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This announcement that James Posey will opt out is a bummer.

The Celtics got him for cheap last summer, when Miami simply matched the Celtics offer, and Cleveland (Posey's hometown) sat on the sidelines.

What I was hoping would happen:

Posey can make $3.46 million next year. I would tend to believe that if Wyc (illegally) assured Bartlestein that Posey will be re-signed using the Early Bird exception for 175% of previous year's salary or the average player salary, whichever is greater, for 4 or 5 years with up to 10.5% raises at the end of each year, that would not require using the mid-level this year because Posey will know that he's getting an Early Bird Deal the following year.

If Posey opted in and did an early Bird next summer, he would get:

2009 $3,462,280 (if Posey exercises his Player Option for 2009)
2010 $6,058,990 (Maximum Early Bird Starting Salary)
2011 thru 2014 Any amount no more than 10.5% raises of previous year's salary, for a total contract length of a minimum of 2 years and not more than 5 years

James Posey, Eddie House and PJ Brown all have the same agent, Mark Bartlestein.

PJ Brown said that he was offered the full Mid-Level by several teams, but decided to sign for the minimum with Boston as his best chance to win a championship.

By the way, PJ's playoff check should total an additional $2.5 Million on top of his salary.

Eddie House is probably going to be lost if this happens.

Eddie played for the remainder of the mid-level that didn't go to Posey.

Now, with Posey taking the full mid-level, the maximum that the Celtics could offer House is the LLE, for two years, which is like $1.8 Million, with an 8% raise in year 2 (two year maximum length).

If Posey opted in, got his early Bird as I gave the example above, then House and another free agent point guard like Tyronn Lue would split the MLE of around $5.8. That would make more sense.

PJ, of course, would have to return for minimum again, but I could see him doing that, since he has already demonstrated that this season wasn't about money.

But if Posey opts out, Eddie will likely be lost, unless he accepts the LLE for two years, which I suspect that he can get $3 million from a team in need, like the Clippers.

Wow, I can't believe that the only thing Posey wants is money. He could really help this team by not opting out, so that there will be more money to solidify the bench. But if we want to re-sign Posey, do we have to use the MLE?

I read somewhere that we can offer him 120% of his previous salary without using the MLE, but that would be only $3.85M, $2M short of the full MLE which other teams would likely offer. I don't know, but I just can't see us offering Posey the full MLE. We need that money for other bench players.

Jammer wrote:This announcement that James Posey will opt out is a bummer.

I missed the announcement, and so to my knowledge have the Herald, the Globe, and ESPN.com. But anyway, it's totally predictable that he opts out when the time comes.

The worst-case offer the Cs would make would be a one year contract for somewhat more money than he gets if he doesn't opt out, plus a new one-year player option that he also doesn't get unless he opts out. That's what they can do while preserving the MLE for other uses. I.e., if he insists on getting that much, he in no way hurts the team's chance of winning in the future.

Yes P2, you're correct on Posey.

If Posey opts out, the Celtics options are to offer him:

a) the Full Mid-Level for up to 5 years, with 8% raises

2009 $5.8 Million
2010 thru 2013 (up to 8% raise on previous year's salary)

b) 20% raise on current salary, with 8% annual raises

2009 $4,154,736
2010 $4,487,114
2011 $4,846,083
2012 $5,233,769
2013 $5,652,471

Obviously, option B does not require using the mid-level exception, and therefore the $5.8 Mid-Level would still be available for Eddie House and another free agent point guard like Chris Duhon or Tyronn Lue; or even PJ Brown

And obviously, Mark Bartlestein and Danny Ainge probably have this worked out already if James will be returning to the Celtics.

The thing is, James Posey, Eddie House and PJ seem like perfect fits in Boston.

In Eddie's case, it's his 8th team in 8 years, but it seems like he has finally found a home, even if another point guard is signed this summer.

And James seems like a perfect fit here as well.

I suspect Cleveland and the Lakers will be major threats for his services over the summer.

Technically, Posey isn't opting out.

He has a player option for $3.46 million for next season which,

if he doesn't exercise by I believe June 15,

he is an unrestricted free agent on July 1.

Yeah, technically it's not an opt-out, he's choosing not to opt-in. Also, PJ isn't coming back because he probably wants to go out on top. He was retired for something like 60 games of this season. Maybe we can get him to come back, but I don't think we'll need him, there are plenty of guys who can give us 10 minutes a night in the playoffs. As for House, he's a really good guy, and I don't think he'll hold out for a big contract. The guy has been around the league so much that he'd probably love to stay in one spot for more than a year, with a bunch of guys that he seems to get along with. Sam Cassell on the other hand will be gone. We really don't need to make any radical changes to our team, just replace the old guys, PJ, Pollard, and Cassell with a couple of rookies. One of Powe and Big Baby will probably end up getting traded. There's no need for us to keep two similar players, one of which will spend most of his time on the bench.

I'm guessing Pruitt will still be around, but it's hard to tell. He didn't seem to be in favor with the coaching staff or Danny during the season, but did sign a 3 year deal. Maybe we still intend to play him next year, but with our pg situation this year, any half decent player should have gotten some minutes.

Well, Rocky5000,

I just realized that the Celtics can offer Eddie a 20% raise on his $1.5 million 2008 salary,

with 8% raises in future years.

Although he can probably get like $3 million some place,

if they put enough guaranteed years on that, Eddie would probably stay,

considering there is also playoff money (probably like $2.5 million each for winning the championship).

So, without using the LLE or MLE,

Eddie could get

2009 $1.8 million
2010 $1.944 million
2011 $2.095 million
2012 $2.267 million
2013 $2.44 million

If the Celtics guarantee enough years, that will probably be enough to keep Eddie, again, if they guarantee enough years.

PJ might play for minimum, again, if he likes his role.

Scot Pollard has already said that he would return for minimum, which on healthy feet, and considering PJ has one more year at most, I think they would keep PJ and Pollard, unless they land a really good center in the draft.

First off, I would be very surprised if PJ Brown won a ring and then decided to play another year. There were persistent rumors that he didn't even really want to come back this year, and that was without a ring. He's made plenty of millions to keep his family and all their grandchildren wealthy. He would not withstand the rigors of 82 regular season games plus the postseason. The reason he was so great this year for us was he was fresh, thanks to the equivalent of a 60 game vacation.

There's also no guarantee PJ would remain as healthy as he has. At 38 and only getting older, and playing an 82-game slate, he could be in trouble. I think our best option is to let PJ retire, and focus on Leon Powe developing a better understanding of the rotations on defense. He'll never have PJ's length and experience, but he is a much better scorer and can at least compete on D thanks to his strength and long arms.

As for House, if he didn't get $3m last year, I don't see a whole lot this year to suggest that he can get that again. Teams still know he's not a PG, which is why he has like 6 DNPs- Coach's Decision this postseason. He's a great shooter, but he's a 3rd PG or 3rd SG. Ideally we find a PG in FA for cheap or with one of our draft picks that can supplant House as the primary backup.

Posey is troubling. I think he believes his work here is done, so to speak. He helped us get a ring, and he used us as a springboard to a big deal. While he has certainly not lived in poverty, he has never gotten a big contract. At age 31, this is really his last chance to get a long-term deal. With teams like Cleveland likely desperate for a 3 point shooter and clutch performer like Big Game James, I can see him getting a 4-year, $22m deal. And if he does, then I tip my cap to him, thank him, and move forward.

If we have to use the MLE on a wing, I'd much rather go after a younger player, like Josh Childress. Or go a little cheaper and try to pick up a SF like Gomes, James Jones, or Jarvis Hayes. Or find a true backup PG like Carlos Arroyo, who is pretty superfluous down in Orlando. James Posey has been my favorite player to watch, and certainly one of the 'glue' guys like Robert Horry who seems to always know his role and perform it, but if he is looking for full MLE money, that's a tough pill to swallow at age 31. We've already got a ton of money committed to 30+ year old players in GPA.

Gomes3PC:

I could see PJ Brown sitting out training camp and signing around January 31, just like this year.

PJ is a true 6'10", compared to Powe, who is like 6'6".

Scot Pollard has already said that although he will get better offers than what the Celtics can muster, he would return for minimum.

Given that I think you're right in that PJ doesn't want to go thru training camp or a full season, I suspect Scot might get a chance to show what he can do on healthy feet.

I also don't think that the Celtics have a choice if James Posey wants a full mid-level, the Celtics have to give it to him.

If he somehow takes the Option B I list in my second post in this thread

(20% raise on 2008 salary with 8% raises thereafter), the Celtics would have the mid-level for another point guard.

I suspect James will wait to see if the Celtics can land the point guard of their choice, to split time with Eddie and Rajon (my guess is Tyron Lue, who has the same agent as Kevin Garnett and was recruited to Orlando as a free agent by Doc Rivers right before Doc got fired).

But Posey is a must sign. The minute he was signed last year, I told everyone I knew that the Celtics were the odds on favorite to win it all. Of course, they had already signed House & Pollard, and were known to be working on PJ Brown, who shares the same agent as House and Posey.

I wrote a review during pre-season after watching the Celtics in person that their number one offensive setup seemed to be:

Garnett at center, who can shoot out to 20 feet and drive or post up
Posey at PF, who can make 3's, and defend
Pierce and Allen at the wings, who can make 3's, drive, or slash to the rim
Rondo (slasher/defender) or
House (3 point shooter who spreads the floor with fast hands on D) at point