C's and Zeller talking extension

[SHAQATTACK]

I hope we keep him. 

I'm tried of whiners divas ..."the guy plays hard and will be a great backup for a starter Danny wil finally land one day.

[timpiker]

I want to keep him at the right price.  He's a solid back up C and I like him.   Right price?  $6M.

[PhoSita]

I want to keep him at the right price.  He's a solid back up C and I like him.   Right price?  $6M.

Think about it this way -- $6 million is currently around 10% of the cap.  In two years, 10% of the cap will be about $10 million.

Most likely, Zeller will make $8-12 million per year over the length of his next contract.  That's probably a good price for his talents, especially if he continues to be as consistent and healthy as he was last season.

[Big333223]

Given what the cap is doing and how 7-footers are typically paid, I'd be surprised if Zeller got less than $10 mil per year going forward.

[Celts Fan 508]

As most have said he is a solid backup.  I love the way he runs the floor, just outworks everyone it seems.  He's not an overly strong defender or rebounder, but I think Brad brings out the best in him.  I hope he sees that and signs for 4/$28 or 4/$32 to get some meaningful minutes under a coach that appreciates what he brings to the table.

[Hemingway]

I think Ainge is trying to lock up the guys he likes. Besides on the court stuff, not complaining and taking a team friendly deal are a big part of it. Also, Ainge is right in wanting guys that t least have one skill they are top notch at or close to it. He's got AB and Crowder locked up and IT too (though we traded for him.) Zeller has great hands. The time from cathcing the ball clost to the hoop and putting it in is very fast for him. Can't teach that. If Zeller says to himself, F it, I don't care about an extra mil or so, I'd rather be on a team where I'm waned, I think we have something good.

[slamtheking]

he's a decent backup center.  figure 10-12 mill per year.  anyone thinking he'll make less should consider he'll be better paid than both AB and Crowder were because he's a center and those 2 guys are also backup-quality

[chambers]

I think Ainge will end up giving him something like $7.5 million x 4 years.
Gives him security in a crowded back court where he'll probably get less opportunity to showcase his skills before free agency.

I honestly wouldn't wanna give him any more than that. Just preserve that cap as best we can.

In reality Ainge simply won't give him a long term deal unless it's in our favor.
He gets a nice long contract and some security and we get a very tradeable asset.
Win/Win.

[saltlover]

If Zeller is extended this summer, I'd be pretty surprised if he got $10-12 million per year.  Here's why:

Let's assume that Ainge is interested in keeping him long-term, and that Zeller is interested in staying.  That's an easy assumption of they're talking about extensions.  This assumption means that Ainge would make Zeller a qualifying offer, and does not intend on renouncing his bird rights next summer.

However, Ainge is focused on keeping clear as much cap space as possible.  If he sees Zeller as someone remaining on the roster, that's a $6.5 million cap hold.  If he waits until next summer to give Zeller a new contract, Zeller will count $6.5 million while Ainge is using his cap room, and then can go above that number to sign Zeller.  So if Zeller's market value next summer starts at $11 million, and Ainge thinks that's fair, he can wait for a couple of weeks to officially sign Zeller to that amount, for an effective cap room savings of $4.5 million.

Accordingly, if Zeller signs this summer, Ainge will be getting enough of a discount to make cap sense for next summer.  The question is if that discount matches up with the discount Zeller is willing to take for financial certainty.  But I'd be very surprised for Ainge to pay more than $8.5 million in year 1 of a new deal -- in other words, sacrificing no more than about $2 million in future cap space.  A new deal at $8.5 million next season could be for as much as 4 years, $37.8 mil.  I'll round up and say I think that 4 years, $38 million is the largest such an extension goes for, an average value of $9.5 million.  And I wouldn't be surprised if it's a bit less, more in the $34 million range.

[max215]

Given what the cap is doing and how 7-footers are typically paid, I'd be surprised if Zeller got less than $10 mil per year going forward.

I'd be pretty surprised as well. I see him getting 4/50, so $12.5 Million per year (if he goes to RFA). I don't see Danny committing that much money to Zeller.

[SHAQATTACK]

Boston ..fits Zeller

He is not a flashy butt hole .   He is blue collar basketball player .

I think he likes his NBA position as a part time starter / bench player . He is NOT the type like Asik or Kanter to whine because he has to,play behind a star .   Huge plus ...DA can get somebody like Boogie and Zeller is happy to be part of the team.

I predict he stays .

[Smartacus]

Tyler Zeller was heavily recruited by Stevens in high school. Think they'll get this done and could really see Zeller being a lifer.

Bet Stevens would welcome the opportunity to look back on his early years and see the stability of Tyler Zeller.

5 Years - $52 Million - Team Option on the 5th.

[PhoSita]

Stevens has talked about assembling and maintaining "corporate knowledge" on the team.  Establishing continuity.

While it's hard to do that when the team doesn't yet have anything resembling a core group that could form the nucleus of a contender, locking up hard working, solid role players like Jae Crowder, and perhaps soon Tyler Zeller, could really help to keep in place that foundation of "corporate knowledge," even if we don't know who the main stars are going to be when this team is really good again.

[saltlover]

Tyler Zeller was heavily recruited by Stevens in high school. Think they'll get this done and could really see Zeller being a lifer.

Bet Stevens would welcome the opportunity to look back on his early years and see the stability of Tyler Zeller.

5 Years $52 Million Team Option on the 5th.

This deal is against the rules of the CBA for extensions signed off a rookie contract.  If Zeller gets less than a max extension (which is obvious) any deal signed before next July can be for no more than four years, including options.

[Smartacus]

Tyler Zeller was heavily recruited by Stevens in high school. Think they'll get this done and could really see Zeller being a lifer.

Bet Stevens would welcome the opportunity to look back on his early years and see the stability of Tyler Zeller.

5 Years $52 Million Team Option on the 5th.

This deal is against the rules of the CBA for extensions signed off a rookie contract.  If Zeller gets less than a max extension (which is obvious) any deal signed before next July can be for no more than four years, including options.

TP thanks for the clarification, sorry that's the value that I thought he'd be worth if there were no restrictions.

In that case, 4 years $44 with a player option on the 4th. The type of deal that is almost guaranteed to be extended after 3 if he continues on his development path.