Jeff Green's contract and free agents

[btabakin]

With Jeff Green's contract still not officially announced, is it possible that since Danny Ainge couldn't sign and trade for Terry, he is altering the numbers of the Jeff Green contract to free up some more money for this year?

I'm not cap expert so is this possible? Could Danny structure the contract to do something like:

Year 1 5mil
Year 2 7mil
Year 3 9mil
Year 4 11mil player option

or something like that?

This would give the celtics a little more wiggle room to sign a free agent like Courtney Lee.

[celtsfan84]

With Jeff Green's contract still not officially announced, is it possible that since Danny Ainge couldn't sign and trade for Terry, he is altering the numbers of the Jeff Green contract to free up some more money for this year?

I'm not cap expert so is this possible? Could Danny structure the contract to do something like:

Year 1 5mil
Year 2 7mil
Year 3 9mil
Year 4 11mil player option

or something like that?

This would give the celtics a little more wiggle room to sign a free agent like Courtney Lee.

No, the CBA designates a maximum of 7.5% annual raises.  The raises listed are well above that.

[Snakehead]

I know I'm one of the few okay with Green's contract apparently, but can I just say I find it funny that Batum's contract hasn't been criticized by anyone and he's possibly making 4 or 5 mill more a year?

[gar]

Could not figure out what was holding up Green's contract but would not be surprised if he agreed to something like that. 9 mil is pretty steep for someone coming off of heart surgery; but if part of the deal was - we will give you a chance to pick up where you left off if you give us a chance at banner 18 - could make a lot of sense.

[celtsfan84]

Could not figure out what was holding up Green's contract but would not be surprised if he agreed to something like that. 9 mil is pretty steep for someone coming off of heart surgery; but if part of the deal was - we will give you a chance to pick up where you left off if you give us a chance at banner 18 - could make a lot of sense.

Except that the NBA would automatically decline such a contract.  The raises can be 7.5% at most.  A raise from 5 million in Year 1 to 7 million in Year 2 is a 40% raise.  If the Celtics gave that contract to the league office, Jeff Green would probably be forced to sign with another team.

2011 CBA: Five years with 7.5 percent raises for Bird free agents; four years with 4.5 percent raises for other players (including all sign-and-trade transactions). The maximum salaries are the same as the 2005 CBA, except players coming off their rookie scale contracts qualify for the 30 percent maximum if they meet certain criteria. Minimum and rookie scale salaries are frozen near their 2010-11 levels until revenues rise enough that the reduction is proportional to the 12 percent reduction in the overall system.

[anthony83]

I think the contract of Jeff Green is exaggerated, with the money I was signing for Courtney Lee as a center, do not get it, but Jeff Green does not cost 9 million, I think the Celtics are wrong with Jeff Green and his value in the market.

9 millions Jeff Green? Sorry I disagree.

[goCeltics]

Batum career TS% is about 4 points higher, and rebounding number green is ahead by 1 per 48. Green played lots as a four but. Green in his career has a higher scoring rate (19.8 per 48 compared to 18.7)

I'm open minded about green, don't love the signing but his been played out of position most of his career so lets see what he'll produce here

[saltlover]

It's possible that the contract is being held up to give a little wiggle room, but not in the large amounts described.  The contract was initially reported as $9 mil each year for four years.  Perhaps the deal is being unsigned to potentially move $500k or so from one year to another, but probably not much more than that.

More likely, in my opinion, he had a previously scheduled 6-month post-surgery follow-up with the surgeon, which could be occurring this week, since we're just over 6 months past his surgery.  He'd gotten clearance to practice/work out, and there is every expectation that he should be given the all clear after this check-up, but they're just waiting until that occurs to put signatures on the page.

[Dom-n-o]

I gotta say that I was a little surprised by the amount they are paying J. Green.  I never watched him play for OKC, so I never really had any prior knowledge of the guy.  He didn't impress me much once he got here (new guy, new system, etc., etc.).  I was not surprised that they kept him because they seem to value him highly....I just didn't think that they valued him "$9 million per year" highly.

[wdleehi]

I know I'm one of the few okay with Green's contract apparently, but can I just say I find it funny that Batum's contract hasn't been criticized by anyone and he's possibly making 4 or 5 mill more a year?

Just because he got overpayed (a better player with a higher upside) doesn't mean we should be OK with Green being overpayed.

[Snakehead]

I know I'm one of the few okay with Green's contract apparently, but can I just say I find it funny that Batum's contract hasn't been criticized by anyone and he's possibly making 4 or 5 mill more a year?

Just because he got overpayed (a better player with a higher upside) doesn't mean we should be OK with Green being overpayed.

I don't think he's done anything Green hasn't and again: is he 4-5 million better?

Green may be overpayed, but then Batum is OVERPAID.

I've said it before, hard to keep calling players overpaid when the market is the market.  I have to laugh at everyone calling every single big man overpaid.  The contracts might be high but that's the reality of the market.

[BudweiserCeltic]

The problem is that you guys look at "overpaid" as a measure to the player's contribution on the court. A player's value to a team doesn't equal his contribution to the team, and it also ignores the salary cap situation of said team and the implications forgoing an asset in hand, which would be hard, if not impossible to replace in the short term.

Don't know why people keep going bonkers about Green's contract. At the end of the day, is pretty much a non-issue.

What you guys need to understand about Danny Ainge, is that while he may overpay guys, or offer "bad contracts", he's been very good with his exit strategies. And the way I envision it, when Green could potentially become a "problem" for us financial-wise, he should be easily moved.

[saltlover]

I gotta say that I was a little surprised by the amount they are paying J. Green.  I never watched him play for OKC, so I never really had any prior knowledge of the guy.  He didn't impress me much once he got here (new guy, new system, etc., etc.).  I was not surprised that they kept him because they seem to value him highly....I just didn't think that they valued him "$9 million per year" highly.

They were all set to pay him $9 million before the heart condition was found last year.  If the doctor's say it will have no effect on his ability to play basketball, I don't know why people are shocked at the deal.  Clearly the Celtics brass, who are professional basketball evaluators, see a lot that they like.  Could they be wrong?  Sure.  Are they more likely to be right than people on this message board?  Yes.

Furthermore, Green was probably commanding about that on the open market.  As the game becomes more about athleticism and quickness, tall, athletic wing players are in high demand.  They paid him based on what they could afford and what it would take to keep him here.

[Interceptor]

I was OK with a 9M QO last year, because it was for only one year. We weren't under the cap anyway. Paying that much every year for four years is a little tougher to swallow, but that's the going rate, and JG could have signed anywhere he wanted, as an UFA.

[BudweiserCeltic]

I was OK with a 9M QO last year, because it was for only one year. We weren't under the cap anyway. Paying that much every year for four years is a little tougher to swallow, but that's the going rate, and JG could have signed anywhere he wanted, as an UFA.

"We wren't under the cap anyway," that applies to the next few years as well.