POLL: What to do with Brandon Bass?

[csfansince60s]

I think that one thing is pretty clear about Brandon Bass: barring an injury, he will NOT exercise his player option to stay next year and will opt out.

The question then becomes, "what do we do?".

Perhaps I am somewhat intoxicated by his performance last night vs the Hawks and therefore not thinking this through rationally, but I think that we should sign him to a multi-year $6-8mil per year deal.

When Bass went down clutching his knee last night vs the Hawks, all I could think of was that the season was over for him and for us as a team and what a waste of an incredible turnaround run by the gutsy Celtic team.

I guess the lynchpin in our BBass decision is what we do with KG, but assuming we keep KG, I think that we should keep Bass.

He plays well with and off KG. He is a gutsy competitor who has proved worthy to be called a Celtic, and his worth was underscored to me last night when he went down and the potential ramifications of a season ending injury to him started to hit home.

Ainge has a tough decision to make. I hope that he keeps him.

[Roy H.]

I voted "too fluid", because we don't know what trade opportunities, etc., we might be able to utilize using our cap space.

That said, I think our best option this off-season is to bring the core of the team back, preferably on one year deals.  I don't know if KG, Bass, or Green will all agree to one year contracts, but if they will, that's my preferred route. 

[jgod213]

I voted "too fluid", because we don't know what trade opportunities, etc., we might be able to utilize using our cap space.

That said, I think our best option this off-season is to bring the core of the team back, preferably on one year deals.  I don't know if KG, Bass, or Green will all agree to one year contracts, but if they will, that's my preferred route.  

KG is just so tough to speculate on.  As fans we always think "our guys" will take a hometown discount, and that frame of mind often tends to be wrong, but KG is such a different breed...

I honestly have a tough time picturing him walking away from the C's for a few million more elsewhere, is that irrational? He just seems like "one of those guys" that you just don't see in modern sports.

Bass, on the other hand - this may be his 1 shot at a lucrative contract.  He's seen it first hand on the Celtics, you never know what can happen to your health/career in the blink of an eye.  I'm not so sure i can see him coming back so i'm going to enjoy that jumpshot while it's here.

EDIT: to answer the question posed, haha, i begrudgingly chose "let him opt out and go."

[wdleehi]

It is either a one year deal or goodbye. 

[dtrader]

I'd love to see him back (even on a moderate multi level deal), but not if his signing somehow effected our ability to resign kg (which I think should be priority #1). I feel confident that Danny could suitably replace bass, Ray, Green, Pietrus, etc, but I don't think a KG replacement exists, and every game now reminds me how little I'd like to see us try. I want KG retiring in green right next to PP.

[j804]

I like Bass as long as it doesn't hurt our chances at a big FA signing in the coming year or so I say keep him 1 year or cheap multi year.

[jgod213]

I like Bass as long as it doesn't hurt our chances at a big FA signing in the coming year or so I say keep him 1 year or cheap multi year.

Yeah but that's the thing, why would BB sign a 1 year deal or a cheap multi year? He's proven that given the right situation he can be an effective starting PF or a super sub. 

He's at the point in his career where this might be his 1 shot at "the contract" that every player looks for.

[wdleehi]

I like Bass as long as it doesn't hurt our chances at a big FA signing in the coming year or so I say keep him 1 year or cheap multi year.

Yeah but that's the thing, why would BB sign a 1 year deal or a cheap multi year? He's proven that given the right situation he can be an effective starting PF or a super sub. 

He's at the point in his career where this might be his 1 shot at "the contract" that every player looks for.

Which is why I think he will be gone. 

[csfansince60s]

I voted "too fluid", because we don't know what trade opportunities, etc., we might be able to utilize using our cap space.

That said, I think our best option this off-season is to bring the core of the team back, preferably on one year deals.  I don't know if KG, Bass, or Green will all agree to one year contracts, but if they will, that's my preferred route. 

The "fluid" option was the most logical for me and that was the reason why I included that as a poll option, even though I voted with my heart for a multi, high off yesterday's BBass performanece.

Can a multi-year deal be structured to be heavily loaded on the front end? Is that allowed by the new CBA? plausible? wise strategically?

[snively]

A lot depends on how the C's brass projects JJJ's physical/defensive development.  I think he's shown he can do most of what Bass does offensively, it's just a question of whether he'll be able to approximate Bass' defensive impact in year 2. 

Ideally, JJJ develops into a rotation caliber defender and becomes eligible for the 20mpg floor-spacing 4 off the bench role that Bass was originally signed to fill.  With that role fill at a rookie scale, the C's could afford to spend some money on a different skill-set at the big position.  Options include point forward types (Odom, AK-47, Diaw), volume scorers (Carl Landry, Michael Beasley), garbage men (Camby, Humphries), defensive specialists (K-Mart, Asik) and/or some of the intriguing amnesty candidates (Tyrus Thomas, Brendan Haywood, Rashard Lewis, Andray Blatche).

[Who]

It is either a one year deal or goodbye. 

+1

[LooseCannon]

Can a multi-year deal be structured to be heavily loaded on the front end? Is that allowed by the new CBA? plausible? wise strategically?

Just like the last CBA, the maximum percentage raise from year-to-year should be the same as the maximum decrease from year-to-year.  You're probably going to see more contracts negotiated with partially guaranteed final years.  Tony Allen didn't re-sign in part because of an unwillingness to fully guaranteed a third year.  I suspect one reason Perkins was traded was that Ainge had decided there was no way he was ever offering any guaranteed fourth-year money.

[the_Bird]

I don't see any chance of Bass coming back on a one-year deal, though.  He's shown just enough (I think) to command a deal that's probably going to be similar to the deal that Baby Davis signed.  I certainly don't see him as a guy that we'd commit any long-term cap space to, though.

Most likely, maybe a sign-and-trade?  Try and get back a decent big man with one year left?

I don't see Bass around after this season, though.  Too weak on the glass.  Too weak a defender; he's still the weak link on that side of the ball.  He does one thing exceptionally well (mid-range jumpers), everything else, he's pretty unremarkable. 

[nickagneta]

The answer has to be "too fluid to know".

This team is one serious injury to one of the Big Three(Rondo, KG, Pierce) from having to completely rethink what they do next year. If any of these guys get hurt and can't be around next year, all bets are off regarding who is staying and who isn't.

Without injuries to major players I think

Rondo, Pierce, Bradley, Johnson and two draft 1st round picks are for sure.

I think Steimsma will be brought back on the cheap.

Then I think everyone else is renounced and the Celtics do everything they can to fit Ray Allen, Kevin Garnett, Jeff Green, Brandon Bass and Mickael Pietrus back on this team with what remains of the salary cap space. 

If Moore looks good in Summer Camp, he might get another vet min salary for a year.

I also think they spend there MMLE on a vet.

Honestly, depending on how things work in the playoffs, is it outlandish to think that every resigned player except Green, gets a two year deal?

[bdm860]

I voted "too fluid", because we don't know what trade opportunities, etc., we might be able to utilize using our cap space.

That said, I think our best option this off-season is to bring the core of the team back, preferably on one year deals.  I don't know if KG, Bass, or Green will all agree to one year contracts, but if they will, that's my preferred route. 

The "fluid" option was the most logical for me and that was the reason why I included that as a poll option, even though I voted with my heart for a multi, high off yesterday's BBass performanece.

Can a multi-year deal be structured to be heavily loaded on the front end? Is that allowed by the new CBA? plausible? wise strategically?

It can be front loaded.  And here's a wild scenario where it could work and we pay Bass All-Star money but the contract is still structured like a role players contract,  if we can bring everyone back, and still have cap room left over, then you can give Bass a huge signing bonus with the cap space. This is what the Thunder did with Nick Collison:

Nick entered this season making $6.75 million in his final year with the Thunder. But after Tuesday night, he'll be making an All-Star level $13.3 million this year with the Thunder. How is that even legal, in a salary cap sense? Well, as Marc Stein reports, the Oklahoma City GM essentially gave him a $6.5-plus signing bonus for this season alone. Signing bonuses usually aren't common in the NBA, because you have to fit any level of payoff (right down to free TVs or ducats) underneath the salary cap. You have to report it, and most teams are perpetually over the salary cap with no space left to offer.

This summer with the potential cap space might be the perfect time to pull a move like this if Bass is looking for a multi year deal.  What is Bass worth?  Just throwing out a number say he gets a $30m/4 year offer (for comparison Glen Davis got $26m/4 years last year, and most us probably thought that was crazy). Well if the C's still had $10m in cap room left they could give Bass a very reasonable $20m/4 year deal (so like $5m per) but throw a $10m signing bonus on top of that.  Obviously Ray and KG (and hopefully Jeff Green) would have to come back very cheap for that to happen, but it or something similar could happen to significantly front load the contract.