Source: Joel Anthony Will Exercise His Player Option And Stay With Team

http://www.bostonglobe.com/sports/2014/04/17/joel-anthony-celtics-will-exercise-option-contract/Vga1ct7FfdX5lPcRHVdnHK/story.html



Celtics’ Joel Anthony will exercise option on contract, source says

By Gary Washburn | GLOBE STAFF APRIL 18, 2014



Joel Anthony (left), who played sparingly for the Celtics, likely wouldn’t have received $3.8 million on the open market.
ELISE AMENDOLA/ASSOCIATED PRESS


The Celtics’ salary structure became clearer just hours after the regular season ended as center Joel Anthony will exercise the $3.8 million option on his contract for next season, according to an NBA source.

Anthony, who was acquired Jan. 15 from the Heat in a three-team deal that also included the Warriors, played in just 21 games for the Celtics, averaging 1 point and 1.5 rebounds. Anthony could have opted out on his contract and become an unrestricted free agent, but it is unlikely he would have garnered $3.8 million in the open market.

Anthony’s playing time increased toward the end of the season, but the Celtics will have to decide whether he is part of their future. President of basketball operations Danny Ainge, who wouldn’t confirm Anthony’s decision when reached Thursday, could move Anthony’s contract this summer.



bob
MY NOTE: At $3.8M, that's cheap for a center of any size, shape or form. The things he could teach Sully about being an undersized center. The things he could teach Vitor about playing physical in the NBA. Could he be gone at any moment as part of a trade? Absolutely, and I wouldn't shed a tear (although I'm not hating him either) if we're getting an upgrade but I'm ok with this too.


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Bob,

If Joel Anthony was a free agent, he would be a veteran minimum player. $3.8m is not cheap for him. Boston wants nothing to do with him or his contract, they want to get Philly's first round pick in 2015 for taking on Anthony's contract.

tjmakz wrote:Bob,

If Joel Anthony was a free agent, he would be a veteran minimum player. $3.8m is not cheap for him. Boston wants nothing to do with him or his contract, they want to get Philly's first round pick in 2015 for taking on Anthony's contract.

TJ,

Yeah, I know he'd be a vet minimum but we need a center and he is a veteran.  If he was getting the minimum, with his experience, he'd be getting $1.3M.  So, we're forced to overpay him by $2.6M or whatever fraction of that we own him for up to the trade deadline next year. And sure, if Danny could move him for a 2nd round pick he'd do it in a NY second.   And yes again, the real value in that whole deal was for Philly's pick next year.  

If Philly does not make the playoffs, then that's a 1st round pick.  A first round pick of a team that doesn't make the playoffs =  lottery.  If they do make the playoffs (and going from #2 worst in the league because they were gutted of talent and not because of injuries, just because they add Nerlen Noels, who hasn't laced up an NBA sneaker yet and will get rookie calls against him, and another rookie in either Wiggins, Embiid or Parker, is not a sure thing, even in the crappy EC) then it's two 2nd rounders.  Not bad, I say.  We either get a lottery pick or two 2nd rounders for a player that we'd be doing cartwheels if he was traded tomorrow for a single 2nd rounder or included in a package for an upgrade somewhere.  And all for the low, low price of a couple of million dollars which did not put us over the cap and which may be valued as an expiring contract this coming year.

I'm ok with all that.


bob


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bob,

You have it opposite.
If Philly makes the playoffs next season, Boston will get their 2015 1st round pick which would be from #15 to 30.
If Philly does not make the playoffs next season, Boston will get Philly's 2015 and 2016 2nd round picks.

I hope Philly wins a lot of games next year then?



KJ

k_j_88 wrote:I hope Philly wins a lot of games next year then?



KJ

I think Philly could sneak into the playoffs next year which could mean a pick in the 15-17 range for Boston.

Ok, a little clarity here, I think, courtesy of the Orlando Pinstriped Post:


Boston agreed to take on Anthony because the Heat packaged two future Draft picks--the Philadelphia 76ers' lottery-protected first-rounder in 2015, plus Miami's own second-rounder in 2016--and, according to Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com, $1 million in cash with the veteran center.

Under the terms of the trade, Boston will get Philly's first-round Draft pick in 2015, but only if Philadelphia makes the playoffs that season. If the Sixers miss the playoffs, then they keep that first-rounder and Miami instead conveys two future second-rounders to Boston.

By making this deal, then, the Celtics have essentially bought two future picks for $2.8 million, or the cost of Anthony's salary less the cash the Heat sent them.




So, we paid $2.8M minus the $1M cash = $1.8M and got either a 15-30 pick or two 2nds and an asset that can be included in a package.

We gave up Jordan Crawford and MarShon Brooks.  Crawford was valuable, Brooks not so much.

Crawford + Brooks + $1.8M salary = Anthony + mid-1st round pick (I can't see Philly going from 29th to much more than 16th or 17th) or two 2nds.

We gained salary flexibility and got under the cap, which has long term implications.  Phil Pressey also got playing time he would not have gotten if we had kept Crawford.  Btw, Crawford is averaging 15.7mpg in GSW, the lowest mpg in his career other than those 16 games he played for Atlanta in his rookie year. Brooks wasn't getting off our bench.

Is Crawford and Brooks together worth a first round pick or two seconds? I'd say yes to the latter and HELL YES to the former. Is Joel Anthony worth $1.8M when the veteran minimum was $1.2M? It's not that big a hit if he's not.

Still, not too bad, especially if Danny moves Anthony for anything next year.


bob


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Now that Anthony is in Boston, the question is whether $3.8 million is a good deal for each party.

From Anthony's viewpoint, I'd say yes. According to Larry Coon's NBA Salary Cap FAQ, the minimum for a seven-year vet next season is $1.2 million, and Anthony (and his agent) must feel that $3.8 million is better than what he could get on the open market. He had fallen out of the rotation in Miami, and he's been in the same boat in Boston. If he can't get playing time for two teams that could really use help at center, he's probably not going to be in demand around the league, so yeah, $3.8 million is a good choice.

From Boston's perspective, I haven't heard anything about him being a head case or problem teammate, so I'll assume that he can provide mentoring value to a young center if the Celtics draft one. A general veteran presence on a team where the other main veteran presence is the mercurial Rondo could also be a good thing. That plus the occasional 5-10 minutes per game means that Boston could do worse for such a small hit to their salary cap (compared to, say, Gerald Wallace).

As for Philly making the playoffs next season, it's possible because of the generally poor state of the East. However, it's worth noting that although the West is much tougher -- the Suns at 48-24 didn't make the playoffs, and that record would have them tied for third in the East -- only one playoff team in the East is below .500 when earlier this season, it looked like four or five of them might. So can Philly get to .500 next season? They have Nerlans Noel returning from knee surgery, two lottery picks (their own and New Orleans' pick from the Jrue Holiday trade), and three second round picks. Add that to likely rookie of the year Michael Carter-Williams, Thaddeus Young, and a couple of other pieces... and I say no, they probably won't make the playoffs next year. That is one incredibly young group, and they'll likely be a playoff team in 2-3 years, but next season seems like a reach.

not a surprise here, we all expected he woud take his option at those $$ next year.

he maybe can be moved with other assets,as an expiring deal...but I am also OK with him being our 12-14 player on the team for the year

Honestly, I'd like to see him play more. I think I may be in the minority here.



KJ

For those who would like to see him get some minutes next year: If he couldn't get minutes with this center-deprived team this season, how many minutes is he likely to get if Danny just has a reasonably decent summer and (hopefully) a much more than decent one?

Sam

sam wrote:For those who would like to see him get some minutes next year: If he couldn't get minutes with this center-deprived team this season, how many minutes is he likely to get if Danny just has a reasonably decent summer and (hopefully) a much more than decent one?

Sam

I am far from a math genius, but if I had to guess... we could probably count on one hand how many games he'll actually enter.



KJ