Celts Pulled Jeff Green Qualifying Offer

By Peter May
Special to ESPNBoston.com

If and when Jeff Green returns to the NBA -- and the encouraging news heading into his heart surgery next week is that he likely will -- he will have plenty of choices as to his next employer.

That's because the Boston Celtics, in a move that was not made public, withdrew Green's qualifying offer in mid-December, right around the time he failed his physical and had his one-year, $9 million contract voided. The move means Green is now an unrestricted free agent. Had the offer not been withdrawn, and the Celtics were under no obligation whatsoever to do so, Green would have been a restricted free agent, with the Celtics able to match any offer he might get from another team.

Asked about the decision on Friday, Celtics general manager Danny Ainge, citing Green's impending surgery, said he preferred not to discuss the matter. He did confirm it, however. It may have been nothing more than a goodwill gesture on the part of the Celtics to Green and his agent, David Falk, who said the team has been "phenomenal" in handling the situation.

"It was not something we expected or bargained for, but coming as it did after such devastating medical news it was almost like an early Christmas present," Falk said.

Falk added that the new collective bargaining agreement rules also may have played a part in the Celtics' thinking as well.

Green is scheduled to have heart surgery Monday at the Cleveland Clinic to treat an aortic aneurysm that was detected in his physical exam. Doctors have given Green a promising prognosis and have indicated that the surgery should allow him to resume basketball, but not until next season.

Theoretically, any team could sign him right now, with the understanding that he would not be available until next season at the earliest. But if no team steps up between now and July 1, Green would join a free-agent class that could include Dwight Howard and Deron Williams, as well as (former) teammates Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett.

From the Celtics' point of view, the withdrawal of the qualifying offer is a bit of a gamble in that it could lead to the departure of the most significant piece of February's trade that sent Kendrick Perkins to Oklahoma City. That would leave the Celtics with nothing to show from the deal, save for a first-round draft pick that belongs to the Clippers and is protected over the next few years.

Then again, Green's NBA future, at present, is murky. And the change in his free-agent status puts Green in the same contractual position he would have been in had he been able to play out this season. Both sides knew that not only would Green be an unrestricted free agent next summer by taking the one-year offer, they also knew he could not be traded without his permission.

Also, the Celtics will still be able to offer Green a longer, more lucrative deal than any other team, either to re-sign him or sign him as part of a sign-and-trade deal, which is what they did last month with Glen Davis.

Prior to the startling discovery of the aneurysm, Green was planning on playing a big role for the 2011-12 Celtics. The team was hoping they'd see a more confident, assertive player who, with the benefit of a brief training camp, would be more comfortable. Green even showed up early to watch film and was ready to go once camp opened. But the red flag from his physical forced him to the sidelines for the first few workouts and, after a second consultation, the aneurysm diagnosis was confirmed and a surgery date set.

Despite the Celtics' voiding of the contract, Green still has been around the team. He was with them for the first road trip in New York and Miami and also joined them in Washington, which is where he went to college. He has talked of being relieved that his situation was discovered when it was, and that he will be able to continue playing in the NBA.

Falk said Green is planning to spend the entire spring in Boston to be around the Celtics after he recovers from Monday's surgery.

112288

112288
Very interesting article but the bottom line is that the only difference is that he has gone from a restricted to a unrestricted free agent now rather than at the end of the year. No big deal.
swish

Swish,

I took the same thing out of it, but there is still an element of risk for the Celtics if he does not do a sign and trade. Let's hope.

112288

112288
If the Celts decide that they want him, after he has been cleared by Doctors to return to play, because of the Cap money they will have available, they will be in a position to make a very competitive offer.
swish

Swish,

I am not sure of the rules so let me know. I thought if he was a restricted free agent, if the Celtics sign him he would not count towards the cap and therefore more money for the Celtics to spend on free agents.

112288

swish,

Actually, the difference between restricted and unrestricted is a big deal, IMO.

A restricted free agent (RFA) usually doesn't get any "reasonable" contract offers from another team, because the Celtics (in this case) could just match. The Celtics would wait out the RFA and let the market set the price. There are exceptions, but they usually involve over-paying the signee.

An unrestricted free agent (UFRA) can take any offers and doesn't have to use his old team in a sign and trade.

For examples, all we have to look at is Glen Davis. When he was a RFA, he (and we!) waited all summer for an offer from another team and he got none. IMO, the Celtics would have matched any offer, almost to the full value of the MLE. He finally signed with the Celtics for less than he thought he was worth.

This year, Glen was a URFA and didn't have to include the Celtics in a sign and trade when looking for his big payday. We could have gotten nothing from the transaction. We would be without Glen and we wouldn't have signed Bass.

We were just lucky that Glen and Orlando worked with us to make it happen. Things may not work out so well for Green and the Celtics, especially if he chooses a team that won't work with us. That is the element of risk that 112288 mentioned.

With a RFA, the team has control of the situation. With a URFA, the player is in control. I really don't know why Danny Ainge would just give away a talent or asset like that. Maybe for "good will"? Maybe other free agents will see this as a sign that the Celtic office is nice place to do business.

The article does say this:

Also, the Celtics will still be able to offer Green a longer, more lucrative deal than any other team, either to re-sign him or sign him as part of a sign-and-trade deal, which is what they did last month with Glen Davis.

That must mean that we keep Green's Bird rights, although I really don't understand why. I guess that not giving the qualifying offer is not the same as renouncing a player.

gyso

Does this not also make Green able to sign with the Celtics at a very low price if he wanted to?

Could be some sort of agreement going on where Green feels he owes the Celtics one year (which he sort of also would need to show he is "back", to get a big payday). Maybe the heart problem made Green feel mortal and thinking about if there are things more important in life than money.

112288 wrote:Swish,

I am not sure of the rules so let me know. I thought if he was a restricted free agent, if the Celtics sign him he would not count towards the cap and therefore more money for the Celtics to spend on free agents.

112288

112288,

If the Celtics haven't renounced Green, there will be a cap hold on him that does count against the Celtic's salary cap amount. Maybe the cap hold percent (150-300%) is less for a URFA than a RFA. Maybe if he isn't ready by next summer, Danny can renounce him and his being a RFA helps us somehow. I really don't get it, at this time.

I think the correct way to think about it is that if we are over the sal cap, we have to use an exception to sign ANY player. With Green, it would be the Bird's right exception. That would allow us to sign him (or some other player in a sign-and-trade) and use other available exceptions to spend on additional free agents.

We may actually be under the sal cap for a while next summer and we may be able to reel in a max guy. That may hinge on KG's and Ray's situation going forward. I do trust in Danny, but he has me scratching my head on this one!!

gyso

gyso
Great points as usual. You sure are up to speed on contract matters. I just happen to believe that Danny, per your article quote at the end, will be in a position to dictate, should he choose to do so, a dollar value that most other teams can't match. Stay tuned- we will get the answers in June.
Swish

Thanks GYSO!

112288

gyso

The new contract has reduced the number of days that the restricted player has to deliberate on a offer from, I believe, 7 to3 days. It is believed that this will create a greater interest in a restricted free agent since a team wil not have to tie up Cap money for as many as 7 days only to find out he has resigned with his current team.
Swish

That is why I like this Board, we are all on our game with insightful questions and answers!

112288

swish,

From the Summary of Principal Deal Terms (November 26, 2011)

Offer Sheets:

Period for a player's prior team to match an Offer Sheet that a Restricted Free Agent receives from a new team shortened from 7 to 3 days.

This is from the NBA CBA Proposal that ended the lockout. I got the PDF file back then and have a printout for reference.

I agree that this change will create greater interest in RFA signings. At the very least, it will make things move along quicker. In the long run, who will this change work out the better for? Rich teams? Poor teams? Free agents?

Time will tell, but a quicker turn-around on offer sheets should create a situation where more offers are made, where before there was reluctance to tie up a team's money (ie: cap hold on the offer sheet) for that long.

I just read the part in the NBA CBA Proposal about maximum length of contracts and annual raises. Bird rights players can get 5 years and 7.5% raises. Other free agents can only get 4 years and much smaller 4.5% raises. I guess that explains why it is in Green's best interest to either sign with us or help us out with a sign & trade with a team of his liking.

gyso

gyso

Thanks for the added imput. I Try to keep reasonbly up to date on this stuff, but at soon to be 8o years of age, the technical stuff doesn't stay in the brain as long as it used to. Thanks again for the clarification on this matter.
swish