July 4 Globe article on Posey/Maggette

[Fencer reregistered]

http://www.boston.com/sports/basketball ... ll/?page=2

The article strongly suggests:

* The Celtics HAVE made a full MLE offer to Maggette.
* The Celtics' initial offer to Posey was to give him the max raise they could WITHOUT using the MLE.

From the "Who knew?" department: Rivers knows Maggette's mother because they were high school classmates.

[mr_sunshine]

I would die if we got both. Too bad it looks like James is just looking for a pay day.

[rambo_ortega]

getting them both would mean #18!!!

[cloverleaf]

Go, Doc!

[MyInsatiableOne]

If we had both, it'd be a shoo-in


I don't understand why the owners don't open up the coffers and pay up...we know they'll pay to be winners...why stop now?

[grantlongforpresident]

I don't like this gamble.

There is a strong possibility that Maggette goes somewhere else for 8 mil/per and Posey goes somewhere else for the MLE.


Offer them both the MLE and see who takes it first.

[canman1971]

I don't like this gamble.

There is a strong possibility that Maggette goes somewhere else for 8 mil/per and Posey goes somewhere else for the MLE.


Offer them both the MLE and see who takes it first.

Only 3 teams can offer Maggette more than the MLE, and they have not shown any interest.

[Rocky5000]

Maggette is not going to get an offer better than the MLE from any contender. If we did offer him the MLE, we're right where we want to be. It'd be amazing to have a player like Maggette coming off the bench.

Posey's agent is acting really funny about the contract situation. It's almost as if Posey is torn between staying in Boston or going elsewhere for more money. It seems that Posey must be leaning more towards staying and his agent wants him to take the better deal.

[LongTimeFan]

"I don't want to hold the Celtics up or [general manager] Danny Ainge,"

Well that is evidence of some serious respect around the league. I guess winning a championship has a substantial amount of acachet among NBA players.

We are glad Maggette is being considerate of the Celtics plans. We are glad he feels honored by the interest.

What a change in just a year!!!!!

[SuperDeluxe]

"I don't want to hold the Celtics up or [general manager] Danny Ainge,"

To me, that sentence means one of two things: either Maggette is leaning towards another team, or when the Celtics made him the offer they said "it's on the table for limited time, as we need to take care of business".

[jfs1000d]

If we had both, it'd be a shoo-in


I don't understand why the owners don't open up the coffers and pay up...we know they'll pay to be winners...why stop now?

if Maggette gets the full MLE, the most the celts could pay posey would be the 3 year 12 million.

[MyInsatiableOne]

^^Why? I'm not up on the all the salary cap rules, but couldn't they just pay him what they wanted and take the luxury tax hit if they wanted to?

[Red2]

if you're posey though you're pissed on 2 fronts: 1) they didn't offer you the MLE and 2) they offered it to someone else who plays the same position you do.let's say the celts sign maggettee. where does posey play? I guess you could play maggettee behind ray at the 2 and still have posey back up pierce. that would be an amazing bench!! the problem with danny's plan is that this is a relatively weak market as far as good free agents go so a lot of teams will be willing to use their mle and overpay for posey. he's not really worth 5.8 a year in the current nba salary structure but he does bring alot of intangibles ( hugs, encouragement, leadsership etc) that don't show up in the box score. how much are those things worth? my number one goal remains to get posey signed and if we have to give him the mle for 4 years then so be it. danny is a poker player and right now he's bluffing big time- I just hope pose doesn't call his bluff and sign with the lakers or detroit.

[campybatman]

The Spurs are believed to have offered Maggette a multi-year deal, starting with their $5.8 million mid-level exception. Maggette became an unrestricted free agent this week when he opted out of the final year of his contract with the Los Angeles Clippers.

Meanwhile, published reports out of Orlando suggest the team perceived to be the Spurs’ stiffest competition for Maggette might be near dropping out of the race altogether.

According to the Orlando Sentinel, the Magic are formalizing a contract offer for free-agent point guard Chris Duhon, perhaps by the end of the week. In that event, Orlando would be all but forced to abandon courtship of Maggette.

The Spurs’ most significant challenger for Maggette’s services might now be the new NBA champions.

The Boston Celtics have made an offer to Maggette as well, one he told the Boston Globe on Thursday he is seriously considering. The most the Celtics could offer Maggette is the mid-level exception, same as the Spurs.

Looming over all of this is the question of what happens with Elton Brand.

Brand, like Maggette, opted out of his Clippers contract this week, ostensibly to re-sign at a bargain and allow Los Angeles to nab Baron Davis. But now Brand is pondering an offer worth an estimated $90 million over five years from Golden State.

If he rejects the Warriors’ offer, Golden State could use its ample cap space to make a run at Maggette. Maggette might wait until Brand makes his decision before making up his own mind.

http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/bask ... e7bd9.html

[GreenMachine]

^^Why? I'm not up on the all the salary cap rules, but couldn't they just pay him what they wanted and take the luxury tax hit if they wanted to?

That is not how it works. Pose can get the MLE or a 20% rase from last year - we can't just make up any number we want.

As I said in another thread (and Bill shot me down... with good reason... but this new article seems to support my theory...) I think they gave Maggs the full MLE and James the 20% bump.

The question Bill brought up - and is valid... what the heck are we going to do with Both of them? Are there enough minutes to go around?

[canman1971]

The question Bill brought up - and is valid... what the heck are we going to do with Both of them? Are there enough minutes to go around?

I don't see any way the Celtics sign both. My guess is there are 2 offers on the table, and the first one to commit will be wearing green/white next season. If Maggette signs, then Danny will need to fill out the roster with the LLE and the Vets minimum along with rookie contracts, barring trades of course. If Posey signs, even if he gets part of the MLE (he won't get all of it) making a little extra available to other FAs. I think it is quite apparent Ainge does not want to use the MLE on Posey, especially not the full amount. Posey does provide some things that don't show up in the stats, but you cannot pay him near 6 mil for 4+ years. I'd even hesitate to go 3 at that amount. Now, if you are talking giving the 20% first year raise, with 8% increases for 2 or 3 after that, or whatever is allowed as I am not sure how that works, then that is fine. I feel Ainge sees value in Maggette. Maggette could be a 6th man for 2 years, and slip into the starters role when Ray's deal is up or if Ray is resigned at a lower deal, they can flip flop. Ainge has his eye on the future in regards to Maggette, which is why he is willing, if reports are true, to go the full 5 years with him. In years 4 and 5, he could be even more of a bargain.

[TheCelticTruth]

i think there are enough minutes for pose and maggs, but its unlikely we have both.

canman is probably right about whoever signs first. i am hugely appreciative of what posey brings, and i am hesitant to see him leave, but its hard not to consider maggs and upgrade. hes younger, better, and a better athlete, but he would have to round out his game a little bit (play more d, make more energy plays etc.)

[JMillott]

What they would intend to do with both of them is play more smallball and blow teams out of the building more often at the offensive end. The Celtics are certin to have a very heavy interest in getting Ray Allen and Paul Pierce minutes down and to avoid the need to keep one of them out with the second unit to stop scoring droughts.

Doc Rivers has always preferred to go the route of having a second unit, because of the lack of players who could/would consistently create their own offense last season he normally had to keep eith Pierce or Allen on the floor at all times.

Davis/Powe
Posey/Powe
Maggette
Giddens
Rondo/House/Pruitt

Having those options as a second unit and letting Pierce/Garnett/Allen play nearly all of their minutes together would be fantastic. The Celtics would obviously love to have the problem of not being able to find enough minutes for back ups then having the problem of not being able to find enough rest for the stars.

If this team can keep everybody on reasonable minutes and everybody fighting for playing time they could blow teams out a silly amount of the time. We aren't looking to maintain the Celtics are looking to get better and if they can pull off the Posey/Maggette/Giddens/House summer and find a cheap veteran big (PJ Brown one more time?) we might win by an average of 15+.

You have to look at the Lakers are realize if they make it back and have a center like Bynum added to that mix that we will have to be that much better to win again.

[cloverleaf]

I think you're exactly right, Canman. Danny's working hard to use the C's new-found desirability in effecting a smooth transition to a younger but still championship-caliber team over the next several years. I think he can pull it off, too.

[TheCelticTruth]

Celtics are certin to have a very heavy interest in getting Ray Allen and Paul Pierce minutes down and to avoid the need to keep one of them out with the second unit to stop scoring droughts.

thats gotta be part too, its hard not to believe that part of ray's slump was fatigue. he played the most minutes on our team during the season