Celtics Submit Qualifying Offers To Sully And Zeller

Steve Bulpett
Steve Bulpett
@SteveBHoop about 3 hours ago
According to league-related sources, Celts to give qualifying offers to Jared Sullinger & Tyler Zeller, making them restricted free agents.

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bob


.

Not too surprising. Probably will keep one of the two depending upon what happens with free agency next week. Neither guy is a star, but both guys have skills that most teams can utilize off their benches.

I doubt that Ainge goes too far above whatever their monetary value is on their qualifying offers to keep either one if some other team comes along with a much larger offer. Could move either or both in a sign and trade as well.

So, how much is a qualifying offer for Sully? In January there were all kinds of reports that he would make $15 million per yr. That hardly seems like what Ainge would offer.. Amir was already making $12 million, ? For him????

RosalieTCeltics wrote:So, how much is a qualifying offer for Sully? In January there were all kinds of reports that he would make $15 million per yr. That hardly seems like what Ainge would offer..  Amir was already making $12 million, ? For him????

Rosalie,
Here's your answer, courtesy of Steve Bulpett.




Celtics to give qualifying offers to Jared Sullinger, Tyler Zeller



Steve Bulpett



Wednesday, June 29, 2016




The Celtics will present Jared Sullinger and Tyler Zeller with their prescribed one-year qualifying offers by tomorrow's deadline, league-related sources told the Herald today.

By giving the offers of $4,433,683 to Sullinger and $3,695,169 to Zeller, the Celtics will make them restricted free agents, meaning the club has the right to match any offer sheet they sign. Had the C's not made the offers, the players would have become unrestricted free agents.

The qualifying offers would appear to be a no-lose matter for the Celts. There's nothing that will get the C’s in trouble vis-a-vis the new and greatly enlarged cap. But it’s possible that neither player will be here next season.

Incumbent starting center Sullinger might take the deal in order to become an unrestricted free agent next summer, but it would seem Zeller is looking harder at finding a club where he can have a better role.

The Celtics will, of course, talk contract with them, but it will be very interesting to see what happens if, say, Sullinger signs a large multi-year offer sheet elsewhere. With their sights on flexibility and such, it’s not out of the question that the C’s don’t match.

Also at issue is how long this process goes. The Celtics will obviously be looking at free agent bigs this summer, and if they believe they can get someone who would constitute an upgrade at center, there may be no room for Sully, at least in part because of how much cap space you’d want to allocate to a reserve.

Perhaps even more than the dream that is the pursuit of Kevin Durant, what happens here has a greater chance of altering the rotation.

Sullinger started 73 of the 81 games in which he appeared this past season, averaging 10.3 points and 8.3 rebounds. He was replaced in the starting lineup after two games of the playoff loss to Atlanta, a series in which he averaged 5.2 points and 4.5 rebounds in just 13.5 minutes.

Zeller averaged 6.1 points and 3.0 rebounds last season. He did not play in three of the six playoff games.



bob


.

Thanks Bob, my guess is that Zeller is gone, he kind of made that clear at the end of the season. Sully, on the other hand, wants to stick around. How much is questionable. I could see him jumping (or try to) and one day regretting it. He one of those guys who is good in one system and lost in others. I loved the kid for quite a while, but his stubbornness to take care of his body will come back to haunt him as he moves on.