Jeff Green - 2nd worst contract of the summer

[Jon]

I totally agree with the general thought that Green is overpaid and that his contract didn't make sense.  I also agree that Boston had a very strange off season that doesn't make a whole lot of sense either.  I really don't get the direction Ainge choose to go by vastly overpaying role players like Green and Bass and by bringing in role players for mid-level or better money Terry and Lee.  Even KG's contract is very strange to me given the size and length.  I really think two and three years from now, Boston is going to be mediocre at best and stuck in cap hell with no way out.  Just a very strange and disappointing off season for me.

I think part of the issue was retaining value.  Remember, this isn't baseball.  We don't get compensation for the loss of free agents.   

Now it remains to be seen whether either lives up to their deals or not; however, they should definitely make the team better in the short term and they both can potentially be part of larger deals later.

So retain the value on a one year deal.  No reason to give Bass or Green anywhere near that money, especially when there was a limited market for each of them.

I'll buy the notion that Danny somewhat overpaid for them.  But I'm certain that if it was as simple as giving them 1 year deals, he would've done that. 

Keep in mind that ridiculous NBA landscape.  Look at the contract that BBD got from Orlando last year. 

[Interceptor]

I'll buy the notion that Danny somewhat overpaid for them.  But I'm certain that if it was as simple as giving them 1 year deals, he would've done that.

Ainge could have had Green for a one-year deal if he wanted to. We would have been in Qualifying Offer territory again this year because the contract from last year was voided. He chose instead to give up the rights and make Green an UFA.

Not entirely sure why, other than for good relations with the agent, but Ainge doesn't do things randomly.

[317]

i dont feel like a 1 year contract can be a bad deal, you can mess up with them but you get a redo the very next off season. maybe it can be 'bad' but by default i would say it cant be worse then any 2+ year contract in which at least 2 years are fully guaranteed.

i would have loved to see a 1 year deal with team and player options for each of the next 3 years. say 9/12/14 for team options and 5/7/10 for the player options. maybe with only 5 million of the last year guaranteed so that we could cut him and not get totally killed on the cap.

[twistedrico14]

I can anyone say he has a bad contract when he hasn't even signed yet???

[Snakehead]

Officially very tired of reading "overpaid" on this forum.  People who say it ignore the realities of the present market and apparently are looking at player values from years ago.

Saying Bass is overpaid now?  No he is appropriately paid.  He was severly underpaid before.

KG at 11 million is not overpaid.

Kaman at 8 million is not overpaid.

I would love for some of you to be GMs in the present market. You'd field a team that would be a laughing stock because you'd let every player walk because you apparently want them all to play for 4 million per year for no longer than 2 years.  You would be fielding the Sacramento Kings. Good luck with that.

[colincb]

Can't say I agree with everything he says, particularly on the "good" contract side of the ledger, but have to agree with his read on the top 5-7 bad contracts.  Love his read on Mayo, who really sucks in my book, and it's pretty tough to argue about Green under the circumstances.  Who were we competing against?

  According to his agent, about 14 teams were looking at Green.

And the question is What claim earned David Falk SI's prestigious 2012 Pinocchio Award for Sports Agents?

  I can't believe that people think that Danny would really call the agent of a player that no team is trying to sign and just offer him a contract like that out of the blue.

And I can't believe David Falk's claim of 14 teams being interested in Jeff Green or his other claim that:

"With the possible exception of Deron Williams, I think that Jeff will probably be the No. 1 unrestricted free agent on the market."

...which was disqualified by the SI judges as being beyond belief of any human capable of understanding that a dime is worth more than a nickel despite its smaller size.

  How many other teams besides the Celts had an interest in Green? How much money and how many years were other teams offering? Which unrestricted free agents besides Deron were more sought after than Green? Enlighten us with your knowledge.

You're the one that put forth his agent's claim as a basis for paying him $9 million, you back it up. Come up with another team that Green's name was linked to in free agency. Shouldn't be tough for the 2nd most sought after free agent in whom 14 teams were interested in.

[ballin]

I'll be honest, I've been pretty disappointed with some the arguments being put forth here.

I've seen a lot of "Contract A is bad, but Contract B is worse, so therefore Contract A is actually pretty good!" Ehm, what???

Let's face it, even most people on this forum think Green was overpaid, at least somewhat. Now if you take off your green goggles and look around, that contract has been pretty much the laughing stock of the rest of the league. I haven't heard a single person say, "man, what a steal by Ainge!"

[SHAQATTACK]

I do eBay alot . Sometimes when I'm interested in a nice item, I don't bid right away and play LOW KEY and wait to see what happens. Then to my chargin,  at the last minute in comes 14 other people and drives the price up on me.

This is sorta what I think happened with JEFF GREEN .  He was being watched heavily by alot of GM's thining they could STEAL him for a song.  Danny was made aware of this competetion for Greens services and suddenly had to either go "ALL IN " to get his contract or just bow out.

I think Green was proballt  TOO important to Dannys master plan , to let him get away. It cost  us , but maybe it will pay off....  fingers crossed.  I suspect KG , Paul , Rondo , ect werw all banking on Green comming back , as well as Danny and Doc.  We were sorta over a barrel.

Danny just did what he had to to secure Jeff Green. 

The NBA "BIDDERS"  just drove the price up on the Celtics.

[Neurotic Guy]

I'll be honest, I've been pretty disappointed with some the arguments being put forth here.

I've seen a lot of "Contract A is bad, but Contract B is worse, so therefore Contract A is actually pretty good!" Ehm, what???

Let's face it, even most people on this forum think Green was overpaid, at least somewhat. Now if you take off your green goggles and look around, that contract has been pretty much the laughing stock of the rest of the league. I haven't heard a single person say, "man, what a steal by Ainge!"

There is a substantial chasm between "Laughing Stock" and "What a Steal".  In between there is "fairly paid" or "Somewht overpaid".  I haven't heard anyone say the contract is a laughing stock.  Just because we haven't heard people say it's a steal doesn't mean it's a laughing stock.

[vinnie]

I am amazed that so many people care about Jeff Green's contract. While overpaid, I say who cares? He will be a tradeable commodity if he plays half-decent basketball, and if he plays better than that, he will be a key contributor for the Celtics.

As for the offseason, I am even more amazed that anyone thinks Ainge had a bad one. Given the limitations, except for the center position, I think he did extremely well. And, as many of you know, I have never been a huge Ainge fan.

[mmmmm]

Something occured to me as I was reading this.  If Green had hole in his heart or whatever the exact medical condition was, is it possible that it was affecting his endurance and overall play (kind of like playing against a little head wind)?

I think Green is going to be fine and will play to his contract over the long term but there certainly is risk.  If the ultimate contract includes an ability to waive the contract if there are future heart problems, suddenly this contract isn't even all that risky.  They may have to include an opt out for him after say two years to balance things.

If this does turn out to be a straight 4 year gauranteed contract, I am still fine with it and I don't think it will turn out to be the worst contract of the year or anything like that.

Insurance.  NBA team's often buy insurance to protect them on bigger contracts.   I would not be surprised if Green's is covered at least to significant portion by the equivalent of a 'disability' insurance policy.   KG's is probably also covered by such, given his age.

That protects the club financially, though the cap hit remains.   However, as I indicated above, there are ways to still move a contract of Green's size.

[mmmmm]

I'll buy the notion that Danny somewhat overpaid for them.  But I'm certain that if it was as simple as giving them 1 year deals, he would've done that.

Ainge could have had Green for a one-year deal if he wanted to. We would have been in Qualifying Offer territory again this year because the contract from last year was voided. He chose instead to give up the rights and make Green an UFA.

Not entirely sure why, other than for good relations with the agent, but Ainge doesn't do things randomly.

Danny needed the roster spot last year so he had to let Green go.  The only other path that might have worked would be if the league might have granted an injury exception.  But that apparently went nowhere.

[ImShakHeIsShaq]

I just don't get how people who don't KNOW any of the parties/factors involved can say that JG is overpaid... what information do any of you have that proves that A) other teams weren't interested or B)that other teams wouldn't have paid him more/same??? I find it hard to believe that ANYONE knows the situation on Green (whether you believe the agent or not) more than Danny! So because you (a fan and in terms of this situation, a nobody), haven't heard about other teams putting feelers out for JG, that MUST mean it didn't happen? Yea, because all of us a so important, nothing happens unless we hear about it  ...

[BballTim]

Can't say I agree with everything he says, particularly on the "good" contract side of the ledger, but have to agree with his read on the top 5-7 bad contracts.  Love his read on Mayo, who really sucks in my book, and it's pretty tough to argue about Green under the circumstances.  Who were we competing against?

  According to his agent, about 14 teams were looking at Green.

And the question is What claim earned David Falk SI's prestigious 2012 Pinocchio Award for Sports Agents?

  I can't believe that people think that Danny would really call the agent of a player that no team is trying to sign and just offer him a contract like that out of the blue.

And I can't believe David Falk's claim of 14 teams being interested in Jeff Green or his other claim that:

"With the possible exception of Deron Williams, I think that Jeff will probably be the No. 1 unrestricted free agent on the market."

...which was disqualified by the SI judges as being beyond belief of any human capable of understanding that a dime is worth more than a nickel despite its smaller size.

  How many other teams besides the Celts had an interest in Green? How much money and how many years were other teams offering? Which unrestricted free agents besides Deron were more sought after than Green? Enlighten us with your knowledge.

You're the one that put forth his agent's claim as a basis for paying him $9 million, you back it up. Come up with another team that Green's name was linked to in free agency. Shouldn't be tough for the 2nd most sought after free agent in whom 14 teams were interested in.

  What I said (According to his agent, about 14 teams were looking at Green) was perfectly correct. I could probably get a link to an article including that. You've been saying that the agent's claim was false. I'm assuming you can somehow substantiate your claim?

[mmmmm]

i dont feel like a 1 year contract can be a bad deal, you can mess up with them but you get a redo the very next off season. maybe it can be 'bad' but by default i would say it cant be worse then any 2+ year contract in which at least 2 years are fully guaranteed.

i would have loved to see a 1 year deal with team and player options for each of the next 3 years. say 9/12/14 for team options and 5/7/10 for the player options. maybe with only 5 million of the last year guaranteed so that we could cut him and not get totally killed on the cap.

The problem with 1 year deals is that they are just plain expensive.

Players quite rightfully want more per year when signing for 1 year deals because they put their bodies at risk. If I'm Joe Player and my choice is 2 years at 6M with one team versus 1 year at 9M with another team, I take the 2 years.  Its more total money.  There is no guarantee I wouldn't get hurt and end my career during either contract.  So I take the biggest guaranteed contract I can get, even if it is less per year.

The net effect is that if you try to assemble a team with 1 year contracts, you have to pay a premium in annual salary.  And then you run into the salary cap and, in our case, the luxury tax hard cap.

If Danny had tried to do that, we would have either ended up way over the LT threshold, which would have cost Wyc a ton of money and made him very grumpy, or Danny would have probably not been able to sign all of Bass, KG, Green, Terry & Lee.

There are exceptions to this, of course.  Established players looking for a ring.  Players looking to re-establish their value in a new situation.  Etc.  But in general, that's the trend:  Short contracts cost more per year than longer ones.