The Celtics have already put the finishing touches on their offseason after putting together 14 guaranteed deals, along with a collection of rookies (Javonte Green, Tacko Fall, Tremont Waters) to compete for the final roster spot. In doing so, they have exhausted their free agency resources beyond the veteran’s free-agent minimum deal. They spent their full room-level cap exception on Enes Kanter and used the rest of their salary cap space on signings like Kemba Walker, Vincent Poirier and Carsen Edwards.
Down the line, the Celtics may be an intriguing place to play for a buyout candidate, specifically someone looking for solid minutes in the frontcourt if Boston’s center rotation doesn’t play up to its potential. The Celtics won’t be able to offer up more than a veteran’s minimum to any of these potential players down the line but how much of an impact will that have on the market? Let’s take a look at how playoff teams in both conferences have when it comes to remaining funds to see if the Celtics are at a disadvantage in the market.
No money left to offer free agents besides the league minimum
These teams have already used up their full mid-level exception this summer. If and when they get into the bidding next season for a midseason free agent, they will be on a level playing field with the Celtics
Brooklyn: The Nets used their room-level exception on reserve guard Garrett Temple after dipping under the cap to sign Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant. A crowded roster full of youth and veterans will make it tough for anyone to carve out playing time as a midseason addition.
Indiana: Justin Holiday was a late offseason addition by the Pacers who will be debuting almost a complete new backcourt next to Victor Oladipo next season. The room exception was given to Holiday while cap space was used on Malcolm Brogdon and Jeremy Lamb on multi-year deals.
LA Clippers: A nice addition to their roster overhaul by bringing back JaMychal Green on a below-market deal with the room-level exception. They now go two-deep easily with talent at all five positions on the court, making them one of the most balanced rosters in the league.
LA Lakers: Avery Bradley’s stock plummeted after a brutal season in LA and Memphis to the point where he had to settle for room-level exception money with the Lakers. He’s got a lot to prove in order to secure himself another lucrative long-term deal.
Milwaukee: The Bucks added to their surplus of rim protection by giving their room-level exception to Robin Lopez. I’m not sure this was the best use of resources after losing a valuable guard in Brogdon but it keeps them from having to play Ersan Ilyasova too much.
Philadelphia: In order to provide some more stretch big shooting off the bench, Mike Scott was handed all of the room-level exception. He quickly became a crowd favorite in Philly after being acquired midseason from the Clippers and should bolster their depth at power forward.
Portland: Maintained some shooting on the wing by spending their full mid-level exception as a taxpayer on Rodney Hood. They are already deep into the tax so every dollar spent will cost close to double at this point in the free-agent market.
Utah: A little rebounding muscle off the bench was added for journeyman Ed Davis with the full room-level exception, who will backup Rudy Gobert at the center spot as the Jazz make a push towards the Western Conference elite.
A portion of mid-level exception left to use
These teams used some of their mid-level exception on players in free agency, but have a portion of it leftover to offer during the season, if they choose.
Denver ($4.9 million remaining of MLE): A quiet offseason for one of the best regular-season teams last year had them just using less than a million of their mid-level exception on Vlatko Cancar on a multi-year deal. They have a lot of money to hand out to a potential buyout if there is a serious injury somewhere in the depth chart that needs to be addressed.
Houston ($5.7 million remaining of MLE): After scrapping to get under the luxury tax last season, the Rockets have spent carefully again this offseason by using less than half of their mid-level exception so far on sharpshooting swingman Daniel House. With nearly $6 million left to hand out, they will be aggressive on the market to bolster their depth off the bench if there are any castoffs available during the regular season.
San Antonio: ($3.75 million remaining of MLE): After getting left at the altar by Marcus Morris last month in free agency, the Spurs used their leftover cash on Trey Lyles as a replacement option at the stretch power forward. They only signed him using $5.5 million of the exception, leaving a few million leftover to address other needs.
Toronto: ($1.0 million remaining of MLE): This isn’t enough to make a difference in the free-agent market (it’s less than veteran’s minimum money) so the Raptors will be in the same boat as the Celtics and almost every other team.
Close up against a hard cap
Golden State: After acquiring D’Angelo Russell in a sign-and-trade, they have almost no room to add any other players due to the hard cap in place for them after such a deal and a higher payroll. They will only be able to add veteran’s minimum players without clearing out additional salary.
Miami: Same situation here as the Warriors after the Heat acquired Jimmy Butler. They are also going to try to dodge the luxury tax so I’d be surprised to see them add anyone else without trading significant salary elsewhere.
Other NBA News and Notes
- Very intrigued to see Dwight Howard get a second act in Los Angeles after the injury to DeMarcus Cousins. The fact his contract is non-guaranteed makes it a no-risk situation for the Lakers but the chemistry in that locker room is going to be fragile as is given the way last season went. We will find out if he has anything left in the tank early on in the preseason.
- Luke Walton won’t be getting any kind of punishment from the NBA after the new Kings coach was accused of sexual assault. The NBA said there wasn’t enough evidence to take disciplinary action against Walton.
- One place to keep an eye on if Bradley Beal hits the trade market this season? The Miami Heat, according to the Miami Herald. From an asset standpoint, it’s hard to imagine a deal gets done unless the Heat are willing to take on John Wall’s albatross of a contract as part of the deal.
- Very cool to see Bob Cousy receive the President Medal of Freedom on Thursday: "This acknowledgment allows me to complete my life circle. I can stop chasing the bouncing ball. The Presidential Medal of Freedom allows me to reach a level of acceptance in our society I've never once ever dreamed of,” Cousy said at the ceremony.