The 2017/2018 Boston Celtics Regular season thread

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mcpickl

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Why would the Celtics want Okafor? He doesn't defend or rebound.


Assuming @JahlilOkafor did get a buyout, the #Celtics would be the most likely destination for the center.
If Philly would just basically give Okafor for next to nothing to the Celtics to absorb into the DPE, I'd do it for two reasons.

1. The outside chance the Celtics coaches could rebuild his value from nothing to less than nothing.

2. Giving the Celtics more options for the DPE. The exception can only be used for one guy on a one year deal. If you use it on Okafor, his expiring salary could be flipped later for a guy on a multi-year deal or combined with other contracts closer to the deadline to land a bigger salaried player if necessary.

Unless they believe the guy would be an off court issue, in that case forget it.
 

Big John

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So let's take the theoretical best case: Stevens rebuilds his value. So some other team offers Okafor $10M in July and you've just given a competitor free player development unless you match.

When you are paying a combined $80M to three players (as the Celtics will be in 2018-19) it limits options. And that's before the cost of Kyrie's next deal.
 
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mcpickl

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So let's take the theoretical best case: Stevens rebuilds his value. So some other team offers Okafor $10M in July and you've just given a competitor free player development unless you match.

When you are paying a combined $80M to three players (as the Celtics will be in 2018-19) it limits options. And that's before the cost of Kyrie's next deal.
I didn't suggest re-signing Okafor.

If Stevens rebuilds his value, he's a trade asset at the deadline. If he doesn't, he's salary ballast to make a trade at the deadline.

I couldn't care less who signs him next summer.
 

Big John

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Yes, anyone they sign with the DPE is a short-term play.

The trade deadline is Feb 8 this year. So if Ainge acquired Okafor tomorrow that gives Stevens approximately two months to perfume the pig. Meanwhile, he may be jeopardizing playoff seeding by giving minutes to Okafor instead of to better players (e.g. Theis). And who knows what will be available at the deadline?
 

mcpickl

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I have faith Stevens wouldn't just gift Okafor important minutes that would jeopardize the Celtics playoff seeding. He'd have to earn minutes like everyone else does.

I might have more faith in the Celtics coaching/organization than you do.
 

Big John

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I have faith in Stevens but not in Okafor. I have more faith in Ojeleye and Yabusele than I do in Okafor.

I'd rather wait for a player like Chandler or Dudley to get bought out (which may not happen until after Feb. 8) to use the DPE. One of those guys might actually help win a playoff game.
 

Eddie Jurak

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I think Ainge will use the DPE (it's an asset, and we know how Danny feels about those), but not anytime soon.

As of now, the team has no major need that could be addressed via the DPE. A need may develop over the course of the season, via injury or just roster limitations that emerge as the season goes on. It would make very little sense to spend the DPE now, on a deep depth/project type player, only to see a key guy get hurt a month down the road.

The smart play is to hold the exception until later in the season and then maybe add a veteran buyout. If they decide that a flyer on Okafor makes sense, fine, but he'll be available all season long, no need to rush in and grab him now.
 

mcpickl

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I think it's more likely that Okafor becomes an asset you can use to flip, either because they raise his value or just to use as salary, then it is you'd lose out on a buyout guy because you only have the minimum to offer rather than your DPE.

I'd much rather have more options available to me with a contract I could trade than an exception I can only use in a very limited way.

Even if Okafor tore his ACL today and was ruled out for the season, I'd take him back for free into the DPE just for the options to trade his expiring contract. Wyc probably wouldn't like the extra salary added, but I think it would give the Celtics more avenues to eventually acquire a better player than the DPE.
 

lexrageorge

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I tend to doubt Okafor's $5M expiring deal has that much value. It's unlikely to make much difference for a team trying to get under the cap next season, and the Celtics are unlikely to be big players in the February trade market to the point where that salary is the difference between landing Anthony Davis.

They're not going to land a superstar with the DPE. But they still have a chance of landing a useful playoff rotation player during the buyout season, which is a better use of resources than trying to work in a big time draft bust with an attitude problem.
 

Eddie Jurak

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OK. I think that if a free agent is signed during the season, he cannot be traded for three months.

The NBA trade deadline is February 8. Three months before Feb 8 is November 8, a few days from now.

So, here is a possibility:

Tomorrow, the Celtics sign a free agent to a 1 year, $8.4 million deal. Could be anyone, I'll just call him... Joe Kleine. At the deadline, Danny can include Kleine in a deal for salary matching purposes.

Guys the Celtics could conceivably include in a trade (I don't see them trading anyone else on the team in a deadline deal):

Marcus Morris: $5.0
Guerschon: $2.2
Larkin: $1.5
Nader: $1.2

If they traded ALL of them, that adds up to $9.9 million. Add in Kleine's $8.4, and you have a total of $18.3. If they ship out $18.3 in salary, they can acquire an excess of 25%, for a total of $22.8.

So... Danny could use the disabled player exception to, theorectically, acquire a player making up to $22.8 million at the deadline.

Of course he'd have to throw in picks and he's probably limited to players with expiring deals to aviod messing up the future cap situation.

But... it's an option.
 

nighthob

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This team is going to be a beast next year with Hayward back, Tatum filling out, and Brown going into his third season.
 

DeJesus Built My Hotrod

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This team is going to be a beast next year with Hayward back, Tatum filling out, and Brown going into his third season.
You are forgetting about Semi Ojeleye too. He has looked NBA ready thus far and more seasoning is only going to hone his game. Right now, him and Jordan Bell are looking like the steals of the draft.
 

Eddie Jurak

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Encouraging win over OKC.

Just a terrible first half in which only Jayson Tatum prevented a blowout (kind of the way Jaylen did in game 1 after the Hayward injury). Then an incredible second half featuring excellent work from Kyrie, Al, Jaylen, Morris, and Semi Ojeleye sticking a pivotal three.
 

wade boggs chicken dinner

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This team is going to be a beast next year with Hayward back, Tatum filling out, and Brown going into his third season.
They are going to miss Smart however.

Morris is going to be good for them. Liked that Brad saw that Tatum was trying to do too much and was able to put Morris out for most of the 4Q. Really like the Al / Morris / Brown / Irving / Smart crunch time lineup. That's a really versatile lineup.

It's amazing how much of a "make or miss" league it really is. BOS didn't shoot well in the 1st half; Thunder got out in transition and scored 55 points. BOS makes a few buckets in the 2nd half; Thunder has to play in the half court and the Cs hold them to 39.
 

DJnVa

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https://www.cbssports.com/nba/news/kyrie-irvings-bold-move-to-leave-lebron-cavs-is-working-out-well-for-him-celtics/

In terms of official "clutch" stats -- defined as NBA.com/stats as the game being within five points with five minutes or less remaining -- Irving is excelling.

Irving's 28 points in those situations this season are second only to Damian Lillard, and of the five players with the most "clutch" points this season, Irving has played by far the least amount of "clutch" minutes. He's done his work in just 18 "clutch" minutes, while everyone else in the top five has played at least 26 such minutes. In addition, he's shooting an efficient 52.4 percent in "clutch" situations.
 

Imbricus

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Maine Red Claws played last night (is this the right thread for this, I didn't see a G league thread?). Bird had 23 (9-21) and Allen 21 (6-14). Andrew White had the big game, coming off the bench: 37 points (13-21). Nothing much special that I saw in the box score (Allen did have 4 steals), though of course White had a nice game. He's an unrestricted free agent now.
 

nighthob

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They are going to miss Smart however.
Smart’s not going anywhere. I know HRB likes to beat the dead horse about Ainge “Never re-signing roleplayers!!!” except that they pretty well nearly always do re-sign guys coming off rookie deals unless they’re Mia Khalifa sized busts (Young) or they need to drop the salary for a free agent signing (K-Rex).

If there has been one great truth of Ainge’s leadership it’s that Red was 100% right about him, he has a charmed life. In this case Smart’s hitting restricted free agency at the worst possible time for him. A summer where there aren’t a lot of teams with money and they’re all going to be loading for much bigger game than an NBA sixth man.

Smart’s basically Ron Artest’s minime and Artest never got a max offer either. To pry him off of Boston’s payroll is going to require a deal large enough that the sort of tire fires that have that cap space will find unpalatable. Brooklyn’s out as they blew their load on Crabbe & Mozgov in order to acquire Russell and draft picks.

There just aren’t many landing spots for Marcus this summer, meaning that he either comes back on a QO deal to get UFA status or, more likely, reaches an agreement on a four year deal with an early termination option to get him the same thing.
 

Clears Cleaver

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Hardwood Paroxysm is a must follow for NBA fans. Does some great stuff and his observations are hilarious
 

wade boggs chicken dinner

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Smart’s not going anywhere. I know HRB likes to beat the dead horse about Ainge “Never re-signing roleplayers!!!” except that they pretty well nearly always do re-sign guys coming off rookie deals unless they’re Mia Khalifa sized busts (Young) or they need to drop the salary for a free agent signing (K-Rex).

If there has been one great truth of Ainge’s leadership it’s that Red was 100% right about him, he has a charmed life. In this case Smart’s hitting restricted free agency at the worst possible time for him. A summer where there aren’t a lot of teams with money and they’re all going to be loading for much bigger game than an NBA sixth man.

Smart’s basically Ron Artest’s minime and Artest never got a max offer either. To pry him off of Boston’s payroll is going to require a deal large enough that the sort of tire fires that have that cap space will find unpalatable. Brooklyn’s out as they blew their load on Crabbe & Mozgov in order to acquire Russell and draft picks.

There just aren’t many landing spots for Marcus this summer, meaning that he either comes back on a QO deal to get UFA status or, more likely, reaches an agreement on a four year deal with an early termination option to get him the same thing.
I hope you are right but I think Smart is held in pretty high esteem around the league and it only takes one team.

Whlie it's true in many respects that Smart is a smaller version of Artest, here's one thing that Smart has that Artest didn't: sanity. A sane version of Artest probably would have made a lot more money in the NBA.
 

wade boggs chicken dinner

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BTW, some current stats for posterity from here: https://hardwoodhoudini.com/2017/11/03/is-the-celtics-defense-legit/

C’s are averaging 36.3 defensive rebounds per game, which ranks 6th in the NBA (versus last year's 32.9 and 22nd ranking).

C’s currently rank 4th in DReb% at 81.2% (versus last season’s ranking of 27 at 75.3%).

C’s allow the 3rd fewest second chance points of any team at 9.8 a game (versus 27th / 13.9 points per game last year).

Defensive win shares rank: Kyrie = 1; Al - 4; JT = 7; JB = 8; and Rozier = 12
 

DourDoerr

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The Irving trade is certainly exceeding my expectations and they were high to begin with. He and Horford really seem to enjoy playing with each other. In the Kings' game, Horford ran ahead on a break and Irving made a fantastic skip pass ahead between 2 defenders on the run. Horford couldn't corral it and he turned to Irving and the two exchanged "my bad's." It seemed pretty genuine and a moment between 2 teammates and friends. I don't remember seeing Irving smile this much - although to be fair, I've already watched him as much as I did all last year.

He's been a stabilizer with zero compunctions about putting the team on his shoulders in tight situations. IT was an incredible finisher last year and it's somewhat amazing that they were able to replace him with another finisher in the same rarified league. And the "Stevens Bump" has been revelatory as Irving is hustling on D, fighting picks and getting in lanes. Couldn't be happier watching him lead this team. What a huge advantage and opportunity for the young pros on this team to see first hand how an All-Star with a ring goes about his business.
 
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HomeRunBaker

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Smart’s not going anywhere. I know HRB likes to beat the dead horse about Ainge “Never re-signing roleplayers!!!” except that they pretty well nearly always do re-sign guys coming off rookie deals unless they’re Mia Khalifa sized busts (Young) or they need to drop the salary for a free agent signing (K-Rex).
Nearly always.....unless your name is Olynyk, Tony Allen, Delonte West, Jefferson, Sullinger or Big Baby. In other words.....pretty much nobody that you aren't getting on a steal of a cheap deal (other than the confusing example of Allen which had to do with off the court stuff). Then of course there is Perkins and Avery once they were due large deals in the Smart stratosphere.....but other than that nearly always. ;)
 

Manzivino

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Smart's future with the Cs is going to be very context dependent depending on how close they are to the luxury tax (does the Lakers pick convey, how much space do they need to re-sign/replace Baynes, do they feel they can use Rozier/Semi to cheaply cover for losing Smart's defense, etc.) but that list is pretty disingenuous.

Tony Allen was extended off of his rookie deal and reports at the time were they matched Memphis' offer when he was unrestricted. West was traded in the Ray Allen deal and Jefferson in the KG deal while on their rookie contracts, no reason they weren't getting extended. Olynyk would have been extended if they could have freed up max space without renouncing his cap hold. Davis' rookie deal was only two years, after which the Celtics re-signed him. Not re-signing Sullinger was absolutely the right call. Bradley's extension after his rookie deal was considered a laughable overpay at the time; the fact that it turned into a bargain is a testament to Ainge's foresight and Bradley's dedication, but it certainly wasn't a steal when he signed based on his expected market.

The only real mistake in there is probably Allen (who amazingly has never made as much as $6M/yr in his career according to bbref), and Ainge has admitted they tried to preserve payroll flexibility and should have just made him the three year offer before he hit the market. All in all, if a guy has value on the court on his rookie deal Ainge has either extended them or moved on only as part of upgrading to elite talent.
 

DannyDarwinism

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I hope you are right but I think Smart is held in pretty high esteem around the league and it only takes one team.

Whlie it's true in many respects that Smart is a smaller version of Artest, here's one thing that Smart has that Artest didn't: sanity. A sane version of Artest probably would have made a lot more money in the NBA.
Rozier's development and Brad's increased willingness to use Jaylen at the two this year has made me a lot less confident that Smart will be here next year than I was a couple of months ago. How many minutes do we think he's getting next year with a healthy Hayward? 25? I still think he's a good fit with Kyrie, and I really love the bulldog mentality he brings to the team, but I'm steeling myself for the possibility of life without Marcus next year.
 

Cesar Crespo

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With Hayward returning next year, I don't think they'll need Marcus Smart. They already have a roster crunch as it is and with Rozier and Semi, they have Smart's skill set mostly covered, though you'd might want to bring in a play maker for the bench. They could always draft that player with their own 1st in the offseason though. So far this year, Marcus is looking like the same Marcus we all know and I don't think he's worth the money he's going to sign for.

Of course KO got a lot less than a lot of us thought, so maybe Smart will too.
 

Eddie Jurak

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With Hayward returning next year, I don't think they'll need Marcus Smart. They already have a roster crunch as it is and with Rozier and Semi, they have Smart's skill set mostly covered, though you'd might want to bring in a play maker for the bench. They could always draft that player with their own 1st in the offseason though. So far this year, Marcus is looking like the same Marcus we all know and I don't think he's worth the money he's going to sign for.

Of course KO got a lot less than a lot of us thought, so maybe Smart will too.
Playmaker from the bench is one skill that isn’t covered if Smart goes, although that could be addressed.
 

nighthob

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Nearly always.....unless your name is Olynyk, Tony Allen, Delonte West, Jefferson, Sullinger or Big Baby. In other words.....pretty much nobody that you aren't getting on a steal of a cheap deal (other than the confusing example of Allen which had to do with off the court stuff). Then of course there is Perkins and Avery once they were due large deals in the Smart stratosphere.....but other than that nearly always. ;)
Did Boston get special dispensations to sign Tony Allen and Avery Bradley to six year rookie deals? And I was genuinely unaware that Al Jefferson and Delonte West left as free agents, I could have sworn they part of trades to bring in a top five NBA player and an all star.

Davis was also signed to an extension after his rookie deal and then later dealt, while he was out injured, for more immediate help. What was it that happened the summers that Sullinger’s and Olynyk’s rights were renounced again? I know it couldn’t possibly have been major free agent signings as you’ve long assured us that no major free agent will ever sign with the Celtics. ;)
 

Cesar Crespo

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FWIW, Kyrie Irving in leading the league in steals and SPG in the early going. He is first at 2.56, with Potter 2nd at 2.29. Him and Rozier are 4th and 7th in steals per 36. The 3 guys ahead of Irving are averaging less than 20 minutes a night.
 

HomeRunBaker

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Did Boston get special dispensations to sign Tony Allen and Avery Bradley to six year rookie deals? And I was genuinely unaware that Al Jefferson and Delonte West left as free agents, I could have sworn they part of trades to bring in a top five NBA player and an all star.

Davis was also signed to an extension after his rookie deal and then later dealt, while he was out injured, for more immediate help. What was it that happened the summers that Sullinger’s and Olynyk’s rights were renounced again? I know it couldn’t possibly have been major free agent signings as you’ve long assured us that no major free agent will ever sign with the Celtics. ;)
C'mon you're being sill at best and obtuse at worst. The cheap deals they signed following their rookie deals were still great value for their roles and the guys that WERE traded as they were viewed as trade chips and not going to be overpaid to be here just has he's always found his second unit guys on the cheap. Perkins, Bradley, Posey, Baby, Sully, etc never fit his model once their cheap deals expired. It's been consistent throughout Ainge's entire tenure......it's why the veteran players Ainge have drafted have signed their most lucrative contracts with other teams regardless if the return was Garnett, Ray Allen, Marcus Morris, or cap space.
 

nighthob

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That's the point, they were all sub-max deals coming off their rookie contracts. Bradley and Jae Crowder signed over-MLE deals that were roundly mocked around here (though not by me) for being "gross overpays".

I understand that the new cap is a little dizzying, but the same principle is at work here. Smart's going to get over MLE money, the fact that over MLE money in 2018 looks like max money circa 2011 is irrelevant. Smart is not a real free agent, he's restricted, and unless he has an Otto Porter style breakout (which is unlikely given the Hayward injury), he isn't getting a max offer from anyone due to the lack of teams with cap space, the projected cap being a few million less than previously anticipated, and the sheer number of guys that are hitting free agency this summer.

As usual Ainge's luck carried the day, his prime sixth man is hitting restricted free agency at the worst possible time. Now, in three more years when Smart's opt-out is looming and he's a pending UFA, then he's getting traded because that has been Boston's modus operandi under Ainge.
 

HomeRunBaker

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That's the point, they were all sub-max deals coming off their rookie contracts. Bradley and Jae Crowder signed over-MLE deals that were roundly mocked around here (though not by me) for being "gross overpays".

I understand that the new cap is a little dizzying, but the same principle is at work here. Smart's going to get over MLE money, the fact that over MLE money in 2018 looks like max money circa 2011 is irrelevant. Smart is not a real free agent, he's restricted, and unless he has an Otto Porter style breakout (which is unlikely given the Hayward injury), he isn't getting a max offer from anyone due to the lack of teams with cap space, the projected cap being a few million less than previously anticipated, and the sheer number of guys that are hitting free agency this summer.

As usual Ainge's luck carried the day, his prime sixth man is hitting restricted free agency at the worst possible time. Now, in three more years when Smart's opt-out is looming and he's a pending UFA, then he's getting traded because that has been Boston's modus operandi under Ainge.
So we really don't disagree with Ainge's M.O. afterall!! I agree and always agreed with you on the Bradley and Crowder deals. Our only disagreement is that Smart won't have an offer large enough to breakthrough Ainge's lowball threshold.....I think he certainly will unless he has an awful season this year.
 

amarshal2

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Jaylen Brown >>> Jae Crowder

There were many who said Jae was a floor for Brown and many who said he was a good outcome. Sure seems like the floors have it.

I didn’t have a dog in this fight but interesting to see the question seemingly answered so soon.
 

lovegtm

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Jaylen Brown >>> Jae Crowder

There were many who said Jae was a floor for Brown and many who said he was a good outcome. Sure seems like the floors have it.

I didn’t have a dog in this fight but interesting to see the question seemingly answered so soon.
Once again, Danny/Celtics show they have a significant edge in evaluating NBA talent post-draft.

At this point, I'd argue that if someone disagrees with Ainge on a non-draft personnel move, he/she should assume that something is being missed, or at least heavily examine that possibility.
 

finnVT

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Since we're still in SSS territory and it's hard to evaluate offense/defense based on points alone, since everyone's played different schedules, I was curious if we could control for all of that at once. (I'm sure someone has done this, but I'm not sure where to find it). Anyway, the framework is relatively straightforward using mixed models where you can try to predict the score of every game based on who was playing, and where, then look at the random effects coefficients that get generated for each team's offense and defense. Running through all scores to date (through the C's game tonight, but with a bunch of other games unfinished), we get the following (positive is better for both offense and defense, and indicates difference from league average, which is ~105 ppg).

Code:
Team                    Off    Def    Net
Golden State Warriors    11.54    -4.55    6.99
Boston Celtics          -1.80    8.23    6.43
Oklahoma City Thunder    0.18    5.61    5.79
Toronto Raptors         2.27    1.87    4.14
Portland Trail Blazers    0.68    3.40    4.07
Los Angeles Clippers    1.71    2.25    3.96
Memphis Grizzlies       -2.72    6.32    3.60
Houston Rockets         1.17    1.64    2.81
Detroit Pistons         -1.34    4.11    2.77
Washington Wizards      3.67    -1.83    1.84
Utah Jazz               -5.10    6.90    1.81
Orlando Magic           2.41    -1.24    1.17
Charlotte Hornets       0.45    0.19    0.64
Indiana Pacers          3.26    -2.64    0.61
San Antonio Spurs       -4.40    4.34    -0.06
Philadelphia 76ers      2.03    -2.10    -0.07
Denver Nuggets          -0.29    -0.31    -0.59
New York Knicks         -1.04    0.42    -0.62
Los Angeles Lakers      0.59    -1.21    -0.63
New Orleans Pelicans    -0.50    -0.32    -0.82
Miami Heat              -0.82    -0.02    -0.83
Milwaukee Bucks         0.47    -1.45    -0.98
Minnesota Timberwolves    4.04    -5.26    -1.22
Chicago Bulls           -8.48    4.58    -3.90
Cleveland Cavaliers     1.59    -5.77    -4.18
Brooklyn Nets           4.09    -9.03    -4.94
Phoenix Suns            1.58    -8.17    -6.59
Dallas Mavericks        -4.81    -1.84    -6.65
Atlanta Hawks           -2.75    -3.98    -6.73
Sacramento Kings        -7.68    -0.15    -7.83
Seems to pass the smell test to me, and nice to see the C's sitting so high after controlling for the competition.
 

nighthob

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So we really don't disagree with Ainge's M.O. afterall!! I agree and always agreed with you on the Bradley and Crowder deals. Our only disagreement is that Smart won't have an offer large enough to breakthrough Ainge's lowball threshold.....I think he certainly will unless he has an awful season this year.
He won’t, the projected 2019 cap keeps going down, the latest projection is now $108 million (from $116 million a couple of years ago), but it could be even less by July.

There just aren’t many teams that are going to have the luxury of putting out an RFA offer of $18 million per year on a lark. The one team that might have isn’t going to have the necessary cap space this summer thanks to the Crabbe & Mozgov acquisitions.
 

the moops

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There just aren’t many teams that are going to have the luxury of putting out an RFA offer of $18 million per year on a lark. The one team that might have isn’t going to have the necessary cap space this summer thanks to the Crabbe & Mozgov acquisitions.
But again, it only takes one team to think that Smart is the guy that can change the culture and instill all the hustle and grit and all the other lovely intangibles that some teams need/want. Would it shock us if someone like CHI offered him an 18 mill a year deal?
 

nighthob

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But again, it only takes one team to think that Smart is the guy that can change the culture and instill all the hustle and grit and all the other lovely intangibles that some teams need/want. Would it shock us if someone like CHI offered him an 18 mill a year deal?
Yes, I would be shocked if a team in year one of The Process, Chicago Style decided to change directions after one season and didn’t look for a second top five pick in a stacked class to build their new core.

Now if Smart played out the string on a QO next year I could totally see Chicago making an offer in the summer of ‘19 to help smooth the way forward for their young guys. That’s the point, the tire fires will have some cap space, but they’re all basically in the first year of a rebuild, and grabbing a sixth man of the year candidate isn’t going to be on their list of priorities.
 

bowiac

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Since we're still in SSS territory and it's hard to evaluate offense/defense based on points alone, since everyone's played different schedules, I was curious if we could control for all of that at once. (I'm sure someone has done this, but I'm not sure where to find it).
This is basically what SRS is on Basketball-Reference, or Adjusted Net Rating if you want adjust for pace.
 

Koufax

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Jul 15, 2005
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The turrible Lakers are above zero. Fortunately, Sacramento is at -12.05, worst in the NBA.
 

wade boggs chicken dinner

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Mar 26, 2005
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I think it's more likely that Okafor becomes an asset you can use to flip, either because they raise his value or just to use as salary, then it is you'd lose out on a buyout guy because you only have the minimum to offer rather than your DPE.

I'd much rather have more options available to me with a contract I could trade than an exception I can only use in a very limited way.

Even if Okafor tore his ACL today and was ruled out for the season, I'd take him back for free into the DPE just for the options to trade his expiring contract. Wyc probably wouldn't like the extra salary added, but I think it would give the Celtics more avenues to eventually acquire a better player than the DPE.
DA apparently interested in Okafor but isn't willing to give up a first round pick for him. I suspect you are correct that if Okafor gets bought out, DA will scoop him up - or at least try to.

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2742622-jahlil-okafor-trade-rumors-celtics-interested-wont-deal-1st-round-pick
 

Sam Ray Not

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Jul 19, 2005
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Colangelo should try trading him to the Knicks for Porzingis.

And Fultz to the Celtics for Tatum and the LAL/SAC pick while he's at it.
 

jmm57

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Jul 15, 2005
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From October 24 through December 28, the Celtics will play 36 games in 66 days. Six back to backs, with their only two day rest coming November 28th and 29th. Seems like a pretty brutal stretch.


Edit: It looks like only 43 games in the last 103 days of the season.
 
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