Dwight says he would listen if Ainge called about him

[nickagneta]

A couple of points.

Once Howard is signed, if signed here getting everyone else that Scooby and some of you others have said can be here will be very tough.

Pierce
Rondo
Bradley
Moore
Johnson
1st rounder
1st rounder

Will make up for about $34 million in salary against a $58 million cap. Bass has a cap hold of nearly $9 million. Jeff Green has a cap hold of $11 million. KG and Ray's cap holds are huge.

To assure being able to fit Howard under the cap in a max contract, every single free agent the Celtics have will need to be renounced meaning we no longer have their Bird rights and all we can offer them is the money available under the cap and then once we reach the cap that new exception the CBA put in this year.

That means $34 million for the above players and about $17 million for Howard and then cap holds of about another $2 million to cover the empty slots yet to be filled.

That leaves $5 million in cap space needed to attempt to bring back Bass(probably looking at $6-8 million starting over 4 years), Green(probably looking at least a $3-6 million make do one year prove it to me contract after such a serious situation), KG, Ray, Stiemsma, Pietrus, Wilcox etc.

In other words, don't expect Bass back. Green maybe but that could be doubtful. KG and Ray will basically have to take vet minimum contracts or wait for the over the cap exception to kick in and see who gets that whole thing.

I just don't see most of these players returning if Howard signs.

[2short]

If getting Howard is going to cripple THE TEAM with his contract then I wouldn't bother.  How many teams in the nba can't put together a contender because they overpay a player?  Get a good center and go after a dominate wing man.  I love the bench group danny has put together.

[kozlodoev]

Jeff Green has a cap hold of $11 million

We voided his contract. He's unrestricted, and therefore has no cap hold on our payroll.

[cman88]

If getting Howard is going to cripple THE TEAM with his contract then I wouldn't bother.  How many teams in the nba can't put together a contender because they overpay a player?  Get a good center and go after a dominate wing man.  I love the bench group danny has put together.

you're talking about the best Center in the nba...we wouldnt be a "complete" team yet. but hes worth going after and putting pieces around him/rondo over the years

Eric Gordon is worth going after as well...his injury history is a concern..but no one seeemd to complain when we were going after Chris paul?!

[Smokeeye123]

If getting Howard is going to cripple THE TEAM with his contract then I wouldn't bother.  How many teams in the nba can't put together a contender because they overpay a player?  Get a good center and go after a dominate wing man.  I love the bench group danny has put together.

Kevin Garnett did the same thing to us and he didn't CRIPPLE our team...We won a championship instantly.

[nickagneta]

Jeff Green has a cap hold of $11 million

We voided his contract. He's unrestricted, and therefore has no cap hold on our payroll.

We still own his Bird rights so I don't think that is correct. We never renounced his Bird rights, I don't believe and so he still counts as a cap hold.

[nickagneta]

If getting Howard is going to cripple THE TEAM with his contract then I wouldn't bother.  How many teams in the nba can't put together a contender because they overpay a player?  Get a good center and go after a dominate wing man.  I love the bench group danny has put together.

Great players win championships not great benchs.

I'ld take Howard and a newly retooled bench over no Howard and our current bench every time.

[Smokeeye123]

If getting Howard is going to cripple THE TEAM with his contract then I wouldn't bother.  How many teams in the nba can't put together a contender because they overpay a player?  Get a good center and go after a dominate wing man.  I love the bench group danny has put together.

Great players win championships not great benchs.

I'ld take Howard and a newly retooled bench over no Howard and our current bench every time.

It's not like our bench is producing much outside of Bass anyways...

[BASS_THUMPER]

oopps wrong thread

[Casperian]

He's just being polite and blowing smoke for the Boston writers.  He has no interest in joining this team.  He probably figures he can't do much with a 35 year old Pierce and a top 10 PG (Rondo).  He's probably right.  The team would need a lot more to be a contender.

Wow! One of the main arguments for the notion that Dwight Howard or other superstars aren't landing in Boston is that they have all expressed no interest in being Celtics.  It's been written so many times that people actually believe that Dwight Howard has said that he doesn't want to be a Celtic.

Now he says that he would consider Boston, and you say that he's just making it up, and he would never want to play here.  This is all based on your intense pessimism about this team, one that I can understand Dwight Howard not sharing.

  Welcome to celticsblog.

Dudes... If Dwight had any serious interest in playing for this team, we'd be one of the handful of teams on his public list of squads he'd accept a trade to. Call it pessimism.  He clearly was blowing smoke for the Boston writer, showing respect for the franchise and keeping his options open.   He wants to be a laker

LOL At you  speaking like fact and you personally know exactly what he wants to do

100 Bucks say he won´t sign with us.

I can´t give you facts which prove that the sky is blue, but I have enough common sense to know it, anyway.

[LarBrd33]

It isn't that Dwight hates Boston.  He made it clear he wants to win.  He probably can't win in Boston unless we trade pierce.  If we signed Dwight, we'd have no money left to give bass, kg, ray or Jeff green. Basically all he'd have would be rondo, 35 year old pierce, a couple late 1st rounders and min contract guys.   Probably not much better than his Orlando team in terms of talent ...

Sure he would answer the call is ainge hypothetically called... But at that point he will pass on the celtics simply because of what we have to surround him with.... Which isn't much.  If it was simply about joining the big 4, we'd have a better shot. Unfortunately 20 mil in cap space doesn't go as far as people think

[beantownboy171]

We are serious, Howard will not sign for Boston.

 He hates the Celtics.

A link to a story? A quote? Any sort of indication that your talking out of any place but your rear end?

[j804]

It just might be Russell in mentoring Howard, getting in his ear about how good he'll look in green. He confirms to KenBergCBS he could see himself playing for the Celtics but he doesn't get into it in the article.  

All of Howard's thoughts and words, taken without context to Orlando's current struggles, read like just another chapter in the best seller co-authored by LeBron James and Carmelo Anthony in the past year and a half. This is how the stars grease the runway out of town in today's NBA, a place that would've horrified the aforementioned Chamberlain and a place that does, in many ways, disgust the great Russell -- who has nonetheless quietly been mentoring Howard for at least a year.

"We talk," Howard said of the 11-time NBA champion, who won all those titles with one team, the Celtics.

Did we mention that, sure, Howard could see himself playing for the Celtics? But that's a chapter for another day.

https://twitter.com/kbergcbs/status/164249084310470659

[GreenFaith1819]

Dwight just needs to stop tap-dancing around here.....whether he realizes it or not, it seems (to me) like this is becoming another "Decision"....maybe not exactly how Lebron did it, but with the media attention, the comments, etc....

I wish he'd just consider his teammates and go from there.

[BballTim]

Will make up for about $34 million in salary against a $58 million cap. Bass has a cap hold of nearly $9 million. Jeff Green has a cap hold of $11 million. KG and Ray's cap holds are huge.

  Just curious, why does a player like Bass have a $9M cap hold? Doesn't he make $4M?