Ray wants multi-year extension with C's

[prov1ml34]

I threw out 2 years at $5 mil per season as the absolute high end. Hopefully Danny could negotiate Ray to a smaller figure and I'm thinking Ray may understand and take a "home town" discount so that Danny has the ability to bring in more talent.

Ray would have to look at it like this....Danny pays me $7 million a season and I get to end my career on a 25-30 win team. Or I could take less so that Danny has the ability to bring in young talent to infuse in this team so that I can continue to play for a proverbial contender.

I'm sure Ray is smart enough to be financially sound at this stage in his career so I wouldn't think money would be an issue. On the other hand, both he and I would agree that he is worth more than the vet min.

[kozlodoev]

EDIT: Also, to add another point, the SG position across the league is not particularly strong.  You have two franchise guys but they're over 30 (Wade and Kobe), Ginobili who is not leaving the Spurs and also over 30, two up and coming guys I consider locks for All-Stars down the road (Gordon and Harden) and then steps down from there, some high level talents but all have issues.  I think Ray for the money makes sense, and if we do happen to get a younger player who is better or has potential to be as I said Ray can come off the bench even if he isn't going to start.

Monta Ellis is pretty good, and doesn't have any issues in particular.

[illestmcsgt]

Ray deserves to retire as a Celtic, as long as it doesn't kill our cap space in the future. We should look into extending it to 2-3 years with the last year a team option. I don't want to watch Ray end his career somewhere else. How much is the question and what he/danny thinks is fair they only know.

[Snakehead]

EDIT: Also, to add another point, the SG position across the league is not particularly strong.  You have two franchise guys but they're over 30 (Wade and Kobe), Ginobili who is not leaving the Spurs and also over 30, two up and coming guys I consider locks for All-Stars down the road (Gordon and Harden) and then steps down from there, some high level talents but all have issues.  I think Ray for the money makes sense, and if we do happen to get a younger player who is better or has potential to be as I said Ray can come off the bench even if he isn't going to start.

Monta Ellis is pretty good, and doesn't have any issues in particular.

The Monta Ellis who just got in trouble for sexual harrassment?...

Besides that, he has some issues.  He is not a defender, is undersized, and has had some character questions. All that being said, I would like to watch a Rondo and Monta fast break quite a bit. I think he and Tyreke Evans to me are the next tier below Gordon and Harden though so yeah he is talented but he does have issues.

That's one player though.  My point still stands and Ray would be a great backup to Monta Ellis for $3 mill or so a year.

[BudweiserCeltic]

I'd keep extending our big 3 for as long as it takes. It's all about managing expiring contracts, and length. I really don't give a [dang] about how much they pay them. It'll keep us competitive, it'll be a smoother transition into rebuilding, and I just like to have these guys around the team. There's just something about retiring as a Celtic that I find appealing.

[kozlodoev]

EDIT: Also, to add another point, the SG position across the league is not particularly strong.  You have two franchise guys but they're over 30 (Wade and Kobe), Ginobili who is not leaving the Spurs and also over 30, two up and coming guys I consider locks for All-Stars down the road (Gordon and Harden) and then steps down from there, some high level talents but all have issues.  I think Ray for the money makes sense, and if we do happen to get a younger player who is better or has potential to be as I said Ray can come off the bench even if he isn't going to start.

Monta Ellis is pretty good, and doesn't have any issues in particular.

The Monta Ellis who just got in trouble for sexual harrassment?...

Besides that, he has some issues.  He is not a defender, is undersized, and has had some character questions. All that being said, I would like to watch a Rondo and Monta fast break quite a bit. I think he and Tyreke Evans to me are the next tier below Gordon and Harden though so yeah he is talented but he does have issues.

That's one player though.  My point still stands and Ray would be a great backup to Monta Ellis for $3 mill or so a year.

That sexual harassment charge was a bit bizarro, though I agree he should have known better than to get involved with a club employee. I imagined stuff like trying to bring a gun in a pillowcase to a flight, challenging a teammate to a duel, or starting a major brawl during a game.

I think Evans and Ellis are better than Harden, though both are a bit on the combo guard side.

[slamtheking]

depending on how they do this year, I'd be ok with bringing him back for max 2 years on a total of $5 mill. 

He'd be better off the bench at this point but I could see one more year as a starter.  I don't think Dwight is coming next year and I'd like to see Danny keep as much cap room for the following year when there's a much better crop of FAs, including restricted, that Danny could sign to restock the team.  I'd hate to see Ray be the difference from us getting a really good player because he tied up too much money.

[Snakehead]

EDIT: Also, to add another point, the SG position across the league is not particularly strong.  You have two franchise guys but they're over 30 (Wade and Kobe), Ginobili who is not leaving the Spurs and also over 30, two up and coming guys I consider locks for All-Stars down the road (Gordon and Harden) and then steps down from there, some high level talents but all have issues.  I think Ray for the money makes sense, and if we do happen to get a younger player who is better or has potential to be as I said Ray can come off the bench even if he isn't going to start.

Monta Ellis is pretty good, and doesn't have any issues in particular.

The Monta Ellis who just got in trouble for sexual harrassment?...

Besides that, he has some issues.  He is not a defender, is undersized, and has had some character questions. All that being said, I would like to watch a Rondo and Monta fast break quite a bit. I think he and Tyreke Evans to me are the next tier below Gordon and Harden though so yeah he is talented but he does have issues.

That's one player though.  My point still stands and Ray would be a great backup to Monta Ellis for $3 mill or so a year.

That sexual harassment charge was a bit bizarro, though I agree he should have known better than to get involved with a club employee. I imagined stuff like trying to bring a gun in a pillowcase to a flight, challenging a teammate to a duel, or starting a major brawl during a game.

I think Evans and Ellis are better than Harden, though both are a bit on the combo guard side.

LOL

All of those guys mentioned are kind of combo guards, which may be an issue but maybe not if most of the best SGs in the league are shorter.  Then defensively it won't be as big of an issue for us when matching up.  Strange that it has trended that way but it has.  

In the end I think speed is more important to me anyways (something guys like Monta and Evans certainly have), so it's not a big issue as long as the guy can shoot from range too to balance out Rondo's weakness there.

So we do have some options, but if we don't get those guys there are a couple more I have interest in (Mayo being one) and then some that will be in the league soon (Austin Rivers) and then it drops off quite a bit.  

Point being that Ray still has value (and could maintain status as one of the top 10 at the position) and either way would be great to back up the 2 and 3.

[Jon]

Obviously, it'd be nice to get Ray back at a sensible deal.  However, if we don't get a Howard or another major superstar and Danny wants to wait until 2013 to make a run at the free agent crop, I wouldn't be adverse to offering Ray another 10 million to come back for one year.  I'd rather overpay for a year and maintain that flexibility. 

[Interceptor]

If we miss the FA sweepstakes this offseason, I'm fine giving Ray a big bag of money for 1 year and trying again in 2013. We won't be contenders next year in that scenario, but Ray gets paid and I get to watch my favorite Celtic play for another year.

[chambers]

I think 2 years at $5 mil per year would be suitable

Yikes.  Sure, he might be worth it, but at who's expense?  Those FA's we think are walking through that door?

Not wise to tie up money in an aging complementary player, even a smooth one like Ray.

I don't think that's true at all.  We can argue over the price but everyone would love to play with a guy like Ray Allen as long as the dollar amount is reasonable.  You don't think Miami has been trying to get him away from us for example?

Sure they (and the Knicks) would like Ray, lots of teams would, but the price is a pretty important factor these days.

If Ray will take Eddie House money, sure.  That's either a minimum deal or a fraction of the MLE, not $5M per for multiple years.  And I think 2 years is being generous.

Let's keep in mind what it takes to get Ray those high % and points totals:  a total team committment to get him open (triple staggered screens, Rondo passing - that's the whole team working to get Ray a 20+ft jumper).  It's not like he's getting those 20pts on his own.  The stats are a bit of a mirage.

This is stupid.  If anything, Ray is putting up those percentages DESPITE playing without a point guard who is able to get him the ball when he is open.  Ray's efficiency would be off the charts higher if he was playing for an offense that actually looked for his shots.

Not sure if this is a joke or not?
If it's not a joke- I am completely flabbergasted and you either hate Rondo or don't watch any play off the ball.

If you're joking then, yes I took the bait. Very funny.

[guava_wrench]

Players shouldn't be eligible for multi-year deals past the age of 35.

One year maximum length contracts.

I say let the market decide that.

I think Ray should look for the best deal. He is still extremely productive. It isn't his fault that our window is closing earlier than his career will.

[2dark]

I wont go into this "what is Ray worth in rebuilding team vs in contender", cause I can't stay objective when my favorite player (since UConn days) is in question, but I will state few facts.

NBA is league of overpaid "pieces".

Rays home is in NE, he is taking home discount for sure.

There is no SG will his skillset for the price we re talking about (other top SGs are paid accordinglly, top SG wannabees are overpaid).

The thing is if we end up getting Max contract FA, we will have enough money to sign both Ray and KG on a hommer deals.
If we don't get max FA and go full rebuild mode, it will depend more on Ray than on Cs (weather he will want to chase another few rings with a contender, or build his legacy to the end in Boston, probably earning him self retired number while schooling younglings).

Big Baby is playing for a 6.25 mill/yr, and you want to replace Ray if he asks too much? In either case there is cap limit (upper for contender, low cap treshold for lottery bound teams), and I d rather end up paying $$ for Ray than for some rookie/veteran who is not worth it.

[Celtics4ever]

Right now, Ray is our best player.

[wahz]

They need to get two big time free agents if possible with their cap space and they can't take a chance on using some of it on Ray....as much as he might be worth it.  It there is still some vet minimum type contact still in the new CBA then use that.

Dont forget, two years ago he went 1-20 in the finals.

He killed us at the end of that series but he did go 8 of 11 from 3 in game two to tie it up.