New CBA leaves minimal options

by **112288** Mon Dec 19, 2011 7:55 am

By Mark Murphy / Celtics Notebook
Monday, December 19, 2011

TORONTO — Though the new collective-bargaining agreement, like the last one, grants an exception to the team of an injured player who misses the entire season, the Celtics [team stats] will have no basis for an appeal.

Jeff Green flunked his physical, voiding his contract. All the Celtics will retain are his rights. Their only recourse will be to sign another player to a minimum contract, considering that they spent their $3 million mini-mid level exception on Chris Wilcox.

“That’s something I stay away from,” Doc Rivers said of the murky world of player exceptions. “But usually for guys with one-year deals, there are very few exceptions. But I have no idea. I let Danny and them deal with all of that stuff.”

The CBA grants the team of an injured (and under contract) player a salary-cap exception that is the lesser amount of two options — the $5 million mid-level exception or half of the player’s contract. Had Green’s one-year, $9 million contract been in effect, the Celtics would have been eligible for a $4.5 million exception.

The only difference between the new CBA and its predecessor is that teams are only allowed to sign new players under an injury exception for one year. The previous agreement allowed for contracts up to five years in length.

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