NBA Notebook: Four theories on why the Celtics have waited to use their disabled player exception

The Celtics injury ward was pretty crowded during the month of December, and those various absences were further compounded by the busiest stretch of the season for the green (eight games in 12 days).

The injury situation and some of Boston’s latest struggles (5-5 over last ten games) would seem to create a sense of urgency to use the team’s disabled player exception (worth $8.4 million) or at least fill the final roster spot with a veteran’s minimum contract (leaving the DPE intact for later use). However, Danny Ainge and his staff have stayed quiet to this point, electing to stand pat for the first three months of the year despite being down to ten healthy players on the 15-man roster on Thursday night in New York.

Why has Ainge been content to watch and wait to this point? A few theories on why we haven’t seen any roster additions just yet.

1. It’s hard to add a player when you have no practice time: Bringing in a veteran shooter or defender is nice in theory, but it can be counterproductive without the benefit of practice time. Given the fact that the Celtics have not had the time off to hold a practice since the last week of November, bringing a player into the fold would have been a brutal challenge for Brad Stevens and his staff during the past month. The Celtics would have had to dumb down the offensive playbook during the time a new player was on the floor, and defensive coverages could have suffered as well with an addition needing to learn them on the fly. These issues may have created more cons than pros for any potential addition during December.

2. Protecting against future injuries: The Celtics’ depth is vulnerable in several roster spots right now. A serious injury to Aron Baynes would create a need for a rebounder or big body. If Jaylen Brown or Jayson Tatum go down for a significant length of time, the wing position is suddenly dangerously thin. What if Marcus Morris never gets fully healthy? The Celtics need to protect against all of these various scenarios and the best way to do so is by holding onto the exception into January and February. The longer they wait, the more likely they are to know whether or not Gordon Hayward will be able to make a return to the court this season. That possibility would certainly impact what position the Celtics will be looking to add to the roster as well. If Ainge is serious about making a deep run this postseason (without sacrificing any key parts of the team’s future), the DPE is the best resource he has to address any injury issue on the roster. The longer he waits to use it, the more he can protect the C’s depth against further injuries.

3. For the right player, the value of the DPE will go beyond this season for the Celtics: While the NBA puts in all sorts of restrictions about who exactly a team can use a DPE on via a trade (one player only; has to be making $8.4 million or less; has to be in final year of his contract), there is still some long-term value in acquiring someone who checks those boxes. The Celtics will be over the salary cap this year and a number of potential trade targets will bring their “Bird Rights” with them in any potential deal, which will give the Celtics the ability to go over the salary cap to retain them after this season. This is a potentially big weapon for the C’s since they will only have the mid-level and bi-annual exceptions to use in free agency for the foreseeable future to sign players from other teams. By bringing aboard someone with Bird Rights this year, they will have one more piece they can maintain for the long haul (if the fit is right) while still maintaining those other exceptions to use in free agency. Pretty much any tool you have add a rotation player when you are capped out is a valuable one in the NBA. Ainge remaining patient to find a player that could fit this description makes plenty of sense.

4. Trade prices come down the closer to the deadline you get: This is pretty simple logic but is always important to keep in mind: If you’re trading for a player, you are going to have to pay less for him (generally) in January than December. The Celtics (despite their recent uneven play) are still the top team in the East, so the urgency to make a move isn’t as huge as if they came out of the gate playing .500 basketball since the Hayward injury. Waiting not only brings prices down but it opens up more potential options as sellers emerge. The landscape of the NBA standings will be much more defined in January and February than it is now, and that should create more appealing players on the market as we get closer to the trade deadline.

Either way, the DPE is an asset the Celtics will definitely be using in the next six weeks, but they shouldn’t be faulted for taking their time with it.