Free Agent/Trade/Waiver Thread, 2025-26, part 2

[brackdan70]

I haven't watched a lot of Pellies this year... But from the stats/highlights they have an interesting undiscoverd big in Karlo Matkovic ...

Matkovic is showing some Daniel Theis potential to start this year. Karlo shooting >70% from the field, shooting >44% 3PTA and is making $2M this year with a team option for $2.3M next year

Watch on YouTube

Cs need a more experienced Center.

Matkovic is not ready for the playoffs.

Celtics arent ready for the playoffs.

The obvious assumption here is that once Tatum is back, they are.

[Larry_Russell]

Simons, Tillman, Boucher and 2-Boston 2nds to the Kings
Demar Derozan to the Pelicans

Herb Jones, Kevon Looney and Matkovic to Boston

White/Pritchard
Jones/Hugo/Scheierman
Brown/Walsh
Minot/Hauser/Matkovic
Looney/Queta/Garza

[Fierce1]

Why would a 3-15 team want a 36-year old DeRozan?

[165bows]

I don't see this as a good argument to trade for a guy like Gafford.

The argument is he's a good rotation center and the extension is basically fair. He's a tad injury prone lately is the main concern. What Queta makes is ultimately irrelevant. It's like Hauser making more than Pritchard. Is what it is. Helpful for the Cs that they'd have 2 rotation centers available for $20+ million.

There is an argument to go cheap next summer with a Richards or RobWill or something approach instead, though. Maybe talk KP into the MLE... But, getting out of the tax and a rotation level center locked up for the next 3 years is a good deal, imo.

Only thing is that I don't think he's good, I see him as mediocre. Of course, opinions will vary.

Agree he’s got a chance though to be a bit better than mediocre if you finally pair him with an elite player who elevates the team around him like Tatum.

[djFan71]

The argument is he's a good rotation center and the extension is basically fair. He's a tad injury prone lately is the main concern. What Queta makes is ultimately irrelevant. It's like Hauser making more than Pritchard. Is what it is. Helpful for the Cs that they'd have 2 rotation centers available for $20+ million.

There is an argument to go cheap next summer with a Richards or RobWill or something approach instead, though. Maybe talk KP into the MLE... But, getting out of the tax and a rotation level center locked up for the next 3 years is a good deal, imo.

Only thing is that I don't think he's good, I see him as mediocre. Of course, opinions will vary.

Agree he’s got a chance though to be a bit better than mediocre if you finally pair him with an elite player who elevates the team around him like Tatum.

That's the thought. With Tatum/our team in general, you get more of the Gaff w Luka version, not the one before/after.

[celtxman]

Why would a 3-15 team want a 36-year old DeRozan?

How about Simons and Hauser for DeRozan and Saric? Derozan still playing well if you still think he can do it next year too. We save money short and long term (when Derozan leaves in a season, or stays for lesser money.)

[hugepatsfan]

Why would a 3-15 team want a 36-year old DeRozan?

Have you ever heard of a guy named Joe Dumars?

[Fierce1]

Why would a 3-15 team want a 36-year old DeRozan?

How about Simons and Hauser for DeRozan and Saric? Derozan still playing well if you still think he can do it next year too. We save money short and long term (when Derozan leaves in a season, or stays for lesser money.)

Simons, Hauser, Tillman, and Baylor can get us DeRozan and Rob Williams.

[celtxman]

Why would a 3-15 team want a 36-year old DeRozan?

How about Simons and Hauser for DeRozan and Saric? Derozan still playing well if you still think he can do it next year too. We save money short and long term (when Derozan leaves in a season, or stays for lesser money.)

Simons, Hauser, Tillman, and Baylor can get us DeRozan and Rob Williams.

I like this but how does Portland get involved.? I'm not sure they want Hauser.

[Fierce1]

How about Simons and Hauser for DeRozan and Saric? Derozan still playing well if you still think he can do it next year too. We save money short and long term (when Derozan leaves in a season, or stays for lesser money.)

Simons, Hauser, Tillman, and Baylor can get us DeRozan and Rob Williams.

I like this but how does Portland get involved.? I'm not sure they want Hauser.

Portland doesn't have a knockdown shooter.

They also don't need Rob as they already have Clingan and Yang.

DeRozan will be a 2-year rental for the Celtics.
He becomes an expiring next season.

Rob gives the Cs that needed depth at Center.
Queta can continue starting while Garza becomes the 3rd Center.

Celtics stay on the 1st apron with this trade.

[hugepatsfan]

There's no specific penalties for being over/under the first apron. It's only relevant if you make a move that hard caps you there (use anything above the taxpayers MLE, sign a buyout player who made more than the MLE, take back more salary than you sent out in a trade, etc.). There are massive financial implications to being over the tax line and massive basketball implications to being over the second apron. The first apron though is kind of a meaningless, arbitrary threshold unless you made a move that hard caps you there.

There's really no incentive why a team over the first apron (and thus permitted to be over it) would make a move for the specific purpose of dipping back under it. There's no penalty associated with being over it. The only incentive would exist would be saving money. I just think it's important to point that out because I feel like a lot of people talk about it like there's inherent value in being below the 1st apron.

[hugepatsfan]

I root for ownership to give Brad as much money as humanly possible to spend. Then I root for Brad to spend it wisely for the max benefit of the team. If ownership lets Brad stay in the tax for DeRozen/RWilliams, that's a pretty good thing for my first rooting interest. If Brad actually chooses to allocate the money that way, it fails the second rooting interest IMO.

Staying in the tax for those guys vs. dipping under costs about $60M this season between the extra salary, the tax bill and missing out on the tax payout from other teams. Then you have DeRozens's salary on the books next year pushing you into the tax. Which you're also paying repeater rates on because you didn't reset this year (going under this year alone DOES reset it for next year even though it's only a 1 year reprise from the repeater rates). All in all, it's probably a $100M decision to add those guys vs. duck the tax and I just don't think it's good use of funds. If ownership is willing to spend that $100M it can much better be used over the next few years IMO. Don't like DeRozen's fit on the team and RWilliams is basically a corpse at this point.

[djFan71]

Do other moves to save money now and go after Rob or Richards in the summer. As a baseline:

Simons for Mann. Hauser for expirings. Duck the tax and probably get a few seconds for our troubles. Mann is our bench combo guard. Still plenty of money for Rob and (some portion of) the MLE and pick in the summer.

White, JB, <hugo/walsh/minott>, Tatum, Queta
PP, Mann, <hugo/walsh/minott>, Rob/Garza
Pick/TPE

Tradeable salary in Mann as well. If you keep Hauser the rest of the year, you're still under the tax and can combine with Mann in the summer. But you probably don't keep both going into the 26-27 year.

You can probably beat that depending on what assets you wanna use with the TPE (or Simons trade), but even that is a contending team if one of the young wings separates themselves and the other 2 improve slightly.

[Hal14]

Simons, Hauser, Tillman, and Baylor can get us DeRozan and Rob Williams.

I like this but how does Portland get involved.? I'm not sure they want Hauser.

Portland doesn't have a knockdown shooter.

Neither will we if we trade Hauser.

[Fierce1]

I like this but how does Portland get involved.? I'm not sure they want Hauser.

Portland doesn't have a knockdown shooter.

Neither will we if we trade Hauser.

You have DeRozan replacing Hauser.

Cs have Tatum, Brown, White, DeRozan, and PP for shooting.
That's more than enough.

[redslastlaugh]

Kalkbrenner also is signed to a four year contract, so you have the player for four years at dollar amounts of: $2.3M, $2.4, $2.5, $2.7M which is four years of an NBA rotation center for $10 million total... very valuable.

This is really important because even if our front office didn't love Kalkbrenner's fit in Celtics system, if we had a young cost controlled center, this is how we'd be able to get the center that we do want. We could trade away Kalkbrenner, paired with salary matching and a draft pick & that's how we'd go get the center that we do want

Bill Simmons always referred to this part of GMing as "taking the asset" you take the talent even without a perfect fit, because it makes possible a like-for-like trade down the road. Celtics drafting Al Jefferson and him developing into a desirable bigman is the key piece that allowed us to go get Kevin Garnett, even Kendrick Perkins developing allowed us to trade him for Jeff Green and a first round pick.

But if Celtics front office just thought Amari Williams was the next best center on the board and was either taking Amari at #32 or trading down because intel says Amari would still be on the board at #46, then thats your scouting... and you have to hope Brad is right on the eval

You can make the argument that Kalk, at this moment, may actually be better than Gafford. But If you factor in pay-scale then Kalk is so much better than Gafford. Stevens F*cked up by not drafting Kalk as much as Ainge messed up by not "keeping/drafting" Desmond Bane.

That is a mistake that may costs us dearly over time.