Who will the Celtics contact in free agency?

I have a feeling that the very top level free agents (Gasol, Butler, etc) will not get much attention from the Celtics.

Yes, these types of players may have more overall talent than some lesser guys, but they are going to be quite expensive for probably long term deals. some also may not want to leave their current teams either.

Guys like Monroe, Koufos, maybe Middleton seem to me to be more of the caliber players that Ainge will chase down early.

The three guys mentioned are not 'complete' players, but all have some very nice talents and skills that could fit in well with the core of players
coming back from last year's team.

Your thoughts? Your predictions?

wide clyde wrote:I have a feeling that the very top level free agents (Gasol, Butler, etc) will not get much attention from the Celtics.

Yes, these types of players may have more overall talent than some lesser guys, but they are going to be quite expensive for probably long term deals.  some also may not want to leave their current teams either.

Guys like Monroe, Koufos, maybe Middleton seem to me to be more of the caliber players that Ainge will chase down early.

The three guys mentioned are not 'complete' players, but all have some very nice talents and skills that could fit in well with the core of players
coming back from last year's team.

Your thoughts?  Your predictions?

clyde,

I agree.


bob


.

Clyde, I don't make predictions.  However, my "hunt and peck" analogy in another thread holds true here as well.  With some exceptions, I don't believe in acquiring (through whatever method) a player just based on the player's own merits.  In the case of this off-season's Celtics team, balance is an all-important factor.

Not simply maintaining a team-wide balance in terms of skills (although that's extremely important).  But also evaluating the balance each player provides between his offense and his defense.  Each player should be substantially better than break-even when his pluses and minuses are combined.  I don't necessarily believe this to be the case with Monroe, because I believe defensive  minuses can hurt this particular team more than offensive pluses can help it—especially at the "big" positions.

So far, one of the things I like about Frazier and Mickey is that neither seems to have ONLY offensive or defensive skills.  They can both make contributions in both areas.  I'm not sure about Hunter, not because I doubt his defense, but because I just don't know anything about it.  I believe his 6' 6" height at the SG position could potentially bode well for his defensive attributes, but I have no proof so far.  His height just gives me a better feeling than envisioning midgets at that position.

Sam

I have a prediction (based on what my reaction will be if such in such happens)

I would be very surprised if the Celtics are able to land a top free agent. My guess is that they will sign a lower level free agent or two but end up over paying them.

dboss

Sam,

You know that James Young is fairly tall so height alone does not make a defensive player.

Hopefully, Hunter is better on D than Young was, and if he is better still when this year starts he may just push Young back to Maine.

I agree about the Celtics' probably signing one or more lower level free agents.  I just hope he does it quickly rather than wasting a lot of time playing footsie with agents whose main objective is to drive up prices.

Paying is Danny's business, and none of us has a clue as to all the factors that go into salary calculation.  My feeling is that  a given player doesn't magically become more of a contributor just because the Celtics were able to save a few bucks in signing him.  If he's worth acquiring, it's Danny's and Wyc's professional responsibilities to determine how much they're willing to pay.  None of us has the expertise to know what constitutes "overpaying" in any given case.  It's different when evaluating players because we can gain first-hand insights into player performance.

Sam

And in effort to become less clueless I came up with a few variables that may be considered by Danny when it comes to salary

Proven Skill (s)
Positional consideration
Age of the player
How a player fits into the system
Character of the player
Comparable salaries for similar players
Current and future Salary cap considerations

What else can we add to the list?

dboss

Sam,

You have made a point about not worrying about "over paying" for any player and I totally agree since whatever they may decide to pay any player none of said player's salary comes out of my limited funds.

But, there is always a concern from the team's point of view as to how much each player is worth financially, and it is nice to play along with what we perceive as Ainge's idea of payments to present and future players.

There has been a theme in recent years that the Cs do not want to be over the cap limits while they are rebuilding.
Although very understandable, this theme could change at any time. I, for one, would not mind seeing the cap exceeded this year since it would only be the first year (out of the last several) that the Celtics would be over the limit. In 2017 the cap is supposed to jump up so they could stay under the new, higher cap in that year if they so desire.

I guess I am not concerned with very much (cap, draft picks, even some of our younger players, etc) if Ainge can find us a quality center for next year who is at least fairly young and has room to grow into a leadership position on the team without having to wipe out the core of last year's team.

50 wins next year is going to take much improved play by a center.

Clyde,

I know many like to "play along" and have a lot of fun discussing salaries just as many derive great pleasure out of handicapping the draft.  I definitely support that, and I try to do my best to participate in related threads on the forum.

But, at heart, I'm more of a "between the lines" guy, having grown up that way.  We never knew how much players were making (except perhaps for Wilt and Russell), and we didn't care.  We didn't have much (if any) information about who might be drafted.  Part of our fun was being presented (usually after the fact) with the draft selections and focusing on anticipating the fit they represented for the Celtics and following their progress over time.

I remember having a field day after Jim Loscutoff was drafted and really getting into the folklore of how, at 6' 5", he could rest his elbow on the rim when he jumped and how he was a huge lover of borscht.  His toughness actually came as somewhat of a surprise once I saw him in a game.

As a fan, I simply don't believe in having money be a major factor in my thoughts about the value of a player.  For me, "value" is defined by playing ability and fit for the team, and I'm happy to let Danny worry about the rest.

Guess I wouldn't be much of a general manager.  Too far from the playing floor for my taste.  LOL.

Sam