Cellar-Door said:I'm guessing he gets $12M less on the cap next year. I don't see a big contract out there the Celtics would want that will be available.
Humphries might be able to get a 2nd if he made about 7.5M less than he does.
Clearing cap space is worth less than nothing to the Celtics. The byzantine restrictions on free agency combined with the Celtics' mediocrity makes it a virtual certainty that the team cannot sign an impact player this summer. Given their current situation, they'd almost be better off giving Humphries a 1-year extension at the same rate. This is why returning salaries are probably not a major issue.
The question for me is who (or what) the Celtics can get tacked on to the returning salary.