Free Agent, Trade, Buyout, Extension & Conversion Thread, 2025 con't

[WeLikeOurGuys]

Like I said, I'm sure Tatum is looking forward to rehabbing then coming back to wait 4/5 years for a draft pick to develop during the prime years of his career.

Realistically, the trade packages being discussed for Jrue and KP so far have been pretty underwhelming. If you remove both of them and replace them with lesser players, is this even still a championship contender? I just don’t see a clear path next year, especially if you keep Brown. The only way they remain true contenders is if they bring back the same core — and that would mean paying a massive luxury tax bill, which seems unlikely.

Don’t get me wrong — I’d like to keep Brown. But you have to ask: what does this roster look like in 3-4 years? You’re potentially looking at an aging Jaylen Brown and Tatum coming off a serious Achilles injury. That’s why if a team comes in and gets desperate, offering a top-2 pick for Brown, I don’t hesitate to pull the trigger. It’s hard, but probably the smarter long-term move.

If you are trading Brown primarily for draft picks then imo you might as well trade Tatum too. People always underestimate the amount of time it takes draft picks to truly contribute to high level basketball.

Even picks who are "good" right away at age 19-20 don't typically hit their winning prime until at least 23 years of age. Tatum was very impactful as a rookie but he didn't really reach his prime until about his 4th season. And that's really as early as it happens for these guys, Jaylen Williams has been really good for the Thunder in his 3rd year, but he was also an older rookie and is 24.

If you pick a 19-year-old chances are you are waiting 4 years before he's really, truly ready to be a #2 on a title team. So you are just burning those years of Tatum's prime. And there's no guarantee anybody you draft EVER even gets there. Here are the #2 picks going back the last 17 years:

-Alex Sarr -> Might be good, too soon to say.
-Brandon Miller-> Might be good, too soon to say.
-Chet Holgren-> Is good but injury prone.
-Jalen Green-> Been a bust so far, high usage chucker.
-James Wiseman-> Huge bust
-Ja Morant-> Good, but not a guy you want to build a team around.
-Marvin Bagley-> Huge bust
-Lonzo Ball-> Bust
-Brandon Ingram-> One time all star now on his 3rd team.
-DeAngelo Russel-> One time all star jounryeman.
-Jabari Parker-> Bust
-Victor Oladipo-> Two time all star who flamed out too young.
-Michael Kid-Gilchrist- Bust
-Derick Williams-> Bust
-Evan Turner-> Fine career, not a star.
-Hasheem Thabeet-> Bust
-Mmichael Beasley-> Bust

How many of those guys who you trade Jaylen Brown for knowing how their careers turned out or how they look so far? Not many. Of those guys the only guy I'd maybe take over Jaylen is Chet, but injuries could derail that.

Trading know all-star level guys for draft pick packages is a rebuilding move, its a move you make when you know you have multiple years of being bad to boost your own draft stock. Its far, far too risky to do when you rebuilding window is one year.

You make a valid point, but what does this roster actually look like going forward if you trade Jrue and KP? You’re not getting anything close to equal value in return, and now you're stuck with a worse roster. They’re not winning a championship next year unless Brad pulls off some incredible moves — and he’s very limited in what he can actually do.

Then you’re looking at the 2026–2027 roster with a 31-year-old Jaylen Brown, Tatum potentially coming off an Achilles injury, and Derrick White at 32. On top of that, you’ve got marginal picks and no real young talent to build around. That’s a bleak outlook.

This roster was always viewed as having a 2–3 year window — three if they actually won a title. they got bounced by the Knicks in the second round, maybe you start thinking about trading Brown for a high draft pick, getting a haul for Tatum, and rebuilding the Thunder way. But that’s a lot easier said than done.

[NotAKnicksFan]

Here me out

Trade target … Lamelo Ball

Too much of a sideshow personality & distraction. It’s not Brad’s type.

and always hurt, the guy never plays

True, but may be attainable because if that, etc

My hypothetical idea … 3 team deal

Jrue to Dallas for there 1st next year+ Gafford + pj washington

Porzingis + Pritchard , pick 28 , out first next year + dallas 1st next year.

You get a pg who can get out and run , create for others, is athletic and can shoot the 3 . It gives celtics another dynamic . Trying to buy low on him

Lamello - jd davidson
White - schuerman
Brown - hauser
Tatum - pj washington
Gafford - horford

[fallguy]

They're not trading for a top-5 pick. It's fun discussion but it ain't happening.

[yeleven11]

They're not trading for a top-5 pick. It's fun discussion but it ain't happening.

Only way they trade for a top5 pick is to re-route it to the bucks for giannis

[Celts17Pride]

They're not trading for a top-5 pick. It's fun discussion but it ain't happening.

What are you talking about?

Celtics are going to get a Top 5 pick, trade for Giannis and get the Nets to take Porzingis and Holiday into their cap space for nothing. Please get with the program.

Edit: I'll go out on a limb and say none of those three things will happen.

[cl2117]

Nets fan coming in peace throwing out an idea, how's this? Too much for Boston? Not enough? Basically #8, Claxton, Vassell, Keldon for both Jaylen and getting under the 2nd apron dumping multi-year salary instead of KP's expiring (which could probably be moved separately pretty easily).

Could switch Vassell or Keldon to Barnes on expiring and/or add in some more picks (likely from Brooklyn). Could also switch Claxton to Cam Johnson if that's preferred.



More of a retool saving money but adding a bunch of younger assets and the 8th overall pick to retool around Tatum when he's healthy. Keeps White.

Why wouldn't C's just cut out Brooklyn and take #2 for ourselves? If you're trading your 2nd best player, are you really going to dilute the value of the best piece coming back to you just to shed money?

C's would take #2 Johnson and Vassell and then figure out cost cutting measures separately. I doubt the cost to turn Jrue into lesser contracts ends up being more than what it would take to jump from #8 to #2. You could swap him for Gafford/Klay in Dallas and then pay a first to dump Klay to team X and be in a better overall spot:

#2/Johnson/Vassell/Gafford (minus whatever you pay to dump Klay) vs. #8/Johnson/Vassell/Claxton

Door #1 looks much better than door #2.

you obviously could, i think the followup deal i posted that also moves KP off the books is better but whichever you chose, this is the basic choice for BOS:

pick #2 (Harper)
or
pick #8 and $120-$150m saved, most over multiple seasons (non-expirings)

Is Harper worth keeping $150m of cap space (plus taxes) compared to whoever is avail at #8? I dont know the answer to that, i think it obviously depends on the specifics of each team's draft evals and financial situations.

windhorst and many others have reported that the 2nd apron teams including boston really want to get under. With limited cap space around the league that's not going to be simple for anyone. the Spurs (and many other teams) would obviously be happy to take on Brown's money, but in the KP version there is another $75m in 2025 outgoing salary aside from Brown, with a big chunk of that being multi-year money between Holliday and Hauser. If you did the version with just harper, you are going to probably need to include multiple firsts in other deals to move out money for pure cap space to get below 2nd apron.

(edit - this may not be exactly right, but gozlan has boston 22m over 2nd apron, quick math in a 2 team trade with Brown going to SAS would have Boston being able to save a max of about $10m in pure cap space with the spurs accepting back 125%, so to get under the 2nd apron you are needing to dump someone more substantial than Hauser into pretty cap space. The 3 players more substantial than Hauser are KP, Jrue, White and the only team with enough cap space to do any of them is Brooklyn, hence the 3 team above)

I think where you're missing out in terms of the money saved is that this isn't the only way the C's can shift that money. So while it's certainly an asset to the team, it still just doesn't make sense to dilute the return you get for Brown by incorporating that when they have other assets/avenues they can use to get to the same place. They're not mutually exclusive situations.

Let's say they trade Brown to SAS save $10m and get #2. Follow that up with a KP for Vuc/Phillips swap or Nurkic and some minimums from Charlotte, that's another $7m. Trade Hauser straight into a TPE or exception (he's positive value on that contract), there's another $10m. Boom they've saved $27m without paying an asset. They can go even further by breaking Jrue into pieces. Swap him for Gafford/Klay, send Gafford to LA for an expiring and have them pay Washington to eat it, there's another $13m saved. Pay SAC or Chicago a first to eat Klay into their TPE's, that's another $16m saved. You're up to $56m in savings at the cost of a first and maybe some 2nds.

At the cost of 1 first and maybe some extra 2nds to Chicago they could be saving the same kind of money without diluting #2 to #8. And if we were sitting at #8 and tried moving up to #2, I think SAS would be asking for a lot more than 1-2 late firsts from Boston. The math just doesn't math to me. Brooklyn sucking out value like they're the only game in town and that's just not the case.

[Larry_Russell]

Like I said, I'm sure Tatum is looking forward to rehabbing then coming back to wait 4/5 years for a draft pick to develop during the prime years of his career.

Realistically, the trade packages being discussed for Jrue and KP so far have been pretty underwhelming. If you remove both of them and replace them with lesser players, is this even still a championship contender? I just don’t see a clear path next year, especially if you keep Brown. The only way they remain true contenders is if they bring back the same core — and that would mean paying a massive luxury tax bill, which seems unlikely.

Don’t get me wrong — I’d like to keep Brown. But you have to ask: what does this roster look like in 3-4 years? You’re potentially looking at an aging Jaylen Brown and Tatum coming off a serious Achilles injury. That’s why if a team comes in and gets desperate, offering a top-2 pick for Brown, I don’t hesitate to pull the trigger. It’s hard, but probably the smarter long-term move.

If you are trading Brown primarily for draft picks then imo you might as well trade Tatum too. People always underestimate the amount of time it takes draft picks to truly contribute to high level basketball.

Even picks who are "good" right away at age 19-20 don't typically hit their winning prime until at least 23 years of age. Tatum was very impactful as a rookie but he didn't really reach his prime until about his 4th season. And that's really as early as it happens for these guys, Jaylen Williams has been really good for the Thunder in his 3rd year, but he was also an older rookie and is 24.

If you pick a 19-year-old chances are you are waiting 4 years before he's really, truly ready to be a #2 on a title team. So you are just burning those years of Tatum's prime. And there's no guarantee anybody you draft EVER even gets there. Here are the #2 picks going back the last 17 years:

-Alex Sarr -> Might be good, too soon to say.
-Brandon Miller-> Might be good, too soon to say.
-Chet Holgren-> Is good but injury prone.
-Jalen Green-> Been a bust so far, high usage chucker.
-James Wiseman-> Huge bust
-Ja Morant-> Good, but not a guy you want to build a team around.
-Marvin Bagley-> Huge bust
-Lonzo Ball-> Bust
-Brandon Ingram-> One time all star now on his 3rd team.
-DeAngelo Russel-> One time all star jounryeman.
-Jabari Parker-> Bust
-Victor Oladipo-> Two time all star who flamed out too young.
-Michael Kid-Gilchrist- Bust
-Derick Williams-> Bust
-Evan Turner-> Fine career, not a star.
-Hasheem Thabeet-> Bust
-Mmichael Beasley-> Bust

How many of those guys who you trade Jaylen Brown for knowing how their careers turned out or how they look so far? Not many. Of those guys the only guy I'd maybe take over Jaylen is Chet, but injuries could derail that.

Trading know all-star level guys for draft pick packages is a rebuilding move, its a move you make when you know you have multiple years of being bad to boost your own draft stock. Its far, far too risky to do when you rebuilding window is one year.

First off

Dylan has something that, as far as I know, no one above has, an NBA allstar/champion father

Secondly, who needs Dylan to be the number 2 option immediately?

Assuming Celtics traded Brown and Traded Jrue and traded Kristaps....Harper would STILL be the 3rd option. And that is ignoring that the team brings in NOTHING of worth outside of Harper himself.


The proposed trades bring in Vassell would be 2nd/3rd option behind Tatum and probably White (assuming Brown for Vassell and #2) and he also would be behind Washington (assuming Jrue for PJ Washington and Gafford)

You are immediately expecting that a rooking would be the #2 option right off the bat, and that is not the case at all.

A rookie would be expected to step up bigtime in 2 or 3 years....not day one.

[tfribs45]

They're not trading for a top-5 pick. It's fun discussion but it ain't happening.

What are you talking about?

Celtics are going to get a Top 5 pick, trade for Giannis and get the Nets to take Porzingis and Holiday into their cap space for nothing. Please get with the program.

Edit: I'll go out on a limb and say none of those three things will happen.

this is always the land of the make believe lol, it's part of the healing process.... I'm hoping for a strong reload (not rebuild) and get JT back in Mar.... you never know, he was operated on the very next day. That's some next level decision making!

[Netaman]

I think where you're missing out in terms of the money saved is that this isn't the only way the C's can shift that money. So while it's certainly an asset to the team, it still just doesn't make sense to dilute the return you get for Brown by incorporating that when they have other assets/avenues they can use to get to the same place. They're not mutually exclusive situations.

Let's say they trade Brown to SAS save $10m and get #2. Follow that up with a KP for Vuc/Phillips swap or Nurkic and some minimums from Charlotte, that's another $7m. Trade Hauser straight into a TPE or exception (he's positive value on that contract), there's another $10m. Boom they've saved $27m without paying an asset. They can go even further by breaking Jrue into pieces. Swap him for Gafford/Klay, send Gafford to LA for an expiring and have them pay Washington to eat it, there's another $13m saved. Pay SAC or Chicago a first to eat Klay into their TPE's, that's another $16m saved. You're up to $56m in savings at the cost of a first and maybe some 2nds.

At the cost of 1 first and maybe some extra 2nds to Chicago they could be saving the same kind of money without diluting #2 to #8. And if we were sitting at #8 and tried moving up to #2, I think SAS would be asking for a lot more than 1-2 late firsts from Boston. The math just doesn't math to me. Brooklyn sucking out value like they're the only game in town and that's just not the case.

where i see your math not quite mathing is that there is going to be a way to sequence the 4-5 trades you just mentioned to save the money without giving up assets. Remember there are other teams around the league also trying to dump money. You may think your players are marketable enough to save those 5-10m increments in each trade without attaching assets, but those teams taking on that money are likely going to have offers from other teams with assets attached in return for taking on money.

there is a more finite amount of overall cap space available to dump into leaguewide than probably ever before because of how the new CBA is impacting the trade restrictions and the aprons. That is where i think you are being overly rosy if you think it's going to be easy to just find willing spenders. None of us know for sure, but I think in a month that will have proved to not quite be the case.

[165bows]

I think where you're missing out in terms of the money saved is that this isn't the only way the C's can shift that money. So while it's certainly an asset to the team, it still just doesn't make sense to dilute the return you get for Brown by incorporating that when they have other assets/avenues they can use to get to the same place. They're not mutually exclusive situations.

Let's say they trade Brown to SAS save $10m and get #2. Follow that up with a KP for Vuc/Phillips swap or Nurkic and some minimums from Charlotte, that's another $7m. Trade Hauser straight into a TPE or exception (he's positive value on that contract), there's another $10m. Boom they've saved $27m without paying an asset. They can go even further by breaking Jrue into pieces. Swap him for Gafford/Klay, send Gafford to LA for an expiring and have them pay Washington to eat it, there's another $13m saved. Pay SAC or Chicago a first to eat Klay into their TPE's, that's another $16m saved. You're up to $56m in savings at the cost of a first and maybe some 2nds.

At the cost of 1 first and maybe some extra 2nds to Chicago they could be saving the same kind of money without diluting #2 to #8. And if we were sitting at #8 and tried moving up to #2, I think SAS would be asking for a lot more than 1-2 late firsts from Boston. The math just doesn't math to me. Brooklyn sucking out value like they're the only game in town and that's just not the case.

where i see your math not quite mathing is that there is going to be a way to sequence the 4-5 trades you just mentioned to save the money without giving up assets. Remember there are other teams around the league also trying to dump money. You may think your players are marketable enough to save those 5-10m increments in each trade without attaching assets, but those teams taking on that money are likely going to have offers from other teams with assets attached in return for taking on money.

there is a more finite amount of overall cap space available to dump into leaguewide than probably ever before because of how the new CBA is impacting the trade restrictions and the aprons. That is where i think you are being overly rosy if you think it's going to be easy to just find willing spenders. None of us know for sure, but I think in a month that will have proved to not quite be the case.

And yet the league will spend about the same amount on salaries

[keevsnick1]

Realistically, the trade packages being discussed for Jrue and KP so far have been pretty underwhelming. If you remove both of them and replace them with lesser players, is this even still a championship contender? I just don’t see a clear path next year, especially if you keep Brown. The only way they remain true contenders is if they bring back the same core — and that would mean paying a massive luxury tax bill, which seems unlikely.

Don’t get me wrong — I’d like to keep Brown. But you have to ask: what does this roster look like in 3-4 years? You’re potentially looking at an aging Jaylen Brown and Tatum coming off a serious Achilles injury. That’s why if a team comes in and gets desperate, offering a top-2 pick for Brown, I don’t hesitate to pull the trigger. It’s hard, but probably the smarter long-term move.

If you are trading Brown primarily for draft picks then imo you might as well trade Tatum too. People always underestimate the amount of time it takes draft picks to truly contribute to high level basketball.

Even picks who are "good" right away at age 19-20 don't typically hit their winning prime until at least 23 years of age. Tatum was very impactful as a rookie but he didn't really reach his prime until about his 4th season. And that's really as early as it happens for these guys, Jaylen Williams has been really good for the Thunder in his 3rd year, but he was also an older rookie and is 24.

If you pick a 19-year-old chances are you are waiting 4 years before he's really, truly ready to be a #2 on a title team. So you are just burning those years of Tatum's prime. And there's no guarantee anybody you draft EVER even gets there. Here are the #2 picks going back the last 17 years:

-Alex Sarr -> Might be good, too soon to say.
-Brandon Miller-> Might be good, too soon to say.
-Chet Holgren-> Is good but injury prone.
-Jalen Green-> Been a bust so far, high usage chucker.
-James Wiseman-> Huge bust
-Ja Morant-> Good, but not a guy you want to build a team around.
-Marvin Bagley-> Huge bust
-Lonzo Ball-> Bust
-Brandon Ingram-> One time all star now on his 3rd team.
-DeAngelo Russel-> One time all star jounryeman.
-Jabari Parker-> Bust
-Victor Oladipo-> Two time all star who flamed out too young.
-Michael Kid-Gilchrist- Bust
-Derick Williams-> Bust
-Evan Turner-> Fine career, not a star.
-Hasheem Thabeet-> Bust
-Mmichael Beasley-> Bust

How many of those guys who you trade Jaylen Brown for knowing how their careers turned out or how they look so far? Not many. Of those guys the only guy I'd maybe take over Jaylen is Chet, but injuries could derail that.

Trading know all-star level guys for draft pick packages is a rebuilding move, its a move you make when you know you have multiple years of being bad to boost your own draft stock. Its far, far too risky to do when you rebuilding window is one year.

You make a valid point, but what does this roster actually look like going forward if you trade Jrue and KP? You’re not getting anything close to equal value in return, and now you're stuck with a worse roster. They’re not winning a championship next year unless Brad pulls off some incredible moves — and he’s very limited in what he can actually do.

Then you’re looking at the 2026–2027 roster with a 31-year-old Jaylen Brown, Tatum potentially coming off an Achilles injury, and Derrick White at 32. On top of that, you’ve got marginal picks and no real young talent to build around. That’s a bleak outlook.

This roster was always viewed as having a 2–3 year window — three if they actually won a title. they got bounced by the Knicks in the second round, maybe you start thinking about trading Brown for a high draft pick, getting a haul for Tatum, and rebuilding the Thunder way. But that’s a lot easier said than done.

Jaylen will be 30 all of that season, not 31. Besides that how much worse are the Celtics if they trade KP? KP only played half their games this year. They won the title last year with him only playing like 7 games in the playoffs. The Success the Celtics have had the last two years has been IN SPITE of KP never playing. I think it's even possible you could trade him, get back somebody in the 10-20 million dollar range who doesn't have KP's ceiling but who ultimately provides as much value just by playing 70+ games a year and a full playoff run. KP's value has always been more theoretical than anything. You aren't getting back 100% of what he could be at his absolute best and healthy, but he's never at his best and healthy for long. Holiday is a tougher case, but the issue with him is he's 34. You are going to have to replace him one way or another because his production has already dropped some and will likely drop more in the coming years as he ages.

To answer your question: You do what Brad stevens has already been doing the last four years. The Celtics were a mediocre 41-41 just four seasons ago. They didn't have amazing draft picks in the future and their roster was piled high with a bunch of garbage after Tatum and Brown. They didn't have cap space. Kemba was on a bum knee and looking like an anchor on the future. They went out there and they made shrewd moves. They traded Kemba+1st for Horford. They traded Langford + 1st for White. They swapped Nesmith + First -> Brogdon +First-> Holiday. They drafted/developed well with Pritchard/Hauser/Kornet. Literally every supporting piece current on the roster had been added since then by working around the edges and making good trades. They have a few interesting young guys on the roster, an opportunity to add a few more with the #28 and #32 picks, and all their draft picks going forward.

The formula is what it's always been, make a few shrewd moves to find complimentary players next to Tatum and Brown. Hit on a few draft picks in the 20's and 30's to fill out your rotation on the cheap. They've already done it once, now they have to do it again. Its far from bleak, because unlike 4 years ago now we KNOW Tatum and Brown are good enough as #1 and #2.

The main danger is that Tatum comes back and is just never the same. I think that's a very low probability, but if that's the case literally nothing else you do around him will matter. And we won't know that for probably 2 years.

But let me give you an example of what they might do. Maybe trade Holiday this offseason for Bogdanovic+Dunn+Eubanks. They flip Dunn and Eubanks elsewhere just for the money savings. They swap Kristaps to the Jazz for Collinsjust to save the 4 million this year. He's an expiring contract. A White/Brown/Hauser/Collins/Horford team with Bogdanovic, Pritchard, Kornet and whatever young guys take a step off the bench isn't winning a title, but that won't be an awful gap year team. Then next season Collins expires, maybe they bring him back on a smaller deal. Maybe Horford retires at age 40. The Celtics opt Bogdanovic into his final year at 16 million giving them an expiring contract to trade, they flip him + their 2027 and 2031 firsts for a starting level guy under team control making in the 20-30 million dollar range. They probably have enough left over to use their mid-level exception and get a solid rotation contributor. They use their #28, #32 this year and 2026 first rounder (probably somewhere 15-24) to draft and add to Walsh + Schiereman hoping one or two of those 5 young guys hits. Like maybe Scheierman becomes an approximation of Hauser and one of 28/32/2026 picks hits to a Nesmith or Prithcard degree.

Your team is: White/Brown/Hauser/Tatum/Trade Target with a Pritchard/Mid Level Signing/Collins bench and whatever young guys emerge out of your Walsh/Schiereman/#28/#32/2026 1st bunch of options. I don't think any of that in unreasonable, and I think that team is pretty good as long as Tatum/Brown play at a top 5 and top 20 level.

[cl2117]

I think where you're missing out in terms of the money saved is that this isn't the only way the C's can shift that money. So while it's certainly an asset to the team, it still just doesn't make sense to dilute the return you get for Brown by incorporating that when they have other assets/avenues they can use to get to the same place. They're not mutually exclusive situations.

Let's say they trade Brown to SAS save $10m and get #2. Follow that up with a KP for Vuc/Phillips swap or Nurkic and some minimums from Charlotte, that's another $7m. Trade Hauser straight into a TPE or exception (he's positive value on that contract), there's another $10m. Boom they've saved $27m without paying an asset. They can go even further by breaking Jrue into pieces. Swap him for Gafford/Klay, send Gafford to LA for an expiring and have them pay Washington to eat it, there's another $13m saved. Pay SAC or Chicago a first to eat Klay into their TPE's, that's another $16m saved. You're up to $56m in savings at the cost of a first and maybe some 2nds.

At the cost of 1 first and maybe some extra 2nds to Chicago they could be saving the same kind of money without diluting #2 to #8. And if we were sitting at #8 and tried moving up to #2, I think SAS would be asking for a lot more than 1-2 late firsts from Boston. The math just doesn't math to me. Brooklyn sucking out value like they're the only game in town and that's just not the case.

where i see your math not quite mathing is that there is going to be a way to sequence the 4-5 trades you just mentioned to save the money without giving up assets. Remember there are other teams around the league also trying to dump money. You may think your players are marketable enough to save those 5-10m increments in each trade without attaching assets, but those teams taking on that money are likely going to have offers from other teams with assets attached in return for taking on money.

there is a more finite amount of overall cap space available to dump into leaguewide than probably ever before because of how the new CBA is impacting the trade restrictions and the aprons. That is where i think you are being overly rosy if you think it's going to be easy to just find willing spenders. None of us know for sure, but I think in a month that will have proved to not quite be the case.

No one's saying that it'll be easy to shed all that money but it's doable. They shouldn't be paying for convenience to get it all done in one go with Brooklyn, it's just bad value. Do the hard graft, break them down into smaller/cheaper contracts and keep trading the paperclip into a house. The cap space around the league won't ever entirely dry up, it just gets more expensive. So they do risk ending up having to pay a higher price than they'd like to shift the money, but if they're smart about it they can also feasibly do it without spending any assets.

And yeah I'm really confident that they can make those $5-10m savings without too much difficulty. KP is expiring, taking back cheaper expirings from a team looking for cheap way to take a step should be easy. There's multiple teams reportedly interested in Jrue, saving significant money in a trade with him might be difficult but breaking him into smaller moveable pieces seems viable. Hauser like I said should be free to move with no salary back in return (I'd honestly expect to land at least 2nds in return for him). In your scenario if they're also getting back Johnson and Vassell, both I think could be moved for lesser contracts and yield cost savings on their own. Between those 5 guys there will be opportunities to save money, especially if we're willing to take back worse players because our main goal is the savings. Doesn't need to all get done at the start of the season either they have until the end of the year so can keep making moves throughout the season.

I'd rather roll the dice on Brad's chances to trade our way out of cap woes inexpensively and get the higher upside pick than take the easy way out and make what's already a crapshoot even more difficult by picking at #8 rather than #2. It's just that simple. It's about opportunity cost.

[Bosjack]

Celtics are going to get a Top 5 pick, trade for Giannis and get the Nets to take Porzingis and Holiday into their cap space for nothing. Please get with the program.

So,you saying there is a chance.Il take it

[Netaman]

I think where you're missing out in terms of the money saved is that this isn't the only way the C's can shift that money. So while it's certainly an asset to the team, it still just doesn't make sense to dilute the return you get for Brown by incorporating that when they have other assets/avenues they can use to get to the same place. They're not mutually exclusive situations.

Let's say they trade Brown to SAS save $10m and get #2. Follow that up with a KP for Vuc/Phillips swap or Nurkic and some minimums from Charlotte, that's another $7m. Trade Hauser straight into a TPE or exception (he's positive value on that contract), there's another $10m. Boom they've saved $27m without paying an asset. They can go even further by breaking Jrue into pieces. Swap him for Gafford/Klay, send Gafford to LA for an expiring and have them pay Washington to eat it, there's another $13m saved. Pay SAC or Chicago a first to eat Klay into their TPE's, that's another $16m saved. You're up to $56m in savings at the cost of a first and maybe some 2nds.

At the cost of 1 first and maybe some extra 2nds to Chicago they could be saving the same kind of money without diluting #2 to #8. And if we were sitting at #8 and tried moving up to #2, I think SAS would be asking for a lot more than 1-2 late firsts from Boston. The math just doesn't math to me. Brooklyn sucking out value like they're the only game in town and that's just not the case.

where i see your math not quite mathing is that there is going to be a way to sequence the 4-5 trades you just mentioned to save the money without giving up assets. Remember there are other teams around the league also trying to dump money. You may think your players are marketable enough to save those 5-10m increments in each trade without attaching assets, but those teams taking on that money are likely going to have offers from other teams with assets attached in return for taking on money.

there is a more finite amount of overall cap space available to dump into leaguewide than probably ever before because of how the new CBA is impacting the trade restrictions and the aprons. That is where i think you are being overly rosy if you think it's going to be easy to just find willing spenders. None of us know for sure, but I think in a month that will have proved to not quite be the case.

And yet the league will spend about the same amount on salaries

Of course they will, the question is which teams will spend what? the teams who are trying to get out of the 2nd apron are trying to shift that spending to others who aren't exactly going to line up as willing takers. And the new rules make all of it harder than it was in the prior CBA.

So yes the league will spend the same amount but this is a new CBA still in it's infancy and how simple it is to cut salary is about to be very tested. I dont think anyone including the gms know how easy or difficult it's going to be until moves start happening. Use the Nets as an example, you could think what I proposed above is a gross overpayment, but for all we know the Nets could still be completely uninterested in it instead preferring to go all in pursuing Giannis. I don't expect them to get him even if they did go all in, but if they somehow did there's 1 less team interested in eating bad salary.

Every NBA team right now is strategizing their priority moves. Taking on bad salary is only going to be a priority if there are priority assets attached. If priority assets aren't attached those salary swap moves go to the end of the line, and at the end of the line there is risk that the game of musical chairs stops and there are no chairs left because other teams have made other moves.

[brackdan70]

Too much of a sideshow personality & distraction. It’s not Brad’s type.

and always hurt, the guy never plays

True, but may be attainable because if that, etc

My hypothetical idea … 3 team deal

Jrue to Dallas for there 1st next year+ Gafford + pj washington

Porzingis + Pritchard , pick 28 , out first next year + dallas 1st next year.

You get a pg who can get out and run , create for others, is athletic and can shoot the 3 . It gives celtics another dynamic . Trying to buy low on him

Lamello - jd davidson
White - schuerman
Brown - hauser
Tatum - pj washington
Gafford - horford

He played 47 games. That’s buying high. Have to wait until next year when he plays less than 40 to get fair value.
I just pray we don’t ever trade for this guy

[brackdan70]

You guys are losing me lol.

[fallguy]

Lamelo LOL

[leper-con]

We reallly need an insider to provide some sort of blue print as people are losing their minds

[165bows]

We reallly need an insider to provide some sort of blue print as people are losing their minds

I’m not an insider but it’s not that hard to infer their order of preference.

Brad will always be a go for it now guy within reason so they’d prefer to just trim down as necessary, backfill with cheap help and hope the Js are healthy enough to sneak in a playoff run.

Barring that they’ll just be as pragmatic as they are forced by reality to be.

[MaxwellSmart]

We reallly need an insider to provide some sort of blue print as people are losing their minds

Calling Celticsthug!!