Who could C's target with taxpayer midlevel exception?

https://sports.yahoo.com/celtics-offseason-could-cs-target-155336863.html



Celtics offseason: Who could C's target with taxpayer midlevel exception?



Chris Forsberg
Mon, July 19, 2021, 8:53 AM·4 min read




After examining some of the Boston Celtics’ potential bigger-ticket options utilizing the remainder of the Gordon Hayward trade exception, it’s time to set the sights a bit lower.

If the Celtics re-sign Evan Fournier this summer, they will almost certainly be a taxpaying team and would be limited to utilizing the $5.9 million taxpayer midlevel exception as their only means to adding a free agent at an above-the-minimum cost.

The Celtics do have some other smaller trade exceptions that could open smaller trade avenues but, for the purpose of this exercise, we’ll simply focus on veteran free agents that might fit in Boston’s price range and fill their most obvious needs.

Remember, a lot of contenders will still have the $9.5 million nontaxpayer midlevel to chase talent, complicating the path to Boston adding impact talent at a lower cost. Boston essentially would be looking for depth options who complement the core of the team and could provide steadier minutes than what they got from their younger players last season.


Rudy Gay (Last team: San Antonio Spurs)

Set to turn 35 in August, Gay finally might be in Boston’s price range this summer. His experience and savvy would provide a boost at the power forward spot, especially after shooting 38.1 percent beyond the 3-point arc last season.

He also has experience with new Celtics coach Ime Udoka during his San Antonio tenure and could help promote buy-in.


T.J. McConnell (Indiana Pacers)

Saturation of point guards could keep McConnell’s price tag low (as will his underwhelming 3-point percentage). He’s still a feisty defender for his size who can confidently direct an offense and give you occasional scoring bursts.

Could the Celtics confidently run a McConnell/Payton Pritchard backup backcourt? His passing and defensive tenacity could help mitigate size concerns.


Patty Mills (San Antonio Spurs)

Hop here for a deeper dive on Mills, but there’s a lot to like about how he could infuse a veteran presence at a thinned point guard spot.


Dante Exum (Cleveland Cavaliers)

Speaking of intriguing Aussie hoopers, Exum, who is playing for Australia’s Olympic squad, hasn’t come close to reaching his pre-draft hype. But he’s still a big guard who — if he could ever stay healthy, and that’s decidedly not Boston’s strong suit lately — would be a really intriguing low-cost flyer given his size.


Justise Winslow (Memphis Grizzlies)

The Grizzlies have a $13 million team option on Winslow that seems unlikely to be triggered. Even with Danny Ainge no longer in charge, the Celtics should consider the still-only 25-year-old if he becomes available.

Winslow would offer a whole bunch of positional versatility with an ability to handle the ball and play both forward spots. He seems like an Udoka-type of guy with his grittiness.


Bryn Forbes (Milwaukee Bucks)

The soon-to-be 28-year-old guard has a $2.5 million player option that he can decline with hopes that Milwaukee’s NBA Finals run increased his payday. Forbes shot a blistering 45.2 percent on 3-point shots during the regular season and has played 13.7 minutes per game during Milwaukee’s Finals run.

There’s redundancy with Pritchard, who needs reps to grow, but shooting is a premium if you’re going to maximize a Jayson Tatum/Jaylen Brown core. Like others on this list, there’s a San Antonio connection.


Georges Niang (Utah Jazz)
A rocky playoffs won’t help his value but the 28-year-old power forward — and Massachusetts native — was good enough to start 10 games in 2020-21 for the Jazz and shot 42.5 percent beyond the 3-point arc during the regular season.


Jeff Green (Brooklyn Nets)

Even at age 35, Green still might be worth an above-the-taxpayer splurge for a contending team. But if the market is cool, the Celtics could do worse than another tour with the veteran forward.

Green got a taste of the Udoka experience this past season in Brooklyn. It helps that he shares an agent with Al Horford and Marcus Smart.


Ish Smith (Washington Wizards)
A card-carrying member of the Celtics Killers All-Stars, signing Smith might be worth the cost just so you don’t have to play him four times per year. More importantly, he would provide a steady ball-handling presence who can give you scoring when needed.


Gorgui Dieng (San Antonio Spurs)
The 31-year-old veteran can stretch the floor from both big-man spots. An underwhelming end of the year in San Antonio doesn’t inspire confidence, but Brad Stevens certainly loves reliable veterans.


Elfrid Payton (New York Knicks)
For all his shooting woes, Payton was still a 63-game starter on a playoff team who can confidently run an offense. We are guessing his price tag might get outside Boston’s range, but because of the saturation of available guards, there is going to be available talent for Boston to pursue that could add depth alongside Smart and Pritchard.


Bob
MY NOTE, MY VERDICTS:

Gay - discussed on another thread.  Not sold on him, not for what he has left.
McConnell - 31% from 3, but 6.6apg and only 2.0TOpg make him attractive.  Might stunt Pritchard's growth.
Mills - discussed on another thread.  We have Pritchard and Nesmith, both of whom are bigger and can shoot.
Exum - Never played more than 42 games in a season after his rookie year. Underwhelming too.  No thanks.
Winslow - A positively awful offensive player.  Do we really need an only-defense wing?
Forbes - Good shooter, but so is PP.  .6apg and .6TOpg in 19mpg is NOT a good floor general.  Pass.
Niang - Good shooter, good size (6'7").  IF we can't resign Fournier (or trade him) then I'd be good with Niang.
Green - "Those who do not remember the past are condemned to repeat it" - George Santayana
Smith - Now we're closer.  3.9apg with .9TOpg is excellent floor generalship.  Now that he's cut his hair I'd dish for Ish. We won't have to worry about Rosalie's gag reflex on the Game On! thread.
Dieng - If we're hurting for bigs, maybe, but are we?  Why is he on OUR list?
Payton - 3.2apg and 1.6TOpg is ok, not great.  A poor shooter from everywhere.  As pointed out he did start for Thibs, so can he really be that bad on defense?  He's still alive, I think Thibs would have shot him if he didn't put the effort in on defense.

How about Kyle Anderson of Memphis?  $10M salary, final year.  6'9", 3.6apg and 1.2TOpg are excellent.  At 6'9" he can also board.  In fact, if you just look at the stats, Kyle Anderson looks a lot like Evan Turner and I liked what Evan Turner brought us.

And, for comparison to McConnell, Smith, Mills, Exum and Payton, our Payton shot 41% from 3 and averaged 1.8apg and .8TOpg.  Those are all solid numbers, especially for a rookie.  Exum's the tallest at 6'6" but not when he's sitting on the bench with injuries.  He had a torn right knee ACL in his rookie year (2015-2016) and a partially torn patella tendon in his right knee in 2017-2018.  If we eliminate him due to injuries then every other floor general listed is Pritchard's size or smaller.  Only Mills shoots as well and I would only consider Smith to be a better floor general.  As Paul Newman said, when asked about why he never cheated on his wife Joanne Woodward, "why would I go out for hamburger when I have steak waiting for me at home?".  If I'm not going to fill our need at floor general with someone better than Payton Pritchard why would I?  Sign a mentor for him (e.g. CP3) or sign someone better, let's not look at a lateral.


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If Boston keeps EF I expect them to take the smaller MLE and divide it up to sign 2 players.

So forget about anybody that is making substantially more than $3 million per year.

One option that cannot be overlooked is trading TT. That should get us either a PF or a quality BU PG. In another thread I mentioned how Boston could move TT and Edwards for Robert Covington. Essentially you would be kicking the ball down the road for a year (TT, CE and Covington all with one year left)

So if they did that deal then they would just need to sign a BU PG.

The Celtics have one bad contract on the books for Al Horford so while the KW trade helped a lot they still have limits on what they can do until his contract is gone.

So $27.5 mill this season coming up and only $14,500,000 guaranteed the next year but it could be higher depending on the Sixers. Basically if Boston just cut AH next year they would still have to pay him $14.5 million. Best case scenario is that he gets traded next off season or sooner.

Remember Boston had no intentions on signing him to his $109 Million contract.

This is just another reason why it will likely take another year to get things right.

https://nypost.com/2021/07/21/knicks-reggie-bullock-drawing-interest-from-celtics-76ers/



Knicks’ Reggie Bullock drawing interest from Celtics, 76ers


By Marc BermanJuly 21, 2021 | 8:02pm



In coach Tom Thibodeau’s words, the Knicks are looking at July 29’s draft for “wings and shooters.’’

They have one in their midst who performed admirably during their 41-31 season. But they could lose him to a division rival in free agency if they don’t step up, The Post has learned.

According to an NBA source, two Atlantic Division squads, the Celtics and 76ers, have interest in Knicks swingman Reggie Bullock, who started all season at either shooting guard or small forward.

The source said the Lakers, whom Bullock played for in 2018-19 alongside LeBron James, also have Bullock on their list. Interestingly, a report surfaced Wednesday the Lakers will try to lure Chris Paul back to Los Angeles. Paul and Bullock are both from North Carolina and are close.

Bullock’s preference is to stay with the Knicks, but he likely will command the full mid-level exception of $9.23 million. One source believes Bullock, who turned 30 in March, will seek a three-year deal.


Reggie Bullock
NBAE via Getty Images


The Knicks are always looking for the next shiny new thing and will explore their free-agent options, too, but have sincere interest in bringing back Bullock.

The Knicks don’t have to use their cap space to do so because they have Bullocks’ Early-Bird rights. Hence, they can go over the salary cap to sign him. The Knicks are eligible to offer him a first year likely starting at $10.3 million, pending the NBA’s audit. That number is more than the full mid-level exception. However, they must first reach the salary cap before making that offer.


One issue is Bullock’s playoff performance was a disappointment. In Game 3 in Atlanta, he went scoreless. But in the regular season, Bullock was tough as nails, and Thibodeau often called him “our unsung hero.’’

Bullock was one of three players this season to shoot at least 44 percent from the field, 40 percent from 3-point land and 90 percent from the free-throw line — based on minimums of 100 3-point and 50 free-throw attempts. Of the two others who did it, Stephen Curry and Kyrie Irving, Bullock had the best plus-minus.

Yet this is the time of year for the front office to go shopping with its cap space. It’s known Thibodeau has a yen for former Raptors/Blazers shooting guard Norman Powell, who as expected opted out of his contract. He’ll be seeking a deal close to $20 million per — as will another wing on the Knicks radar, Kelly Oubre.


If the Knicks lose Bullock, they’d be more likely to attempt to match a modest offer to guard Frank Ntilikina, a restricted free agent. According to a league source, the Knicks haven’t ruled out bringing back their 2017 lottery pick selected by Phil Jackson, even if Thibodeau barely played him last season.

The Knicks still like his versatility as a point guard and a defensive specialist guarding wings, and he’ll be on display Sunday for Team France versus the U.S. Olympic team.


Bob
MY NOTE:  He can shoot alright (on only 8.6fgas/game), but he averaged only 1.5 assists and .7 turnovers in 30mpg.  A 2:1 assist-to-turnover ratio is ok, but not really good for a ballhandler and 1.5 assists in 30 minutes is not much floor generalling.  He also averaged only 10.9ppg last year despite playing a total of 1949 minutes in 64 games.

709 points in 1949 minutes.  That's Reggie Bullock as a 29 year old veteran.  Payton Pritchard, as a rookie, totaled 510 points 1268 minutes.  I know it's not reasonable to extrapolate Pritchard's 19.2mpg out to Bullock's 30mpg, but a very good start for Fast PP.  As far as spreading the sugar, PP averaged 1.8 assists and .8 turnovers in his 19.2mpg.  So MORE assists, BETTER assist-to-turnover ratio in 2/3 the minutes.  Pritchard is a more prolific and more efficient floor general than Bullock, and that's without trying to do a minute-to-minute comparison and despite a significant disparity in their experience levels.

We need a ballhandler.  We need a floor general.  We need Brad to focus.  We also need to remember this article is courtesy of the NY Post, and NY sports writers are notoriously full of shite.  Remember when they were proposing Rondo-for-a-bag-o'spare-parts?


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We already have 2 young wings AN, RL that are/will be better than him….yawn

Can several of our young players develop quick enough to close the talent gap?

We will not know for sure until they do.

Safe low expectation.