One intriguing way the Celtics could use their trade exception has a major obstacle

There are a multitude of ways that the Celtics could use the biggest trade exception in NBA history. We covered a few possibilities earlier this week on BSJ but with the exception lasting into the beginning of next offseason (third week of 2021 NBA free agency), there is one path that seems like an obvious method to pursue for Boston: Using the exception to bring in a notable player from the 2021 free agency class via a sign-and-trade next offseason.

On the surface, the rationale is quite simple. The Celtics are going to be over the salary cap in 2021 once Jayson Tatum’s extension kicks in so why not try to use the trade exception as defacto cap room? The Celtics could find a high priced free agent looking for say, $25 million a year, and engage their original team on a sign-and-trade during free agency next summer after they get said player to agree to a deal. Boston gets a big-name free agent that they wouldn’t have had access to otherwise and send some draft compensation to the former team for facilitating (a better result for the former team than losing said player for nothing).

In theory, it’s an intriguing path to add to the C’s current young core with the trade exception while far more players available than a potential in-season trade. It would also save Boston from giving up major assets as opposed to a regular trade.

However, there is a major obstacle that will likely prevent the Celtics from pursuing this path within the current CBA. To see why, let’s take a closer look at the important rules involving sign-and-trades in the NBA.

—A sign-and-trade contract has to be for 3-4 years with the first year of the contract fully guaranteed. (Not a problem for Boston)
—A team also can not use the taxpayer mid-level exception in free agency after acquiring a player. (Not ideal, but still not a major deterrent for Boston)
—A team acquiring a player via sign-and-trade can not be over the tax apron after the deal. (Uh oh)

We covered the apron (hard cap) already last week. It’s something that a team triggers when they make certain moves in free agency. The Celtics have one for this season since they used the full mid-level exception to sign Tristan Thompson. Another thing that triggers the apron for any team is receiving a player in a sign-and-trade.

Currently, the estimate for the apron for the 2021-22 season is $142 million, a slight jump from this season. However, a look at Boston’s projected payroll for next season shows a team already very close to that apron with $131.6 million committed to 11 players.

Overall, that’s not a terrible cap sheet with so many players under contract. However, a closer look at individual players shows how extremely top-heavy it is among Boston's core talent.

Kemba Walker: $36 million
Jayson Tatum: $28.1 million (this will go up if he makes All-NBA)
Jaylen Brown: $24.8 million
Marcus Smart: $14.3 million
Tristan Thompson: $9.7 million

$112.9 million committed to five players. Everyone else signed to the roster makes $5 million or less.

That type of payroll makes one thing pretty clear here: If the Celtics want to use their trade exception on bringing aboard a free agent via a sign-and-trade, a big salary is going to have to go out the door to make way for a new big salary under the hard cap. Logically, Walker would be the main candidate here but that would not be an easy deal to pull off since if the C’s would want to move him, they would have to find a team that’s able (and willing) to absorb his $36 million per year salary for the final two years of his deal.

If Walker gets back healthy this year, the Celtics will want to keep him as a top-tier second/third option next to Tatum and Jaylen Brown. Moving him via trade to bring in a new free agent would be a step sideways for the franchise in that scenario.

If Walker’s knee issues limit his effectiveness for another full season, it’s likely Walker will have no real trade value on the open market. The Celtics would have to use other assets (players or draft picks) if they want to move him elsewhere in that scenario, far from an appealing scenario given the C’s no longer have excess draft picks piled up.

All of this is a long way of saying the odds are highly against the Celtics to use this trade exception next offseason like it’s cap room in a sign-and-trade even though Ainge has said he wants to take his time with it based on his comments this week.

“Let’s see how this season goes, where we are,” Ainge said Tuesday morning on Toucher & Rich. “We’ll have the ability to improve our team at the trade deadline, and next offseason if not.”

The Celtics may use the exception at midseason once they are able to better evaluate their younger players on the roster along with the health status of Walker. Using it next offseason is very much in play around the draft to trade for a player that’s already under contract since the apron/hard cap rule would not apply to that kind of a deal. Boston could even delay the trade from becoming official until after the new NBA calendar year begins (in order to stay out of the luxury tax for the 2020-21 season if it’s a big upcoming salary).

However, a third potential option of using the trade exception via a sign-and-trade in free agency on a big name looks especially unlikely with this hard cap restriction in play. Barring a salary dump of Walker or another big name, there’s just no feasible way for this team to add a big name and still stay under the hard cap apron ($142 million) next season.

There will be plenty of other useful avenues to upgrade the roster with the C’s trade exception but the free agency route next summer probably won’t be one of them.