This has been the case since Perk came back and was also true last year.

  Last year Perk played 74% of all of our "clutch minutes" (4th quarter or overtime, less than 5 minutes left, neither team ahead by more than 5 points) and Davis played in 7% of those minutes. It wasn't at all true last year.

Yeah the switch was made because Davis is now an even more effective offensive player with his jumper.  I suspect it will be the case for the rest of the time he's here depending on few match ups that might favor Perkins. 

[Birdbrain]

When he was a free agent before, the Celtics wanted him so bad they said they'd match any deal.

Link?  I followed the BBD negotiations pretty closely, and I'm pretty confident that that never happened.

Yeah, I know there were rumors that the C's would match a deal up to a certain level, but I don't think it was ever clear how high they would go (not knowing that scared teams off a bit).  Plus, I believe this was all speculation and rumor, not an "on the record" statement by the C's. 

GMs almost alway state / acknowledge that they'll match offers on RFAs -- it's by design to scare other teams out of making offers in the first place.

If I recall correctly, Baby was pretty bitter about the size deal he got from the Cs. And as recently this fall he was complaining about his role.

I like the stability & versatility Davis brings to the front court rotation right now. That said, I don't agree with posters who feel he has a higher ceiling than his current game. When he started in KGs place, he was awful. And I'm not exaggerating when I say that I believe he's the worst rebounder I've ever witnessed in the NBA.

It's a major weakness for the Cs, and he's a large contributor to that weakness. I'd simply not pay a 300 lbs PF more than $3-3.5mil a year if they cannot prove the will to rebound the ball.

He was not in any way awful you are exaggerating.

And I disagree with the fact that he can't get better.  In fact his trending in the direction so I think there is more evidence that he will in fact get better. 

Your view is probably clouded by your exaggeration.

[clover]

I don't consider myself a particular Baby fan, so I'm surprised to see only 25%  of the vote agrees with me on playing out his contract, then locking him up.  Maybe that's just because "for a reasonable deal" wasn't tacked on to the end.  Fair enough, that's an important caveat.

[BballTim]

Also the C's do value him greatly; he's Doc's choice to finish out games over Perk.  This has been the case since Perk came back and was also true last year.

  Last year Perk played 74% of all of our "clutch minutes" (4th quarter or overtime, less than 5 minutes left, neither team ahead by more than 5 points) and Davis played in 7% of those minutes. It wasn't at all true last year.

Yeah the switch was made because Davis is now an even more effective offensive player with his jumper.  I suspect it will be the case for the rest of the time he's here depending on few match ups that might favor Perkins. 

  It's possible the switch was made because Perk was out of the lineup with a knee injury.

[mgent]

I voted for the overpay for one year option in case JO isn't good to go.  That's exactly what we should've done with TA (except for two years).  Anyone think TA still would've chosen the Grizzly's 3yr 12mil contract over say a 2yr 12mil contract here?

[Who]

Keep him and let him go at the end of the year if he gets a large multi-year contract offer from someone else.

[ssspence]

When he was a free agent before, the Celtics wanted him so bad they said they'd match any deal.

Link?  I followed the BBD negotiations pretty closely, and I'm pretty confident that that never happened.

Yeah, I know there were rumors that the C's would match a deal up to a certain level, but I don't think it was ever clear how high they would go (not knowing that scared teams off a bit).  Plus, I believe this was all speculation and rumor, not an "on the record" statement by the C's.  

GMs almost alway state / acknowledge that they'll match offers on RFAs -- it's by design to scare other teams out of making offers in the first place.

If I recall correctly, Baby was pretty bitter about the size deal he got from the Cs. And as recently this fall he was complaining about his role.

I like the stability & versatility Davis brings to the front court rotation right now. That said, I don't agree with posters who feel he has a higher ceiling than his current game. When he started in KGs place, he was awful. And I'm not exaggerating when I say that I believe he's the worst rebounder I've ever witnessed in the NBA.

It's a major weakness for the Cs, and he's a large contributor to that weakness. I'd simply not pay a 300 lbs PF more than $3-3.5mil a year if they cannot prove the will to rebound the ball.

He was not in any way awful you are exaggerating.

He's in many ways not very good, most notably rebounding. He's arguably the worst rebounding PF / C in the league.

http://insider.espn.go.com/nba/hollinger/statistics/_/position/pf/sort/reboundRate/page/2

The only PFs in the league who play more minutes but rebound less efficiently are Michael Beasley, Rashard Lewis and Boris Diaw. And contracts being equal, I'd happily trade Glen for any one of those 3 considering the other elements they bring to the table.  

[SalmonAndMashedPotatoes]

Also the C's do value him greatly; he's Doc's choice to finish out games over Perk.  This has been the case since Perk came back and was also true last year.

  Last year Perk played 74% of all of our "clutch minutes" (4th quarter or overtime, less than 5 minutes left, neither team ahead by more than 5 points) and Davis played in 7% of those minutes. It wasn't at all true last year.

That was true in the regular season.  Come playoff time, Perk and Baby equally shared crunch time duties (both played crunch time minutes in 6 games apiece, while Sheed played in the other 2).  

I assume they'll continue to share crunch time duties as long as both stay healthy, with Perk being the defensive crunch time option at center and Baby the offensive option.  As much as I enjoy me some Perk, Baby has seemingly hit more 4th quarter jumpers than anyone on this team this year, even in games where he's been so-so through the first 3 quarters.  He's just a big time, clutch player, and when you play him with the Big 4 he's going to be left open all the time.  

[Roy H.]

By the Gilbert Arenas rule the most Davis could be offered was the MLE. (second round pick in his second year)

I think the rule limits players in Baby's position to the MLE in their first two years but allows up to a max salary in years 3 through 5.

[BballTim]

Also the C's do value him greatly; he's Doc's choice to finish out games over Perk.  This has been the case since Perk came back and was also true last year.

  Last year Perk played 74% of all of our "clutch minutes" (4th quarter or overtime, less than 5 minutes left, neither team ahead by more than 5 points) and Davis played in 7% of those minutes. It wasn't at all true last year.

That was true in the regular season.  Come playoff time, Perk and Baby equally shared crunch time duties (both played crunch time minutes in 6 games apiece, while Sheed played in the other 2).  

I assume they'll continue to share crunch time duties as long as both stay healthy, with Perk being the defensive crunch time option at center and Baby the offensive option.  As much as I enjoy me some Perk, Baby has seemingly hit more 4th quarter jumpers than anyone on this team this year, even in games where he's been so-so through the first 3 quarters.  He's just a big time, clutch player, and when you play him with the Big 4 he's going to be left open all the time.  

  I'd be curious about how many of those 6 games of Baby's were when Perk was either injured or in foul trouble.

[ssspence]

By the Gilbert Arenas rule the most Davis could be offered was the MLE. (second round pick in his second year)

I think the rule limits players in Baby's position to the MLE in their first two years but allows up to a max salary in years 3 through 5.

what's the most the Cs could give Baby next season in a 1 year deal under the current CBA?

[Fan from VT]

By the Gilbert Arenas rule the most Davis could be offered was the MLE. (second round pick in his second year)

I think the rule limits players in Baby's position to the MLE in their first two years but allows up to a max salary in years 3 through 5.

what's the most the Cs could give Baby next season in a 1 year deal under the current CBA?

i believe between 13-14 million or so.

[ssspence]

By the Gilbert Arenas rule the most Davis could be offered was the MLE. (second round pick in his second year)

I think the rule limits players in Baby's position to the MLE in their first two years but allows up to a max salary in years 3 through 5.

what's the most the Cs could give Baby next season in a 1 year deal under the current CBA?

i believe between 13-14 million or so.

they can give him that much of a raise? probably moot considering the lux tax implications...

[Fafnir]

Also the C's do value him greatly; he's Doc's choice to finish out games over Perk.  This has been the case since Perk came back and was also true last year.

  Last year Perk played 74% of all of our "clutch minutes" (4th quarter or overtime, less than 5 minutes left, neither team ahead by more than 5 points) and Davis played in 7% of those minutes. It wasn't at all true last year.

That was true in the regular season.  Come playoff time, Perk and Baby equally shared crunch time duties (both played crunch time minutes in 6 games apiece, while Sheed played in the other 2).  

I assume they'll continue to share crunch time duties as long as both stay healthy, with Perk being the defensive crunch time option at center and Baby the offensive option.  As much as I enjoy me some Perk, Baby has seemingly hit more 4th quarter jumpers than anyone on this team this year, even in games where he's been so-so through the first 3 quarters.  He's just a big time, clutch player, and when you play him with the Big 4 he's going to be left open all the time.  

  I'd be curious about how many of those 6 games of Baby's were when Perk was either injured or in foul trouble.

Go look at popcorn game machine game flows. They'll have all the relevant info.