PART 3 Will Celtics break up talented guard trio? CBA could force their hand Keeping Malcolm Brogdon, Marcus Smart and Derrick White together will be challenging.

by **112288** Wed Jun 14, 2023 4:58 pm

Will Celtics break up talented guard trio? CBA could force their hand
Keeping Malcolm Brogdon, Marcus Smart and Derrick White together will be challenging.

VIDEO

https://www.nbcsportsboston.com/nba/boston-celtics/celtics-videos/the-new-cba-with-forsberg-will-a-guard-be-moved-this-offseason/535143/

NBC SPORTS BOSTON By Chris Forsberg, Celtics Insider • Published June 14, 2023 • Updated on June 14, 2023 at 9:56 am

In episode three of his look at the NBA collective bargaining agreement, Chris Forsberg wonders if the Celtics could look to move one of Marcus Smart, Derrick White, or Malcolm Brogdon to balance out the roster…and salary cap moving forward.

It’s wild that, less than one year after the Boston Celtics' universally acclaimed move to add Malcolm Brogdon to the roster -- and just a month after Brogdon hoisted the Sixth Man of the Year trophy for being exactly the sort of bench jolt the Celtics needed -- president of basketball operations Brad Stevens now has to ponder whether the Celtics can afford to carry that player for the remainder of his deal.

A one-year easing of CBA restrictions -- along with the ramp to Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown's extensions -- could allow the Celtics to splurge again next season and simply run back much of the same team as last year.

Boston essentially would be kicking the decision can down the road while buying more time to fully determine the sustainability of a supermaxed Jays combo at the top of their roster.

Editor's Note: This is Part 3 of Chris Forsberg's five-part series on how the new CBA impacts the Celtics' future. You can read Parts 1 and 2 below.

CHRIS FORSBERG'S CBA SERIES

CHRIS FORSBERG JUN 13
Can Celtics afford to keep the Jays together? CBA may force cap crunch

CHRIS FORSBERG JUN 12

Celtics patiently built a title contender; will CBA make them alter course?
But Boston can’t just blindly wait until that tipping point. Many of the big-spending teams around the league will be eager to shed salary before the new CBA kicks in for the 2024-25 season, and presumably, there will not be a lot of options to dump a $22 million contract like Brogdon next summer. The Celtics do have to consider staying ahead of the storm.

What’s more, Boston has to ponder its spending and its roster balance. The addition of Brogdon bolstered the second unit but also left the team heavy on high-cost guards. Head coach Joe Mazzulla struggled to find time for both Brogdon and Derrick White at the end of games, particularly when Marcus Smart was a staple of crunch time.

Given Boston’s need to upgrade its frontcourt depth, would it be better for the team to consider flipping one of its high-priced guards for, say, big-man depth and an overall cost savings that helps them stay under the second apron the next couple of seasons?

Stevens at least acknowledged the need to assess his team's roster balance.

"I think you always have to look for people that fit well with your best players, that accentuate your best players, and then put that team and that group together," Stevens told NBC Sports Boston. "Not having [center] Rob [Williams III] for the better half of [last] season -- I actually thought our depth bigs did a great job all year of giving us a chance to have a great seed and be a top seed in the East and fill those minutes and fill those times."

"But I thought that we had a lot of guys that were on the perimeter and a lot of guys that could help us on the perimeter. And we just have to look at everything and figure out, OK, how does it all fit together? Is it as good of a fit as it can be? Obviously, we can't always predict health, but we have to make ourselves as fortified as possible, both on the perimeter and on the interior."

Can the Celtics trust that soon-to-be 35-year-old Danilo Gallinari can be a contributor coming off the ACL rehab that cost him his 2022-23 season? Can Boston afford an early extension with White after he was the Celtics’ third best player for most of last season?

Would Payton Pritchard, after a frustration-filled 2022-23 season, be willing to stick around if more guard minutes opened this year? How can Boston improve its frontcourt talent given the health concerns around Williams III and a 37-year-old Al Horford?

All those questions loom before Boston even deals with its main free-agent decision.

Stay tuned Thursday for Part 4 of Forsberg's CBA series: What's next for Grant Williams?

This article tagged under:
Chris ForsbergMarcus SmartDerrick WhiteMalcolm Brogdon

112288

by **NYCelt** Wed Jun 14, 2023 5:09 pm

If they want to give anything substantial to Brown, it will be difficult to keep all three of Smart, White and Brogdon. Try to keep Grant Williams for anything over $15 mil, and it may be pretty much impossible.

Virtually all NBA teams are going to be going through the same pain by the '24 - '25 season.

Not being exact here, but it looks like every team except Utah and San Antonio is going to be having to make some tough choices if you go by their current obligations. Some teams will undoubtedly try and start dealing their way away from some of the traps provided by the aprons this offseason, rather than delay.

It won't be just the Celtics, but that doesn't make it any more fun.

by **worcester** Wed Jun 14, 2023 6:48 pm

"Obviously, we can't always predict health, "

Brad, we CAN predict Rob Williams won't play more than 55 games next season including all playoff games. We all love Rob, but Luke, Mr. KIA jumper, and Ancient Al are not enoug to back him up.

by **112288** Wed Jun 14, 2023 6:51 pm

112288 wrote: PART #3 Will Celtics break up talented guard trio? CBA could force their hand
Keeping Malcolm Brogdon, Marcus Smart and Derrick White together will be challenging.

VIDEO

https://www.nbcsportsboston.com/nba/boston-celtics/celtics-videos/the-new-cba-with-forsberg-will-a-guard-be-moved-this-offseason/535143/

NBC SPORTS BOSTON By Chris Forsberg, Celtics Insider • Published June 14, 2023 • Updated on June 14, 2023 at 9:56 am

In episode three of his look at the NBA collective bargaining agreement, Chris Forsberg wonders if the Celtics could look to move one of Marcus Smart, Derrick White, or Malcolm Brogdon to balance out the roster…and salary cap moving forward.

It’s wild that, less than one year after the Boston Celtics' universally acclaimed move to add Malcolm Brogdon to the roster -- and just a month after Brogdon hoisted the Sixth Man of the Year trophy for being exactly the sort of bench jolt the Celtics needed -- president of basketball operations Brad Stevens now has to ponder whether the Celtics can afford to carry that player for the remainder of his deal.

A one-year easing of CBA restrictions -- along with the ramp to Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown's extensions -- could allow the Celtics to splurge again next season and simply run back much of the same team as last year.

Boston essentially would be kicking the decision can down the road while buying more time to fully determine the sustainability of a supermaxed Jays combo at the top of their roster.

Editor's Note: This is Part 3 of Chris Forsberg's five-part series on how the new CBA impacts the Celtics' future. You can read Parts 1 and 2 below.

CHRIS FORSBERG'S CBA SERIES

CHRIS FORSBERG JUN 13
Can Celtics afford to keep the Jays together? CBA may force cap crunch

CHRIS FORSBERG JUN 12

Celtics patiently built a title contender; will CBA make them alter course?
But Boston can’t just blindly wait until that tipping point. Many of the big-spending teams around the league will be eager to shed salary before the new CBA kicks in for the 2024-25 season, and presumably, there will not be a lot of options to dump a $22 million contract like Brogdon next summer. The Celtics do have to consider staying ahead of the storm.

What’s more, Boston has to ponder its spending and its roster balance. The addition of Brogdon bolstered the second unit but also left the team heavy on high-cost guards. Head coach Joe Mazzulla struggled to find time for both Brogdon and Derrick White at the end of games, particularly when Marcus Smart was a staple of crunch time.

Given Boston’s need to upgrade its frontcourt depth, would it be better for the team to consider flipping one of its high-priced guards for, say, big-man depth and an overall cost savings that helps them stay under the second apron the next couple of seasons?

Stevens at least acknowledged the need to assess his team's roster balance.

"I think you always have to look for people that fit well with your best players, that accentuate your best players, and then put that team and that group together," Stevens told NBC Sports Boston. "Not having [center] Rob [Williams III] for the better half of [last] season -- I actually thought our depth bigs did a great job all year of giving us a chance to have a great seed and be a top seed in the East and fill those minutes and fill those times."

"But I thought that we had a lot of guys that were on the perimeter and a lot of guys that could help us on the perimeter. And we just have to look at everything and figure out, OK, how does it all fit together? Is it as good of a fit as it can be? Obviously, we can't always predict health, but we have to make ourselves as fortified as possible, both on the perimeter and on the interior."

Can the Celtics trust that soon-to-be 35-year-old Danilo Gallinari can be a contributor coming off the ACL rehab that cost him his 2022-23 season? Can Boston afford an early extension with White after he was the Celtics’ third best player for most of last season?

Would Payton Pritchard, after a frustration-filled 2022-23 season, be willing to stick around if more guard minutes opened this year? How can Boston improve its frontcourt talent given the health concerns around Williams III and a 37-year-old Al Horford?

All those questions loom before Boston even deals with its main free-agent decision.

Stay tuned Thursday for Part 4 of Forsberg's CBA series: What's next for Grant Williams?

This article tagged under:
Chris ForsbergMarcus SmartDerrick WhiteMalcolm Brogdon

112288

by **gyso** Sat Jun 17, 2023 9:10 am

Boston essentially would be kicking the decision can down the road while buying more time to fully determine the sustainability of a supermaxed Jays combo at the top of their roster.

I'm fine with that. Call that Option 1.

CF would be better off reviewing our guard options here and perhaps delving into actual answers. Instead, he writes an article heavy on useless quotes from Brad Stevens and a couple weak questions at the end.

CF should have discussed something I call Option 2, which follows:

We are guard heavy and our roster needs a bit of tweaking.

Guards: Jaylen, Marcus, Derrick, Malcolm, Payton, JD and the two guys in Europe.

Who do we trade in order to get the biggest bang for our buck? Payton wants to play, but he doesn't have a big salary for trading ($4M) without adding 2-3 more players in a deal. Maybe we should grant Payton his wish and give him more playing time by trading away a bigger fish.

I'm keeping Jaylen, Marcus and Derrick. That leaves Malcolm Brogdon and his $22.5M salary. He would be a starter on most teams and that could create a better return that fills in a true need for the team.

Take his salary, add in a couple more and you are looking at getting a player closer to $30M. I'm sure Brad can find a team out there that needs a PG upgrade and has a surplus of something we need; wings to backup Tatum or a big to allow Rob and Al to come off the bench.

So, who can Brad target that fits that description?

Minor ask: Please don't make trade suggestions that involve receiving a player in a sign-and-trade. I really don't see a way for us to NOT be taxpayers above the apron going forward and I really do not believe Brad will accept the consequences of being capped at the apron, which is a direct result of receiving a player using a S&T. We are contenders and Brad would like to have the flexibility to make any moves in the future without having both hands tied behind his back.

by **gyso** Sat Jun 17, 2023 1:40 pm

Who makes $20-30M (or maybe a little less) next season, has 2 years (maybe 3) still on his contract, is a long athletic (modern) 4-5 player that can both defend and shoot threes and can play 20-30 MPG as a starter for the Celtics?

In other words, someone we can trade Malcolm for that would push Al and Rob to the bench. (small ask, I know)

Here is a good source of players and their salaries:

https://www.basketball-reference.com/contracts/players.html

by **gyso** Sat Jun 17, 2023 1:50 pm

Myles Turner has an interesting contract. $35M to $21M to $20M, decreasing.

Is he too much of a hot head? Not a good 3-point shooter?

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PART 3 Will Celtics break up talented guard trio? CBA could force their hand Keeping Malcolm Brogdon, Marcus Smart and Derrick White together will be challenging.

PART 3 Will Celtics break up talented guard trio? CBA could force their hand Keeping Malcolm Brogdon, Marcus Smart and Derrick White together will be challenging.

Re: PART 3 Will Celtics break up talented guard trio? CBA could force their hand Keeping Malcolm Brogdon, Marcus Smart and Derrick White together will be challenging.

Re: PART 3 Will Celtics break up talented guard trio? CBA could force their hand Keeping Malcolm Brogdon, Marcus Smart and Derrick White together will be challenging.

Re: PART 3 Will Celtics break up talented guard trio? CBA could force their hand Keeping Malcolm Brogdon, Marcus Smart and Derrick White together will be challenging.

Re: PART 3 Will Celtics break up talented guard trio? CBA could force their hand Keeping Malcolm Brogdon, Marcus Smart and Derrick White together will be challenging.

Re: PART 3 Will Celtics break up talented guard trio? CBA could force their hand Keeping Malcolm Brogdon, Marcus Smart and Derrick White together will be challenging.

Re: PART 3 Will Celtics break up talented guard trio? CBA could force their hand Keeping Malcolm Brogdon, Marcus Smart and Derrick White together will be challenging.

Re: PART 3 Will Celtics break up talented guard trio? CBA could force their hand Keeping Malcolm Brogdon, Marcus Smart and Derrick White together will be challenging.