Are the Celtics now spending like a mid-market team?

[clover]

So in future years is there a de facto hard cap that isn't driven by the stiffer luxury tax?

If so, how will teams game it?  Will there be a bigger than ever premium on signing players while they are still cheap, so their salaries can be escalated with minimal impact?

Will trade exceptions be a continuing loophole that teams will finagle to get?

Are those well ahead on spending now in a favorable position to perpetuate that into the future?

[droopdog7]

Also, how exactly could the C's spend more besides overpaying their own free agents?  Once you're over the cap, you can only pay your own guys and use exceptions. 

I think this is more a product of KG (and potentially Ray) signing smaller deals than they once had than anything else. 

This is pretty much the answer.  And that magical 74 mil ceiling for signing terry.

But the only way to spend more money is by way overpaying Allen and green and bass.

[clover]

Whatever the reasons, if you've got teams spending up into the $90M's this year and the C's are spending in the low $70M's, I'd say they're currently spending at the mid-market level.

If that will change over time, to me the question is how will it, and what will their strategy be for getting there--if that's what their strategy will be?

Clearly they spent years getting to a position of cap space, but upon arrival it is no longer a significant match for this year's market.  What's more, the C's (Wyc and Danny) sound like they don't believe in targeting that going forward.

So again, what is the new strategy--if there is one?

[ScottHow]

Just because we aren't spending like the Lakers doesn't mean we aren't spending. Aren't we going to be right at the tax line?

[Fafnir]

Whatever the reasons, if you've got teams spending up into the $90M's this year and the C's are spending in the low $70M's, I'd say they're currently spending at the mid-market level.

30 teams

A few teams are high in the luxury tax. (Miami/LA)

The C's only spend 74, that equals mid-market? After spending nearly 5 years at the absolute upper end of the NBA payroll ladder?

[Fafnir]

Just because we aren't spending like the Lakers doesn't mean we aren't spending. Aren't we going to be right at the tax line?

In all odds yes we will be.

[Snakehead]

Whatever the reasons, if you've got teams spending up into the $90M's this year and the C's are spending in the low $70M's, I'd say they're currently spending at the mid-market level.

If that will change over time, to me the question is how will it, and what will their strategy be for getting there--if that's what their strategy will be?

I don't think that's really an accurate way to look at it.

There are these inflated teams now because of the fact that the NBA is in transition.  But being say the 3rd highest payroll doesn't make you midmarket, regardless of any way you want to look at it.

We are going to have a contending team, who cares what the payroll is.  And we are also poised to have possibly the deepest team of the Big Three era, so it seems silly to complain.

[Roy H.]

We don't get terry if we spend over 74mill

Yeah, that's the reason we're capping our spending.  The team could upgrade the team more by spending less.