Celtics should draft and stash Euro player for salary reasons

[saltlover]

THere's been some talk about drafting a Euro player because they might be good picks this year (I'm partial to Giannis, myself), but I think an even more important reason is to save salary cap space.  Assuming we pay the 16th pick 120% of his slot value (which we have always done), his salary would be $1,703,040.  With every penny appearing to count for next season's cap, drafting a player who could continue to develop in Europe for the next two years would seem to make a lot of fiscal sense.

What do you think?  Should Danny put a premium on a Euro player to save precious cap room?  Or should he draft someone to help next year's squad, regardless of the financial ramifications.

[Lucky17]

BPA.

The #16 is the best pick that Ainge has had since the 2007 Draft. He shouldn't get cute for the sake of next year's cap.

[saltlover]

BPA.

The #16 is the best pick that Ainge has had since the 2007 Draft. He shouldn't get cute for the sake of next year's cap.

I mean, it's easy to say BPA, but the difference between the 14th-18th players, especially when you take into account risk vs. reward, is negligible.  (At least until everyone puts on their hindsight glasses).  Sure, if some top 5 plummets down the board for some reason you do things differently, but in this draft there would seem to be several foreign players who's talent level puts them in the Celtics range.

[Lucky17]

BPA.

The #16 is the best pick that Ainge has had since the 2007 Draft. He shouldn't get cute for the sake of next year's cap.

I mean, it's easy to say BPA, but the difference between the 14th-18th players, especially when you take into account risk vs. reward, is negligible.  (At least until everyone puts on their hindsight glasses).  Sure, if some top 5 plummets down the board for some reason you do things differently, but in this draft there would seem to be several foreign players who's talent level puts them in the Celtics range.

I hear what you're saying.

But if Ainge has two guys on his board, and he takes the 2nd-best one because of cap implications, he's done a disservice to the team.

I'll feel the same way if Ainge passes on the top name on his list because that player plays the same position as [fill in the blank].

Take the top guy on your list, and don't think twice.

[saltlover]

BPA.

The #16 is the best pick that Ainge has had since the 2007 Draft. He shouldn't get cute for the sake of next year's cap.

I mean, it's easy to say BPA, but the difference between the 14th-18th players, especially when you take into account risk vs. reward, is negligible.  (At least until everyone puts on their hindsight glasses).  Sure, if some top 5 plummets down the board for some reason you do things differently, but in this draft there would seem to be several foreign players who's talent level puts them in the Celtics range.

I hear what you're saying.

But if Ainge has two guys on his board, and he takes the 2nd-best one because of cap implications, he's done a disservice to the team.

I'll feel the same way if Ainge passes on the top name on his list because that player plays the same position as [fill in the blank].

Take the top guy on your list, and don't think twice.

I hear what you're saying too, but if that $1.7 mil is the difference between signing a vet who will get rotation minutes, or being able to keep Pierce, I'd rather he take the second guy on his board (assuming they're close, and one isn't a player rated much higher).  I don't care about the luxury tax too much, because as long as you're staying below the apron every year, the bill will never be monumental (I know, not my money).  But the apron-level cap, and the restrictions that come for exceeding it, are very real constraints he has to consider, and ignoring them on draft night could be just as much of a disservice.

[Celtics18]

I'm pretty sure rookie contracts don't count against the cap.  I think it's kind of a moot point.  If he drafts, Giannis, Saric, Schroeder, Gobert, or Noguiera (or another international), I'd like to see him come over right away.

[Galeto]

1.7 million is not going to be the difference.  If everyone returns, they'll going to have no money available except I think the mini-mid-level exception.  If Pierce or KG go, they'll have the mid-level exception.  If both Pierce and KG go, they'll have some cap room but not enough for the max even if they to pay their first round pick this season. 

If Ainge wants to stash a player next season like Giannis, so be it but it's not going to be for financial reasons.

[Galeto]

I'm pretty sure rookie contracts don't count against the cap.  I think it's kind of a moot point.  If he drafts, Giannis, Saric, Schroeder, Gobert, or Noguiera (or another international), I'd like to see him come over right away.

I'm pretty sure they do.  There are so many cap holds built into a team's salary cap.  Draft picks are not exempt.

[saltlover]

I'm pretty sure rookie contracts don't count against the cap.  I think it's kind of a moot point.  If he drafts, Giannis, Saric, Schroeder, Gobert, or Noguiera (or another international), I'd like to see him come over right away.

I'm pretty sure they do.  There are so many cap holds built into a team's salary cap.  Draft picks are not exempt.

Correct.  However, if the player picked has a contract with another team (ie in Europe) then a letter from both him and the Celtics stating that he's going to play in Europe for the season eliminates the hold (and means he can't sign with the Celtics until the following offseason.)

[rondohondo]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tmy5cigYHyo

looks like paul george to me....

[Evantime34]

THere's been some talk about drafting a Euro player because they might be good picks this year (I'm partial to Giannis, myself), but I think an even more important reason is to save salary cap space.  Assuming we pay the 16th pick 120% of his slot value (which we have always done), his salary would be $1,703,040.  With every penny appearing to count for next season's cap, drafting a player who could continue to develop in Europe for the next two years would seem to make a lot of fiscal sense.

What do you think?  Should Danny put a premium on a Euro player to save precious cap room?  Or should he draft someone to help next year's squad, regardless of the financial ramifications.

This is an interesting notion. TP

I think we end up trading Pierce on draft night in a deal that has us taking back less salary than we are sending out, so I don't think our cap number should be a problem.

I prefer euro's in this years draft because to me their upside is higher than the weak american crop

[ManUp]

BPA.

Rookies are tradeable assets and the good ones are cheap production. A good rookie will probably be a lot more beneficial to the team than any veteran we could get at a similar cost. 1.7 is just above the bae and vet minimum and more often then not those guys are bench warmers.

[saltlover]

1.7 million is not going to be the difference.  If everyone returns, they'll going to have no money available except I think the mini-mid-level exception.  If Pierce or KG go, they'll have the mid-level exception.  If both Pierce and KG go, they'll have some cap room but not enough for the max even if they to pay their first round pick this season. 

If Ainge wants to stash a player next season like Giannis, so be it but it's not going to be for financial reasons.

It could be.  $1.7 mil is about the value of two vet min contracts (after league subsidy.)  It's near the difference between the big MLE and the little MLE, and a little bit less than the BAE.  If Miami and Boston are after the same player (Dalbembert maybe?) and we can offer him an extra million or so dollars, because we have enough room under the apron, would it not be worth it?

(Note: if everyone returns except for DJ White, the Celtics may have a little wiggle room to exceed the mini-MLE because the cap is very likely to increase, as it was held artificially low this year because of last year's shortened season.)

[Galeto]

1.7 million is not going to be the difference.  If everyone returns, they'll going to have no money available except I think the mini-mid-level exception.  If Pierce or KG go, they'll have the mid-level exception.  If both Pierce and KG go, they'll have some cap room but not enough for the max even if they to pay their first round pick this season. 

If Ainge wants to stash a player next season like Giannis, so be it but it's not going to be for financial reasons.

It could be.  $1.7 mil is about the value of two vet min contracts (after league subsidy.)  It's near the difference between the big MLE and the little MLE, and a little bit less than the BAE.  If Miami and Boston are after the same player (Dalbembert maybe?) and we can offer him an extra million or so dollars, because we have enough room under the apron, would it not be worth it?

(Note: if everyone returns except for DJ White, the Celtics may have a little wiggle room to exceed the mini-MLE because the cap is very likely to increase, as it was held artificially low this year because of last year's shortened season.)

The reason why 1.7 million won't make any difference is because there is little flexibility with NBA contracts.  If you're under the cap, you don't have any exceptions, only the money under the cap.  If you over the cap, you can use the mid-level so long as you stay under a luxury tax barrier.  If you go beyond the luxury tax barrier, you can use the mini mid-level.  The Celtics aren't just going to have 1.7 million to throw at a free agent if they don't sign their first round pick.

[saltlover]

1.7 million is not going to be the difference.  If everyone returns, they'll going to have no money available except I think the mini-mid-level exception.  If Pierce or KG go, they'll have the mid-level exception.  If both Pierce and KG go, they'll have some cap room but not enough for the max even if they to pay their first round pick this season. 

If Ainge wants to stash a player next season like Giannis, so be it but it's not going to be for financial reasons.

It could be.  $1.7 mil is about the value of two vet min contracts (after league subsidy.)  It's near the difference between the big MLE and the little MLE, and a little bit less than the BAE.  If Miami and Boston are after the same player (Dalbembert maybe?) and we can offer him an extra million or so dollars, because we have enough room under the apron, would it not be worth it?

(Note: if everyone returns except for DJ White, the Celtics may have a little wiggle room to exceed the mini-MLE because the cap is very likely to increase, as it was held artificially low this year because of last year's shortened season.)

The reason why 1.7 million won't make any difference is because there is little flexibility with NBA contracts.  If you're under the cap, you don't have any exceptions, only the money under the cap.  If you over the cap, you can use the mid-level so long as you stay under a luxury tax barrier.  If you go beyond the luxury tax barrier, you can use the mini mid-level.  The Celtics aren't just going to have 1.7 million to throw at a free agent if they don't sign their first round pick.

Supposing they keep Pierce and T-Will, and ditch Shavlik and White, they're right around $74 million for next year with 12 players signed.  The apron level could go up anywhere from $3-6 million next year.  While Danny might not know the exact amount, I bet he's got a very good idea of the exact number.  If it's $3 million (or less), then you're right, that $1.7 million doesn't make a whiff of difference without some significant roster shakeup. But if it's $6 million?  Now that $1.7 million to the draft pick keeps us from offering the full MLE.  Even if it's $5 million, we could offer someone above the mini-MLE, even if it's not the full MLE, which will mean we can offer players more money than the Heat, Lakers, Nets, Knicks, and Bulls, which are a lot of the teams with whom we'd compete for free agents.  $1.7 million isn't a lot in some respects with regards to NBA contracts, but if we're going to be pushing against the wall of the hard cap, it could definitely matter.