Tampering is everywhere in today’s NBA. Stars are connected to their next destination sometimes a year in advance, as was the case with LeBron James and the Lakers last offseason. The Clippers were openly recruiting Kawhi Leonard for much of the past season, while countless names (Kyrie Irving, Kevin Durant) found new homes on June 30 without even meeting with their suitors. The Celtics’ overtures towards Kemba Walker turned into a reported commitment by the All-Star before the free agency period even began.
This is par for the course around the league in recent summers, particularly when it comes to stars. There is no real mystery when it comes to bidding with big names (everyone knows everyone who wants them will offer the max) so legwork is down through backchannels (players, intermediaries) to help gauge a player’s interest in going to a destination.
The Nets clearly got ahead of the game on this front in mid-June when they dumped the contract of Allen Crabbe to the Hawks with a pair of first-round picks in order to open up potential cap room for a second max contract. A maneuver like that doesn’t happen unless the team gets an indication that two big names like Durant and Irving are interested in coming.
The Celtics knew for months that Irving was a threat to leave and they didn’t complain about those moves in wake of his departure. However, the whispers grow louder about Boston's ire due to another ex-Celtic this week and how his decision was made about a new home before free agency even began.
“The Celtics were, from what I am told, one of the teams that kind of stomped their feet with what they thought was tampering,” Brian Windhorst said on the ESPN Hoop Collective podcast. “What happened with Horford, from what I am told, really upset the Celtics. They were thinking they were going to be able to negotiate with him, talk to him about a new contract and all of a sudden it was like, he already knew what his market was and what was out there.”
His co-host Jackie MacMullan downplayed those complaints while pointing to the C’s own potential tampering.
“We all know how this works. Everybody tampers,” she said. “How was it that Kemba Walker all of a sudden was going to the Boston Celtics? Shenanigans. They had their chance with Al Horford.”
While it’s easy to poo-poo the C’s concerns, it’s important to note that this is an apples-to-oranges situation when comparing the two scenarios here. The Celtics have a legitimate right to be miffed here when you look at the timeline of Horford’s departure.
June 5th: Danny Ainge holds his first press conference after the postseason. He refers to keeping Horford as, “one of the priorities on our list as well.”
June 18th: Horford opts out of his $30.1 player option, as expected on the deadline day. The Celtics plan on staying engaged in extension negotiations with Horford heading into free agency.
Evening of June 18th: Horford’s camp reportedly tells the Celtics that he is no longer interested in signing a three-year deal to stay with the Celtics and is expected to sign a four-year free-agent contract elsewhere.
June 30th: Horford agrees to a sign a four-year deal with the Sixers mere minutes after the team opens up cap space following the sign-and-trade of Jimmy Butler for Josh Richardson.
So what exactly makes this tampering any different than what we’ve seen for years among stars?
The issue the Celtics have here is the fact that Horford’s market (which was uncertain) was set weeks before free agency even hit. When max free agents experience tampering, there is really no negotiation that takes place when it comes to money. They know who has cap room and the offers that are coming their way.
Horford was not a max guy so his market should not have been clear until free agency began. Based on this, the Celtics believed they had a chance to negotiate exclusively with him in the two weeks after hist June 18th opt-out deadline. In that span, the Celtics could have strengthened their case to convince him to stay with additional moves at the draft to appeal to Horford, while also potentially sweetening their offer to a number appealing enough where Horford may have been willing to accept it. Horford’s camp may have just waited it out and tested free agency anyway but the security of a long-term offer in a familiar place may have eventually held more appeal for the five-time All-Star in that span.
The Celtics never really had a chance to go through that dance though due to the Sixers’ tampering in mid-June. By (somehow) informing Horford’s camp what type of deal was on the table for him on June 18th, a market was set far greater than the big man could have anticipated in beforehand what was an appealing destination for him. The Celtics lost any leverage in negotiations at this point since the price point was higher ($109 million) than they were willing to offer. Would Horford had agreed to four-year $90-100 million deal before free agency if the Celtics hinted they would land Kemba Walker as well? Boston never really got a chance to find out. His mind was made up according to Ainge.
“Once we felt like we had Kemba,” Ainge explained, “We talked with Al’s agent, and talked with him about the circumstance, it was made clear where we were. But, I think a decision had already been made.”
The Sixers’ were sneaky about how they went about this, being constantly referred to as a ‘mystery team’ for the weeks up to June 30th since they didn't technically have cap room without giving up a lot of their other free agents. However, a prearranged deal with Horford worked to their advantage with additional free agency planning. With a price point locked in for Horford, the Sixers could confidently leverage Butler in sign-and-trade scenarios, knowing the exact type of compensation to seek to make the money for Horford's new contract work (i.e. Josh Richardson). They drafted a wing on June 20th in Matisse Thybulle as well, likely with the knowledge that Horford was in and Butler was likely headed elsewhere in free agency.
Ultimately, all of this may not have mattered for Boston. The Sixers could have made their pitch on the first night of free agency and landed Horford anyway then based on the positional fit and the Sixers personnel.
“He really likes to play the 4 more than the 5,” Ainge said on Toucher and Rich this week. “He likes playing with Aron Baynes. He didn't mind playing some 5 but I think he prefers playing the 4. Going to Philadelphia will allow him to be almost exclusively the 4."
Still, the high degree of tampering here by a division rival was perhaps over the line even by loose NBA standards. The Celtics will not be able to prove it but they have every right to be miffed about it. An exclusive negotiation window with Horford was taken away by Philadelphia last month and with it went the C’s best chances of landing Horford at a good price and getting out of the Eastern Conference next year. Instead, the C’s were climbing uphill for the rest of negotiations and never really stood much of a chance after a premature strike from Philly.
Walking away from Horford he's making may ultimately be the right move for Boston given the high price the Sixers paid but the way it was done will almost certainly create more bad blood between the rivals for years to come.
Other NBA News and Notes
- A nice pickup for the Bucks on Saturday who added Kyle Korver for the veteran’s minimum. The 38-year-old sharpshooter picked the Bucks over the Sixers reportedly, who remain in dire need of more wing shooters. It remains to be seen whether Korver can earn regular minutes so late in his career but that’s a needed upgrade for Milwaukee from the perimeter after losing their best long-distance weapon in Malcolm Brogdon to the Pacers.
- Some potentially good news for teams around the NBA when it comes to pursuing Bradley Beal: The Wizards are in the process of naming interim GM Tommy Sheppard their full-time general manager according to multiple reports. This won’t mean much for now (I wouldn’t expect Beal to be available this summer) but empowering a general manager for this likely tanking franchise increases the odds that Washington will try to max a return for the shooting guard if he decides to ask out on a franchise destined for tough times for at least the next couple of seasons.
- Chris Paul appears ready to start the season in Oklahoma City with no teams jumping to trade for the veteran point guard on a bloated deal. The Thunder actually still have enough talent in place to contend for a playoff spot in the West at this point. I’d expect Sam Presti to shop a lot of his talent on expiring deals (Danilo Gallinari?) during the course of the year to build up more assets and hope Paul bounces back with a strong season to lure a playoff team to take on his deal without major compensation.
- The Pacers added Justin Holiday on a one-year deal for the room-level exception on Friday. That now brings up to three pairs of brothers that will play together next year in Milwaukee (Lopez, Antetokounmpos) and Indiana with Justin and Aaron.
- The Celtics made the signing of Max Strus to a two-way deal official. Tremont Waters is expected to sign a two-way deal later this summer unless he takes Boston’s final roster spot with a strong performance in training camp.
