ESPN article on the Cap space moving forward in Boston.

http://espn.go.com/blog/boston/celtics/post/_/id/4717004/future-in-focus-a-feather-is-their-cap


Future in focus: A feather is their cap

January, 11, 2015
Jan 11

2:15

PM ET


By  Chris Forsberg | ESPNBoston.com


On Monday, the Boston Celtics will finalize their third trade in 26 days when Jeff Green formally is delivered to the Memphis Grizzlies in a three-team swap. A fourth trade could follow soon after to send incoming Austin Rivers out to his father's squad in Los Angeles. Even then, the Celtics won't be done working the phones in advance of February's trade deadline while trying to liquidate all remaining veteran talent and increase its incredible pile of draft picks, all with a focus on a brighter future.

We spent this weekend examining where the 2014-15 Celtics stand after the most recent deals and breaking down how Boston might utilize its draft picks. We wrap up our mini State of the Celtics by examining the salary cap situation moving forward, including how it impacts the team at this year's trade deadline.

First, here's a quick glance at how Boston's salary commitment for the next three seasons should look following the Green trade (with the usual tip of the cap to salary numbers from ShamSports):




Celtics salaries for next three seasons


A look at where the Celtics stand in salary commitment over the next three seasons:



Player-----------2014-15---------2015-16-------------2016-17

Gerald Wallace-- $10.1 ----------$10.1  
Marcus Thornton -$8.6  
Tayshaun Prince-- $7.7  
Avery Bradley---- $7.2------------ $7.7 ------------------$8.3
Brandon Bass ----$6.9  
Marcus Smart ----$3.3 ------------$3.4 ------------------$3.6
Evan Turner------ $3.3------------ $3.4  
Will Bynum*------ $2.9  
Jameer Nelson ---$2.7------------ $2.9  
Austin Rivers -----$2.4  
Vitor Faverani*-- $2.1  
Kelly Olynyk----- $2.1------------ $2.2------------------- $3.1
Tyler Zeller -------$1.7------------ $2.6------------------ $3.7
James Young----- $1.7 -----------$1.7------------------- $1.8
Jared Sullinger ---$1.4----------- $2.3------------------- $3.3
Jae Crowder------ $0.9----------- $1.1  
Phil Pressey------ $0.8----------- $0.9-------------------- $1.2
Erik Murphy*----- $0.1  
Totals------------- $65.9 ----------$38.5 -----------------$24.9

* player previously waived
For the purposes of this exercise, we're including Rivers' salary until Boston finalizes that potential swap. As part of its recent moves, the Celtics have slashed their total salary commitment for the current season. Boston remains over the salary cap, but very comfortably beneath the $76.8 million tax line. That could make them an intriguing facilitator at the deadline.

For the moment, the Celtics still have 15 bodies, but additional moves -- or buyouts -- could free up a roster spot or two. With the savings from the recent trades, Boston could consider offering salary cap relief to potential tax teams and can absorb salary (preferably expiring deals) into its recent trade exceptions in exchange for adding to its draft pick stash.

Why would the Celtics utilize those exceptions now and not wait until this offseason?

With the team set to dip well below the cap this summer, Boston will -- for really the first time in recent memory -- be able to purge its books and have honest-to-goodness cap space to sign free agents. You'll get a fun trip down memory lane when you hear that the team is renouncing the rights to players such as Roshown McLeod, Michael Olowokandi and even Shaquille O'Neal -- players who linger on their books as cap holds despite having long since hung up their high tops. Why are they even there now, you ask? Boston has never been in a position to need to clear out those holds as a team that lived above the cap in recent years, but will have to do so to ensure salary cap freedom this summer.

And part of that renouncing could include dispatching larger trade exceptions that could clog up available cap space. Boston generated a pair of chunky exceptions recently, $12.9 million as part of the Rondo swap and a $5 million exception when Brandan Wright went to Phoenix. Boston might be better served utilizing those now in hopes of seeking additional picks through absorbing salary while it has the space, then purge its books this summer and hope to sell a big-ticket free agent on being the face of its rebuild.

Depending on how Boston proceeds this summer, it will have to make a decision on Wallace. If the team has the space, it might be better to stomach the final year of his bloated contract rather than part with the assets it might take for another team to take him away. Boston could also stretch the final season of his contract out, but would be paying $3.4 million for each of the next three seasons to simply clear one bulky charge.

How Boston proceeds could depend on just how much salary it needs to clear to land the players its covets this offseason. For the first time in his tenure, Celtics president of basketball operations Danny Ainge will have a chance to sell big name free agents on why they should sign in Boston without having to navigate the trade route to get them here.

And even if Boston strikes out in that pursuit, it still has all those draft picks to go the familiar trade route. The team can continue to take the rebuild slowly by utilizing its picks and sticking to a "draft and develop" path, but the more likely scenario would be adding a couple of fresh faces to the young core and trying to utilize other picks to obtain established talent.

The goal here is to try to show you the path that Ainge and the team are navigating as part of their rebuild. There's still a ton of work to be done, and Ainge has to make an awful lot of good decisions to accelerate this team back to contender status. But the moves the Celtics have made this season -- and will continue to make -- all are aimed at giving the team as many possible assets to work with, which increases the margin for error along the way.

Amid the overhaul, coach Brad Stevens and the young Celtics core must continue to make strides on the court while understanding that the team has a desire to turn things around quickly. What we learned earlier in the season is that a team helmed by Rondo and Green was not making the sort of progress the Celtics had hoped and, with their looming potential free-agent status, Boston ushered in a larger roster overhaul than might have been previously expected.

The next month will be spent trying to further position the roster for an upgrade this summer. The players that remain must try to elevate their own games because part of the free-agent pitch is going to be selling an intriguing young core that Boston has built in hopes that it's the base of a contender.

Boston still has enough talent that, in a head-shaking East, it will linger just outside playoff contention (though a tougher slate of upcoming games should drop the team back toward the lottery pack a bit). The Celtics certainly wouldn't mind some additional help from the ping-pong balls this spring, but are not reliant on it.

No, Boston has positioned itself well with cap flexibility, a surplus of draft picks and a burning desire to leave this rebuild behind. Sometimes it's hard to see the forest from the trees, but these Celtics are trying to navigate their way out of the woods.



Chris Forsberg
Celtics reporter, ESPNBoston.com
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a link that shows some of those "cap holds" the article is talking about.

http://data.shamsports.com/content/pages/data/salaries/celtics.jsp


as Gyso pointed out to me in another thread (and is talked about in the ESPN article) the two trade exceptions of $12.9M and $5M are also holds against us being under the cap next year..

and finally a couple of links about the 2015 FA class

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2251929-ranking-the-15-best-free-agents-of-the-2015-class/page/18

http://hoopshype.com/free_agency_2015.htm


start salivating everyone.

http://www.cbafaq.com/salarycap.htm#Q14

A cap hold for the combined amount of any Mid-Level, Bi-Annual, Disabled Player (see question number 25) and trade exceptions (see question number 85) available to the team (see question number 26), if the team is under the salary cap. (Teams may renounce these exceptions, in which case they no longer are included in team salary.)

$17.900 TPE (the two I know about)
$5.464 NT-MLE (2015-2016)
$2.139 BAE (2015-2016)
______
$25.503 total cap hold for exceptions

gyso

kdp,

1. There are cap holds for 1st round draft picks, determined by their position in the draft.  

http://www.cbafaq.com/salarycap.htm#Q49

Here is the chart:

http://www.cbafaq.com/scale2011.htm

2. There are no cap holds for 2nd round draft picks.  These players must be signed using cap room or an available exception.  For more, see:

http://www.cbafaq.com/salarycap.htm#Q50

2. There are cap holds for our free agents. The free agent amount depends on the player's previous salary and what kind of free agent he is:

http://www.cbafaq.com/salarycap.htm#Q38

Here is some info from Shamsports.  Scroll down to the Cap Hold schedule.  Some of this is not up to date, but it will give you an idea.

http://data.shamsports.com/content/pages/data/salaries/celtics.jsp

Plus see the post above for the cap holds for the exceptions.  Read down the entire FAQ #14 to see what is included when computing total team salaries and what is different when determining the "apron" number.

That should be enough to get you started.  

gyso

Edit:  I stole this from another thread:

This year's picks:

Celtics' own 1st - Clearly the most valuable of any of the picks since it will land somewhere in the lottery (barring very unforseen circumstances).

Clippers' 1st - The West is rough so any of the top 8 or 9 teams could conceivably fall in just about any order.  Right now the Clips are in the 6 seed which would give them the 21st pick (if I counted right).

Sixers' 2nd rounder - Right now the Sixers have somehow won enough games to be the 3rd worst team in the league (Brett Brown for coach of the year!).  So that would give the Celtics the 3rd pick in the 2nd round.  Sometimes early 2nd round picks are better than late first round picks because teams aren't locked into guaranteed salary slots and can give more team-favorable contract deals to players.

Celtics' 2nd rounder - again, likely to be early in the 2nd round.

Wizards' 2nd rounder - Right now projected at 52.  Probably not worth a lot, but maybe could be used to trade up a spot or two.  Also this range of the draft is often used for draft-and-stash-in-Europe kinds of

Thanks for the additional info Gyso.


as the ESPN article points out Ainge can be way below the cap for the first time in a lot of years.

when we scour through all the info, we can see that the team could be as much as $25M below the projected $66M cap number for next year (even with both first round picks).

Ainge has to be salavating at the thought of having the cap room to sign whoever he wants.

kdp,

I don't know where you get that $25M below the cap number.  The exceptions that I brought to light pretty much eat that $25M up.  I don't believe Danny will renounce any of those exceptions for anybody that is available next summer.  He may aim for the summer of 2016 free agent crop.

38.5M (salary from above)
25.5M (exceptions, from above)
04.3M (1st round picks, guesstimate: 5th & 21st)
_____
68.3M
02.0M (2nd round picks; two signed, one euro draft and stash)
_____
70.3M total

What is the sal cap estimate for next year?

IMO, we will be above the salary cap again next season.

gyso

Is there any difference between having the trade exceptions and no cap space and no trade exceptions and having the cap space ?

swish

swish wrote:Is  there any difference between having the trade exceptions and no cap space and no trade exceptions and having the cap space ?

swish

Yes.

Option A, With the trade and other exceptions and no cap space:

We can trade for a 12.9M player, or players whose salaries add up to 12.9M.  We can use the other TPE to trade for a 5M player or players whose salaries add up to 5M.  With the NT-MLE, we can sign 1 or more free agents whose salaries add up to 5.464M.  Likewise with the BAE at 2.139M.

Option B, With no exceptions but with cap space:

All the exceptions have to be renounced.  Our salary (38.5M) plus the 1st round picks (4.3M) plus the 2nd round picks (2.0M) leaves us at almost 45M.  If we add another 5.0M for odds and ends (things that I cannot account for but are probably lurking in the weeds) that leaves us at 50M.  Whatever the actual sal cap number is estimated to be (until I get a firm number, I'll go with 65M), we can sign a free agent for the difference, 15M.  Then we can only sign additional players with the vet min.

gyso

gyso

''•Teams cannot use trade exceptions to sign free agents; they can be used only to acquire existing contracts from other teams. However, a team can acquire a free agent using a trade exception if he is signed by his prior team and traded in a sign-and-trade transaction (see question number 91)."

Per above it would appear that cap space could be more useful if intentions were to be involved with a particular free agent. At least that's the way that I read it. Please correct me if I'm wrong.

swish

swish wrote:gyso

''•Teams cannot use trade exceptions to sign free agents; they can be used only to acquire existing contracts from other teams. However, a team can acquire a free agent using a trade exception if he is signed by his prior team and traded in a sign-and-trade transaction (see question number 91)."

Per above it would appear that cap space could be more useful if intentions were to be involved with a particular free agent. At least that's the way that I read it. Please correct me if I'm wrong.

swish

Swish,

If your aim is to sign a particular free agent, than yes, trade exceptions are useless unless you can convince his old team to do a sign and trade and he would accept $12.9M as his first year salary.

So, if you renounce all your exceptions, you can go after the ONE free agent and offer him around $15M.  In order to add any other players later, you will have to use the vet min exception.  That, IMO, leaves you with very limited options for adding more players for next season.  Nobody from the free agent 2015 class that would accept $15M excites me, so I wouldn't go this route.

I prefer Option A.

gyso

gyso wrote:kdp,

I don't know where you get that $25M below the cap number.  The exceptions that I brought to light pretty much eat that $25M up.  I don't believe Danny will renounce any of those exceptions for anybody that is available next summer.  He may aim for the summer of 2016 free agent crop.

38.5M (salary from above)
25.5M (exceptions, from above)
04.3M (1st round picks, guesstimate: 5th & 21st)
_____
68.3M
02.0M (2nd round picks; two signed, one euro draft and stash)
_____
70.3M total

What is the sal cap estimate for next year?

IMO, we will be above the salary cap again next season.

gyso

because as the ESPN article points out it is in the Celtics best interest to renounce those exceptions next year.

why constrain yourself to TPE rules and MLE rules, when you can just have the cap space to use however you wish?

those things are great when the Celtics are over the cap. but they can be $25M below next season. no need ot use them.

this is the thing that most Celtics fans have missed in the Rondo, Green and Wright ( and Nelson and Thornton coming moves). are really about.

What advantage would Ainge have by using that $25M in exceptions , when he can have the same cap space with NO restrictions on how to use them?

gyso wrote:

swish wrote:Is  there any difference between having the trade exceptions and no cap space and no trade exceptions and having the cap space ?

swish

Yes.

Option A, With the trade and other exceptions and no cap space:

We can trade for a 12.9M player, or players whose salaries add up to 12.9M.  We can use the other TPE to trade for a 5M player or players whose salaries add up to 5M.  With the NT-MLE, we can sign 1 or more free agents whose salaries add up to 5.464M.  Likewise with the BAE at 2.139M.

Option B, With no exceptions but with cap space:

All the exceptions have to be renounced.  Our salary (38.5M) plus the 1st round picks (4.3M) plus the 2nd round picks (2.0M) leaves us at almost 45M.  If we add another 5.0M for odds and ends (things that I cannot account for but are probably lurking in the weeds) that leaves us at 50M.  Whatever the actual sal cap number is estimated to be (until I get a firm number, I'll go with 65M), we can sign a free agent for the difference, 15M.  Then we can only sign additional players with the vet min.

gyso

Gyso,

I don't know where your throwing in an additional $5M there from.

right now we have $38.5M see above ESPN article

but Nelson's $2.9M player option is still on there. he will likely be bought out and that option will be gone. but for now we'll leave it there until it changes (soon).

using your $4.3M for the rookies

we are at $42.8M in cap space and have 12 players under contract (13 counting Nelson).

the second round picks are NOT guaranteed money and only count IF they make the team.

the ESPN article correctly quotes the $66M Salary cap number for next season.

That leaves $23.2M in real cap space IF Ainge renounces all holds.

if Nelson is gone (as I think he will be) add in that $2.9

so now we're at $26.1M in cap space and have 12 players under contract.

Max money for player with 6 years experience I believe is around $18M.

that's 13 players and Ainge still has $8M left to get to the Salary cap.

If one of those second rounder stick around, they cost less than $1M.

$7M left for another Moderate FA (about what Bradley makes this year) for the 15th roster spot. I should note here that Crowder may get much more than the $1.1 qualifying offer as his signed deal.

Wallace will not be waived, as they will use the $10M that comes off the books in 2016 for him to re-sign Sully and/or Turner and still be fine for the then expanded salary cap.

I think we'll disagree about how Ainge will proceed , but I think we both hope that whichever way he does works our best for the team.

because as the ESPN article points out it is in  the Celtics best interest to renounce those exceptions next year.

My Note:  No it didn't. It said, "Boston might be better served utilizing those now in hopes of seeking additional picks through absorbing salary while it has the space, then purge its books this summer and hope to sell a big-ticket free agent on being the face of its rebuild".

why constrain yourself to TPE rules and MLE  rules, when you can just have the cap space to use however you wish?

My note: Baby steps.  We do not have enough quality on board to go all in yet.

those things are great when the Celtics are over the cap. but they can be $25M below next season. no need ot use them.

My note: I don't believe we will have the cap space that you think we will have.  We are rebuilding and will attract no one who will want to join a rebuilding team at this point in their career.  Name a player who you think will come here as a free agent rather than go to a team that is contending now.  We are a year away (at least, probably more) from that.

this is the thing that most Celtics fans have missed in the Rondo, Green and Wright ( and Nelson and Thornton coming moves). are really about.

My note:  No it isn't.  It is about the draft picks, #1.

What advantage would Ainge have by using that $25M in exceptions , when he can have the same cap space with NO restrictions on how to use them?

My Note: To acquire more assets for trades, draft picks and more trades.

_____________________________________________________________

I added the 5M because (IMO) there are things that I cannot account for but are probably lurking in the weeds, as I said.  I don't think Danny will throw away three 2nd round picks just to clear space.  I think he may use two and stash the other in Europe, as I said.

Yeah, we both want what is best for the Celtics.  I just think free agents are generally over priced and trades are a better way to acquire top players.

gyso

Looking at the dollars available/cap space cleared and free agents available for the 2015 offseason, it doesn't appear free agent signings are on the near-term horizon.  Not anyone significant anyway.

Except perhaps Bradley, it doesn't look like we have much that will bring us back anything substantial in a trade, even if combined with some of our upcoming picks.  The draft picks we hold, at least in the range we think they would fall, might only have limited appeal.  There probably will be some interest in Bass and Turner, but, again, that doesn't get you much.

Free agents are risky (I'll go with the "crap-shoot" term) and I agree with gyso that they're generally over-priced.  We don't really have anything to trade, we can't even build much of a package of picks and players.  We just don't have the value to deal for what we need.

I'm starting to think Danny is going to be using more of those draft picks than anyone expected.

It may be possible, at least for next season, that we could have the NBA All-Diaper Dandy team on it's way.  It wouldn't surprise me if we draft or otherwise continue to acquire very young players through 2016 as a first step.

Here's a bet that the 2015 - 2016 Celtics per diem meal money goes a long way, because many of them will be too young to hang out in the hotel bar.

Not really impressed. Want the world to think you're a genius, Danny? Make Wallace's contract disappear. You know, the main one that was supposed to be moved?

Side note: all those TPEs are probably useless because what great players out there are on the trade market?


KJ

k_j_88 wrote:Not really impressed. Want the world to think you're a genius, Danny? Make Wallace's contract disappear. You know, the main one that was supposed to be moved?

Side note: all those TPEs are probably useless because what great players out there are on the trade market?


KJ

kj,

Look at the positives. If my guess about how young we're going to be is correct, Wallace could be a valuable baby sitter. He could be a sort of father figure; someone will have to show these kids the basics, like how to tie their tie, what to tip, and make sure they're tucked in at night.

Regards

Gyso, I assume it's okay for the Celtics to trade #1 picks in successive years as long as at least one of those picks was acquired via trade. Is this correct?

Others: I've been saying for a while that trades are the best way to upgrade because you control your own destiny (unlike the draft) and you don't have to go crazy trying to attract people to a rebuilding team. (I also like the fact that trades usually don't add to your cap amount because of the offsetting salaries provision.) I know that, aside from Bradley and/or possibly Bass and/or Turner and/or Tyler, there isn't a lot to offer in trade. (I'm making Smart an untouchable; and, right about now, I'd have to see a humungous return for the Celtics to trade away Crowder.) But I have to assume that Danny feels that some of those number ones will be prime trade bait. (I have my own doubts because so many of them are protected, but I hope Danny's right.)

Sam

NYCelt,

I suggest you take another look at the link from hoopsHype above at the ranking of FA's next year.

this years class is going to be pretty strong (even if some of the top players take their player options to wait out the cap expansion in 2016).

since most here think a starting center /big man with a defensive presence is the Celtics biggest need....here are few.

3. L. Aldridge - Likely to stay, IMO
5. M. Gasol- Will Memphis pay him top dollar?
10. D. Jordan- CAN the Clippers pay him top dollar
11. G. Monroe- will ANYONE pay him top money
24. O. Asik- will likely move, but how much is he worth?
31. T. Chandler- will likely stay and is getting up there age wise
32. R. Lopez- IF Aldridge stays, the money might not be there for Lopez.

I count FIVE defensive minded real NBA centers on that list 4 of which are 28 or under.

I can't remember another time when so many quality big men are UFA at once.

getting any one of them this off-season and the fans here would have been cheering wildly (I still hear the echos about how we should have gotten Asik the past two years).

Ainge can (and in my opinion WILL) be a player for at least one of the above big men.

NYCelt wrote:kj,

Look at the positives.  If my guess about how young we're going to be is correct, Wallace could be a valuable baby sitter.  He could be a sort of father figure; someone will have to show these kids the basics, like how to tie their tie, what to tip, and make sure they're tucked in at night.

Regards

LOL

So, with all this, we will have room for KD?

Right

Rosalie

I thought Wallace's contract was up this year. No wonder he is so quiet at the end of the bench. Wouldn't you be, collecting
$10 million for nothing except cheering the young guys on. Great retirement benefit.

RosalieTCeltics wrote:So, with all this, we will have room for KD?

Right

Rosalie

I thought Wallace's contract was up this year. No wonder he is so quiet at the end of the bench. Wouldn't you be, collecting
$10 million for nothing except cheering the young guys on. Great retirement benefit.

Rosalie,

I hope that we wait a year and go for KD in 2016, when he becomes a free agent.  Using your sal-cap space on not-max talent is a good way to spend the next decade out of the running.  If you don't go for a top 10 player (maybe even top 7), you won't get the results you want.

Top money players who have not won anything: Amare Stoudemire, Joe Johnson, Deron Williams, Rudy Gay, Carlos Boozer, David Lee, Josh Smith, Roy Hibbert, Jeremy Lin, Omer Asik, etc.  I'm sure that others can fill in a couple more names for this list.

gyso

Wallace is on the books for $10 M next season also.

I agree 100% Gyso, IF AInge decides to go for a near max player, he needs to choose wisely.

I don't see Durant ever in green myself, more likely he stays as the face of OKC for a while.

Just joking Gyso, just have nothing to do with my time lately!

I cannot imagine that a guy of KD's stature would want any part of the Celtics. I can always dream. Something about these young players who love their Mothers!

Rosalie

kdp59 wrote:NYCelt,

I suggest you take another look at the link from hoopsHype above at the ranking of FA's next year.

this years class is going to be pretty strong (even if some of the top players take their player options to wait out the cap expansion in 2016).

since most here think a starting center /big man with a defensive presence is the Celtics biggest need....here are few.

3. L. Aldridge - Likely to stay, IMO
5. M. Gasol- Will Memphis pay him top dollar?
10. D. Jordan- CAN the Clippers pay him top dollar
11. G. Monroe- will ANYONE pay him top money
24. O. Asik- will likely move, but how much is he worth?
31. T. Chandler- will likely stay and is getting up there age wise
32. R. Lopez- IF Aldridge stays, the money might not be there for Lopez.

I count FIVE defensive minded real NBA centers on that list 4 of which are 28 or under.

I can't remember another time when so many quality big men are UFA at once.

getting any one of them this off-season and the fans here would have been cheering wildly (I still hear the echos about how we should have gotten Asik the past two years).

Ainge can (and in my opinion WILL) be a player for at least one of the above big men.

kdp,

Maybe I should have worded my earlier post better.

I don't see a lot of 2015 free agents that I think are what we need, or, in the alternative, aren't over priced for what they could deliver.

Most posts or articles I read seem to think we need a center who is a major defensive presence, and only a couple on your list really would give us that aspect.  I don't fully agree with that mindset, although I suppose that's what was on my mind looking at your list initially.  If it's defense, I could see Jordan or, to a lesser extent, Lopez.  After that, again, if it's defense first, I'd rather take my chances with the draft.  Depending on who our other forward is, and his defensive ability, our next center could certainly be a scoring big man without a big defensive presence.  That would make one or two others on your list more appealing.  I like Aldridge and Monroe on offense, but neither helps us at the other end significantly, so we would need another , defense oriented, forward to go with one of them.  I would also agree that Aldridge probably isn't going anywhere.  Therefore, I could see Portland working hard to retain Lopez to help make up for Aldridge's defensive shortcomings.

Regards