- Lowe confirms the Celtics have explored using their three first-round picks to trade up in the draft, but says Boston is considering a number of options with those picks, including trying to trade for a “solid veteran.” Since so many teams are in win-now mode, there aren’t many of those players available, according to Lowe, who says that Larry Nance Jr. and Dennis Schröder are among the players who could be under-the-radar targets for teams looking to upgrade their rotations.
[SOURCE LINK]
The Celtics may want to move up in the draft, but getting a deal done won’t be easy, writes Tom Westerholm of MassLive. Other teams recognize Boston’s urgency to turn the 14th, 26th and 30th picks into a higher selection, which means president of basketball operations Danny Ainge might have to attach a significant asset to entice a trading partner.
Westerholm states that Tremont Waters, Carsen Edwards or Romeo Langford probably won’t be enough, and teams are more likely to ask for Grant Williams or Robert Williams, whom the Celtics would prefer to hold onto. Instead of moving up in the lottery, Boston may opt to keep the 14th choice and try to package No. 26 and No. 30 for a selection in the middle of the first round. They could also opt to use those two picks on draft-and-stash players who wouldn’t be on the roster next season.
There’s more from the Atlantic Division:
- Aaron Nesmith of Vanderbilt is the betting favorite to be the Celtics‘ selection if they keep the No. 14 pick, according to Darren Hartwell of NBC Sports Boston. Nesmith, ranked 13th on ESPN’s list of the top 100 prospects, is listed as +550 and is followed by Patrick Williams of Florida State and Saddiq Bey of Villanova, both at +600.
- Eric Koreen of The Athletic tries to build the perfect offseason for the Raptors, which includes re-signing free agents Fred VanVleet, Serge Ibaka, Chris Boucher and Oshae Brissett. Also in Koreen’s scenario, Toronto lures Harry Giles away from the Kings at $4.2MM for one season with a player option for 2021/22, and drafts Malachi Flynn and Paul Eboua. In a potentially significant move for the future, Koreen has Giannis Antetokounmpo turning down a super-max offer from the Bucks.
- John Abbamondi, the new CEO of BSE Global, the Nets‘ parent company, relies on his military training to succeed in the business world, according to Brian Lewis of The New York Post. A former Navy pilot, Abbamondi is looking forward to the upcoming season. “We have a really exciting season coming up,” he said. “We’re thrilled with the coaching staff (Steve Nash) has put together, excited to see (Kevin Durant) and (Kyrie Irving) on the court together, and there’s a whole bunch of talented players on this roster. There’s a lot to look forward to. We do hope to have fans back in the building at some point, although we have to be realistic: Everybody’s safety and health comes first.”
Hoops Rumors is previewing the 2020 offseason for all 30 NBA teams. We’re looking at the key questions facing each club, as well as the roster decisions they’ll have to make this fall. Today, we’re focusing on the Boston Celtics.
Salary Cap Outlook
At first glance, the Celtics’ cap situation looks fairly comfortable, with about $95MM in guarantees committed to eight players.
However, that figure doesn’t include Gordon Hayward‘s $34MM+ option or Daniel Theis‘ $5MM non-guaranteed salary. Enes Kanter is also a candidate to pick up his $5MM option, and Boston would add another $7-8MM to its books by using its three first-round picks. With all those costs taken into account, the Celtics’ projected team salary jumps to $146MM+.
Boston could make some cost-cutting moves, including trading one or more of its three first-round picks. But this will be an expensive roster, and it seems like the Celtics will be limited to the taxpayer mid-level exception (worth $5.72MM).
Our full salary cap preview for the Celtics can be found right here.
Roster Decisions To Watch
Options:
- Gordon Hayward, player option: $34,187,085
- Enes Kanter, player option: $5,005,350
- Semi Ojeleye, team option: $1,752,950
- Note: Salary doesn’t immediately become guaranteed if option is exercised.
Non-Guaranteed Contracts:
- Daniel Theis ($5,000,000)
- Javonte Green ($1,517,981)
Two-Way Contracts:
- Tacko Fall (expiring)
- Tremont Waters (expiring)
Free Agents:
- Brad Wanamaker (RFA; Early Bird)
2020 Draft Assets
First Round:
- No. 14 overall pick
- No. 26 overall pick
- No. 30 overall pick
Second Round:
- No. 47 overall pick
After having held extra first-round picks for most of the last few years, the Celtics don’t have any surplus first-rounders beyond 2020. But they do have a pair of first-rounders besides their own (No. 26) this year.
The Grizzlies’ pick at No. 14 finally conveyed after being protected in the past — it was originally part of the deal that sent Jeff Green to Memphis in 2015. The Bucks’ pick (No. 30), meanwhile, was initially sent to Phoenix in 2017’s Eric Bledsoe swap. The Suns flipped it to Boston during last year’s draft in order to land Aron Baynes and Ty Jerome.
In the second round, the Celtics traded away their own pick (No. 56) as part of last year’s Terry Rozier/Kemba Walker sign-and-trade deal, so the Hornets have it now. But in that same trade, Boston acquired Brooklyn’s second-rounder (No. 47) from Charlotte.
Three Key Offseason Questions
1. Will Gordon Hayward be back with the Celtics?
Hayward’s contract with Boston includes a player option worth $34MM for the 2020/21 season, which means there are a number ways the offseason could play out for him.
If he opts into the final year of his contract, Hayward could simply return to the Celtics for another year before reaching free agency, he could be traded, or he could sign a longer-term extension with the team. If he opts out, he could sign outright with a new team, join a new team via sign-and-trade, or negotiate a new, longer-term deal with the C’s.
For most of the year, it looked like a no-brainer that Hayward would exercise his player option. He has no chance of matching his $34MM salary for ’20/21 on a new deal, and the list of teams with cap room will be extremely short. Opting to test the open market wouldn’t seem to make much sense for the veteran forward.
However, there has been some recent chatter, instigated by ESPN’s Zach Lowe and Bobby Marks, that Hayward’s agent Mark Bartelstein is quietly surveying the landscape to see what might be out there for his client. During that ESPN podcast, Marks suggested there’s a chance that Hayward and Bartelstein could go the Al Horford route. A year ago, Horford unexpectedly turned down a $30MM option with Boston and signed a four-year contract with Philadelphia that guaranteed him $97MM.
The opportunity to secure one last lucrative long-term deal was the right move for Horford, who was 33 years old when he reached free agency in 2019. Hayward is still just 30 and will probably be well positioned for a nice payday a year from now if he has a healthy, productive 2020/21 season, so there’s less urgency for him to seek long-term security this year — especially with so few potential suitors with cap room out there.
It’s also worth noting that when the Celtics let Horford go, it helped them accommodate the acquisition of Kemba Walker. If they’d matched Philadelphia’s offer for Horford, landing Walker while staying under the tax apron would’ve been a challenge. This time around, there wouldn’t be much of an upside to letting Hayward walk. It would help the C’s avoid the tax, but wouldn’t open up any extra cap room to sign a comparable replacement.
Taking those factors into account, I think Hayward is most likely to either pick up his option or sign a longer-term deal with Boston that reduces his 2020/21 cap charge. In either scenario, the Celtics could simply run it back with Hayward or explore their trade options (though they’d have to wait a few months if they sign him to a new free agent contract).
There’s no shortage of teams looking for wings with size, but the Celtics already have a couple good young ones in Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown, making Hayward somewhat expendable. If they can figure out a trade that sends out Hayward for a player who addresses a more pressing need on the roster – perhaps in the frontcourt – it would make sense to explore that possibility.
If Boston’s hypothetical trade partner is a team Hayward wouldn’t mind committing to long-term, a sign-and-trade would be another option worth considering. However, that scenario would require plenty of pre-free-agency communication between the two teams and Hayward’s camp to figure out the logistics.
2. What will the Celtics do with their three first-round draft picks?
The Celtics own the 14th, 26th, and 30th picks in what is considered a deep draft. If they were a rebuilding club, that would put them in a great position to add a couple potential long-term building blocks to their roster. But since Boston has title aspirations and a nearly-full roster, adding another three rookies to next year’s squad isn’t in the organization’s best interests.
As a result, it’s pretty safe to assume the Celtics won’t keep all three of those picks, or at least won’t use all of them on players for next year’s roster. That gives them a few options.
Trading one or two of those picks for a future first-rounder is one path the Celtics could take. They did that a year ago, sending the Ty Jerome pick to Phoenix in a deal for the first-rounder that became this year’s No. 30 selection.
Continuously rolling a pick over to the following draft is a good way to retain value and flexibility — if the Celtics want to fortify their roster at next year’s trade deadline, having an extra first-rounder available for a veteran could come in handy. Plus, after holding extra first-round picks for most of the last several years, the Celtics only have their own first-rounders beyond 2020. Flipping one or two of this year’s picks for future selections would help avoid having those coffers run dry.
Trading a pick or two in a deal for a veteran would be another option, but salary matching would be an issue in that scenario. The Celtics have no trade exceptions to take on salary.
Using a pick on a draft-and-stash player is one way to try to maximize the value of the pick without requiring a spot on next year’s roster. That approach hasn’t worked out especially well for Danny Ainge in recent years, but perhaps Serbian forward Aleksej Pokusevski (18th on ESPN’s big board) would have more NBA success than Guerschon Yabusele and Ante Zizic did.
One of the most intriguing options for the Celtics – and one the team is reportedly exploring – would be to use all three picks in an attempt to move up in the draft to land an impact rookie who could contribute immediately and develop into a key future contributor.
Picks at or near the top of the draft are exponentially more valuable than those later on, so the Celtics shouldn’t expect to move into the top five by dangling Nos. 14, 26, and 30. Still, there could be a deal to be had in the middle of the lottery.
The Pistons, for instance, could badly use an influx of young talent and may be open to moving down to No. 14 if they don’t have a specific target in mind at No. 7 — and if they believe they can get good value with those two extra Boston picks at the end of the first round. It’s not clear which player the Celtics would be targeting if they move into the top 10, but Onyeka Okongwu and Tyrese Haliburton are among the mid-lottery options who might be of interest.
3. What will Jayson Tatum’s extension look like?
Tatum will become extension-eligible for the first time this offseason and there’s no question he’ll get a maximum-salary deal from the Celtics. But not all max deals are created equal. There are some details that the team will have to negotiate with Tatum’s camp that could be important down the road.
For one, the length of the contract will be critical. Of the three maximum-salary rookie scale extensions signed a year ago, two were for five years, while Pascal Siakam‘s was for just four. It’s safe to say the Celtics will push for five years without a fifth-year player option for Tatum, who would still just be 28 years old by the time a five-year extension expires in 2026.
The Rose Rule language in Tatum’s deal will also be critical. As we outline in our glossary entry on the subject, the Rose Rule allows a player with fewer than seven years of NBA experience to qualify for a higher maximum salary (up to 30% of the cap, rather than 25%) if he meets certain criteria. Making an All-NBA team allows a player to qualify for that higher max, and teams and players are permitted to negotiate various starting salaries between 25-30% depending on which specific All-NBA team a player makes.
Siakam, Ben Simmons, and Jamal Murray all negotiated this language into their extensions a year ago. Siakam, for instance, will earn 28% of the cap in 2020/21 because he made the All-NBA Second Team — if he had only made the Third Team, his max salary would’ve been worth 25% of the cap. Simmons, who had more player-friendly Rose Rule language in his deal, will also get a 28% max salary after making the Third Team. Murray wasn’t an All-NBA player, but could theoretically have earned up to a 30% max if he’d made the First Team.
Tatum is coming off an All-NBA Third Team nod of his own, and had a strong case for a Second Team spot. Will the Celtics be willing to give him a 30% max if he makes any All-NBA team again in 2021, or would they require a First Team spot to go that high?
While the difference may appear marginal on the surface, that extra money adds up over the course of a five-year deal. Based on a $115MM cap, a player who starts at 30% of the cap would earn about $33MM more over five years than a player starting at 25%.
With big-money long-term deals for Walker and Brown already on the books, the Celtics could also end up as a repeat taxpayer down the road, so if they’re able to save a little money on Tatum’s contract while still technically giving him a “max” deal, they might welcome that opportunity.
There’s little doubt that the Celtics and Tatum will hammer out an extension this fall, but if it doesn’t get done immediately when the new league year begins, it’s likely because the two sides are haggling over these under-the-radar details.
Information from Basketball Insiders and ESPN was used in the creation of this post. Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
The Celtics, Magic, and Wizards are among the teams exploring the possibility of moving up from their current spots in the first round of the draft, league sources tell Kevin O’Connor of The Ringer.
Boston, which currently holds the 14th, 26th, and 30th overall selections, have offered all three of those picks in an effort to move up into the middle of the lottery, but no one is biting so far, according to O’Connor.
Orlando has the 15th overall pick and is also trying to move into the middle of the lottery, per O’Connor, though it’s not clear what the club is offering to sweeten the pot for potential trade partners. The Magic do hold all of their future first-rounders and could make one of those available if they want to move up badly enough.
As for the Wizards, they’re currently set to pick at No. 9, but O’Connor hears they’re angling to move up from there. General manager Tommy Sheppard acknowledged immediately after August’s draft lottery that trading up would be a possibility for his club, though it’s unclear whether Washington is targeting a specific player or spot. O’Connor wonders if a high-upside prospect like LaMelo Ball might pique the Wizards’ interest, especially if he slips beyond the top few picks.
Plenty of teams picking in the top half of the lottery, including the Timberwolves (No. 1), Warriors (No. 2), and Bulls (No. 4) have reportedly looked into trading down or would have interest in doing so. In other words, there should be options for the Celtics, Magic, Wizards, and any other teams that would like to move up.
However, given this year’s unusual pre-draft process and the perception that the 2020 class lacks star power, it may be a challenge for teams to agree on fair value for swapping picks separated by a few spots. The draft is still more than two weeks away and the league’s transaction moratorium has yet to be lifted, so we’ll have to wait a little longer to see how much movement there is in the first round.
Given Gordon Hayward‘s close, long-standing relationship with Celtics head coach Brad Stevens, the veteran forward finds himself in a tricky situation this fall, writes Sean Deveney of Forbes. Hayward may be able to secure a lucrative, longer-term deal if he opts out of his contract with Boston, but in that scenario he’d reward the team’s trust and patience in him by walking away without allowing Stevens and the Celtics to get anything in return.
On the other hand, if Hayward opts into the final year of his contract, the Celtics could turn around and explore the trade market for him, perhaps ultimately sending him to a destination that he wouldn’t have chosen as a free agent. The Celtics and Hayward have “a more personal stake in this than just basketball and money,” according to Deveney, who suggests that history will complicate both sides’ decisions.
- Although it seems likely that Gordon Hayward will opt into the final year of his $34MM contract with the Celtics, agent Mark Bartelstein figures to do his homework and quietly survey the landscape to determine whether there’s a scenario in which Hayward could secure a lucrative, longer-term deal in Boston or elsewhere, writes Chris Forsberg of NBC Sports Boston. ESPN’s Bobby Marks and Zach Lowe discussed that possibility on The Lowe Post podcast on Monday, likening Hayward’s situation to that of Al Horford a year ago, as John Karalis of MassLive.com relays.
Some members of the Pacers‘ organization continue to have interest in making a trade for Celtics forward Gordon Hayward, according to Ian Begley of SNY.tv, who cautions that it’s not clear whether Boston is open to moving Hayward or what the C’s would want in return for him.
This isn’t the first time this year that Hayward has been linked to Indiana. Approximately four months ago, J. Michael of The Indianapolis Star said during a podcast appearance that the veteran forward – an Indianapolis native who played his college ball at Butler – was a potential target for the Pacers.
“The kind of player Hayward is, is the kind of player (the Pacers) would definitely be interested in,” Michael said at the time.
Although Hayward can technically become a free agent this offseason, he’s expected to pick up his $34MM+ player option instead. Turning down that option in favor of a longer-term extension that locks in more overall guaranteed money is a possibility, but a new deal likely wouldn’t pay Hayward anything close to $34MM in 2020/21.
If and when he opts in, Hayward will be eligible to be traded, so it’s possible the Pacers and Celtics could work out a deal at that point — Myles Turner is one player who might pique Boston’s interest, for example. However, no Pacer is earning more than $21MM in ’20/21, so multiple pieces would be required in any trade and it would probably be a challenge for the two teams to agree on a fair deal.
Additionally, Begley’s report doesn’t specify exactly which members of the Pacers’ front office are intrigued by the possibility of acquiring Hayward. President of basketball operations Kevin Pritchard has the final say on personnel moves, so he’d obviously have to be on board with the idea.
We shouldn’t close the door on the idea of a homecoming for Hayward, but his contract situation complicates matters, as does the fact that neither Boston nor Indiana has a ton of cap flexibility. We’ll have to wait to see if anything comes of the Pacers’ alleged interest in the coming weeks.
The playoffs showed that the Celtics could use more scoring off their bench, and Jared Weiss of The Athletic has a few suggestions that should fit into Boston’s budget. If Gordon Hayward and Enes Kanter both opt in for next season, the team will be limited to the taxpayer mid-level exception, which should be about $5.7MM.
Weiss’ first choice is Langston Galloway, who averaged 10.3 points per game and shot 39.9% from 3-point range this year with the Pistons. Weiss notes that Galloway also handles the ball well enough to be considered a combo guard and would be a step up from Brad Wanamaker. Two other veteran possibilities he brings up are Orlando’s D.J. Augustin and Atlanta’s Jeff Teague, who may want to wrap up their careers on a team that can compete for a title.
Weiss also throws in point guard Jordan McLaughlin, who played 30 games for the Timberwolves this year after a sensational performance in the G League. However, the 24-year-old is a restricted free agent and Minnesota has expressed a desire to keep him, so the Celtics would likely have to go above his market value to have a chance.
There’s more from Boston:
- Center Daniel Theis had an arthroscopic procedure on his left knee Tuesday that included removal of a loose body, the team announced on Twitter. The surgery was successful and he is expected to be ready when training camp opens (Twitter link). Theis had surgery on the same knee in 2018, notes Chris Forsberg of NBC Sports Boston (Twitter link).
- In a full story, Forsberg looks at Carsen Edwards, Javonte Green and Vincent Poirier and examines whether any of them have a future in Boston. Edwards was a second-round pick who is under contract for $1.78MM next season, so he’ll likely return. Green made his NBA debut at age 26 this season after several years of playing overseas, but he has a non-guaranteed contract for 2020/21 that nearly doubles his salary to $1.5MM. Poirier will make $2.6MM next season, and Forsberg expects the Celtics to look for someone to take that salary off their hands to ease their tax situation.
- The Celtics are monitoring the Andre Drummond situation in Cleveland and could be a potential trade partner if the Cavaliers decide to move him, sources tell Evan Dammarell of Forbes. Drummond is expected to opt into the the final year of his contract at $28.7MM, which would make him a free agent next summer. Dammarell mentions the Clippers and Spurs as other possibilities.
All 30 NBA teams suffered financially from the shutdown, but the Lakers were impacted more than anyone, writes Bill Shea of The Athletic. Figures released by Team Marketing Report, a Chicago-based sports business intelligence firm, show the league lost $694MM from the cancellation of 258 regular-season games.
The Lakers missed out on revenue from 10 home games, tied for the most in the league, which cost the franchise an estimated $52.7MM. Rounding out the top five were the Knicks at $45MM, the Warriors at $42.5MM, the Rockets at $35MM and the Celtics at $31.5MM. Teams losing the least tended to be in smaller markets, led by the Grizzlies at $10.4MM, the Hornets and Timberwolves at $11.7MM each and the Cavaliers and Suns at $11.8MM each.
TMR arrived at the figures by using a weighted formula that considers Fan Cost Index, premium vs. regular ticket prices and attendance. The Fan Cost Index estimates how much it costs a family of four to attend a game. The NBA average for this season is $430, up about $9 from a year ago. Golden State created the most income from fans this year at $6MM per game, with the Lakers just behind at $5.6MM and the Knicks at $5.2MM. The Hornets were last, generating just $1.1MM per home game.
Although the NBA brings in $2.6 billion annually through its national television deals and billions more in corporate advertising, the league still depends heavily on fans coming to games. Commissioner Adam Silver has estimated that attendance is responsible for about 40% of revenue, which is why TMR owner and publisher Chris Hartweg believes teams will aggressively offer promotions to bring the public back when it becomes safe to fill arenas again.
“Something that jumps out as we’ve gone through these gross game day fan revenue exercises is that fan attendance is still critical to teams, even with billion-dollar media deals to cushion the blow,” Hartweg said. “If you take the NBA numbers and project across a full 41-home game season, the average NBA team hit becomes more than $110 million each. Leaguewide, we’re talking $3.3 billion. Our MLB projection was $173 million per team or $5.5 billion total for their 81 lost games.
“Those dollars are a huge incentive for teams and venues to make their facilities as safe as possible for fans to return as soon as possible. And in fans’ favor, we anticipate teams creating very fan-centric deals and offerings to welcome fans back.”
- Darren Hartwell of NBC Sports Boston ranks the five Celtics players most likely to not return next season, with Semi Ojeleye topping the list.