NBA Grants Celtics $8.4 Million Disabled Player Exception

the moops

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Yea, using the DPE for Sullinger is a terrible idea. Mostly because he sucks and is always hurt and only played 118 minutes all of last year. But also because it is a terrible use of the 8.4 million - considering he would command far less than that, but once you use any of it, it all goes away.

Not really feeling Noel though. Not sure he offers anything that Theis doesn't offer. The other 4 guys though, I could sign up for any of them.
 

lexrageorge

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Ainge would let the DPE expire before using it on Sullinger. And that would be the correct move.
 

benhogan

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Globe article suggests Willams, Evans, Sullinger, Monroe, Noel, Belinelli

http://www.bostonglobe.com/sports/celtics/2017/12/30/sunhoop/XjpGbBoHMRONxkUIqv8c5M/story.html

Edit: I don't follow the Sullinger one. What would they pay him?
Evans, Williams and Monroe all would add value to the current Celtics.

1. Memphis will want to see how well they compete once Conley returns. Doubt they make a serious charge and hope they get a few games clear of the Lakers before they start selling talent. Evans shooting/scoring is real, which was under question by some around here earlier this season. They will probably hold out for Celts late 1st round pick (or their own pick which the Celtics own).

2. Clippers are back in playoff contention, Beverly out for the year, so don't envision them moving Lou Williams. It would also cost a first-round pick if Clippers considered dealing Lou.

3. Monroe is a buyout candidate and has more DNPs then games played for the Suns. Our $8.4MM would dovetail nicely into the Suns buyout and save them a few shekels.
 

Eddie Jurak

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Ainge would let the DPE expire before using it on Sullinger. And that would be the correct move.
I like Sullinger and think he could, under the right circumstances, be an asset. But he's clearly a vet mininum guy. If some other team is going to offer more than that, then they are welcome to him.
 

MannyRam

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Atm, there really isn't anyone and it looks like a lot of teams could be fighting for playoff spots. The few players that are available are all bigs, which shows you the direction the NBA is moving in. Seth Curry is a possibility, Marco Belinelli, but outside of them, we're hoping on other teams to start losing badly a la the Clippers and Lou Williams.
Nikola Mirotic becomes available in another week and is having a nice season off the bench for Chicago - 18 pts and 7 boards in 25 mins, including 46% from 3 pt range. Though losing him hurts Chicago and potentially the Lakers pick. Then again, they are likely dealing him one way or another.

https://basketball.realgm.com/wiretap/248517/Bulls-Could-Time-Nikola-Mirotic-Trade-With-Zach-LaVines-Return
 

ssspence

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Jan 3, 2018
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If no strong option presents itself before the deadline, and buyout candidates are weak — I could see Ainge signing Anthony Randolph for a nice chunk of the DPE. He’s absolutely an NBA rotation player at this stage in his career, but has stated he won’t leave Europe for just any contract and situation.

And assuming we’d have his Bird Rights, and we’ve signed him at a number above the MLE, he could be signed to a nice 1 + 1 deal in the offseason in the $6-9mil range, making him a nice trade chip / filler if they want to acquire a player on a max deal.
 
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Pedrino

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Apr 28, 2009
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Celtics have had success with the Euro signings with guys like Larkin and Theis, but for the DPE they'd be stuck with out of season China guys that have opt outs like Sully. Randolph wouldn't be an option because he's under contract to Real Madrid for another few years. Anyone signed with DPE would only have partial bird rights (120% of the value of the contract). I'm also pretty the DPE doesn't allow 1 + 1 because it's only for this year. The DPE is limited to $8.4 million and the mid level is going to be closer to $9 million next year, so it won't beat the mid level. The veteran buyout market might be weak (Greg Monroe?) the C's should look outside the NBA if they have too, but Anthony Randolph is probably wishful thinking mainly because he has a multi year contract.
 

ssspence

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Celtics have had success with the Euro signings with guys like Larkin and Theis, but for the DPE they'd be stuck with out of season China guys that have opt outs like Sully. Randolph wouldn't be an option because he's under contract to Real Madrid for another few years. Anyone signed with DPE would only have partial bird rights (120% of the value of the contract). I'm also pretty the DPE doesn't allow 1 + 1 because it's only for this year. The DPE is limited to $8.4 million and the mid level is going to be closer to $9 million next year, so it won't beat the mid level. The veteran buyout market might be weak (Greg Monroe?) the C's should look outside the NBA if they have too, but Anthony Randolph is probably wishful thinking mainly because he has a multi year contract.
Randolph has an out clause.

https://www.hoopsrumors.com/2017/09/anthony-randolph-discusses-possibility-of-nba-return.html

And I mean a 1 + 1 this summer. One of the benefits of the DPE is that it can be used in full at anytime (no proration) before the March deadline. Then the player can be signed using the Non-Bird Exception this summer.

For the sake of example, let’s say a team like PHX decides to buy our Monroe and he’s a FA on Feb 20. The Cs can pay him up to $8.4mm for the remainder of the season. Then, in the off-season, the Cs can offer a 120% raise to that player. So the Cs could offer Monroe a deal at $10mm per year, with a team option for a second year.

Keep in mind that these number are above well above the MLE, so competition for the player at that price per year would likely be nil. It would take a team with cap space to beat it. And this summer not many teams have it.

Could a player like Monroe get a long term deal at the MLE and choose that route? Maybe. But if the money is significantly better in the short term, he may be inclined to take what the Cs give him and wait a year or two for the cap to loosen up for more teams.

So in the end, This would make Monroe — or again anyone else they choose to do this, or a lower version of this, with — into a valuable trade asset. They basically become a good player on an expiring, but with a year option to the Cs if they thrive. They can be added to our core without giving anything up.

And I’ll bet you it’s how Ainge will use the DPE — both to get an interesting player,
but also to set up the Cs to trade for a large salary without sending out one of Horford, Hayward or Irving (the latter two of course are non-starters in such a trade).

So let’s say the Warriors decide they need to trade Klay Thompson next year. Monroe then could be the financial base as an expiring with rookie contracts and picks added. The Cs wouldn’t have to send out Horford... well at least not immediately. Eventually the financial realities of the NBA will catch up to them, in that it’s virtually impossible to carry 4 highly paid guys. I raise Klay Thompson for the same reason. The Warriors are going to have to face that fact — soon.

Make sense?
 

Pedrino

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Apr 28, 2009
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pretty sure that opt out is for the offseason, his team probably didn't make it so that he could leave anytime considering they're in competition. Why would Randolph opt out to join a team for a half season that can give an option for more? He has a multi year contract currently, why wouldn't he wait until the offseason to join a team that has a long term role for him?

Monroe I think could make sense if bought out. For the record $10 million is not much more than the mid level, the mid level is going to be close to $9 million next year.
 

ssspence

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Jan 3, 2018
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pretty sure that opt out is for the offseason, his team probably didn't make it so that he could leave anytime considering they're in competition. Why would Randolph opt out to join a team for a half season that can give an option for more? He has a multi year contract currently, why wouldn't he wait until the offseason to join a team that has a long term role for him?

Monroe I think could make sense if bought out. For the record $10 million is not much more than the mid level, the mid level is going to be close to $9 million next year.
Looks like you’re right — sounds like it’s “each year” which presumably means off-season. Still it’s totally possible he could buy himself out for the right opportunity, if the Cs could assure rotation minutes on the East’s best team. Considering that and the $$$, what better opportunity could he hope for as an NBA return?

Yes, the Cs would be able to pay $1.3mil more per season over a non-tax payer MLE, and $5mil plus over a tax-payer. Point is it gives them an advantage over many of the top 10 teams to leverage... whether it’s a 1+1, a 2 year, a 2+1, whatever....
 

the moops

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Danny Leroux had an interesting thought on how to use the DPE. Use it to acquire a guy who is a soon to be RFA, with the thought of signing that player to a decent contract and perhaps using that salary to acquire a star. The hypothetical was trade XYZ to Lakers for Julius Randle. In the offseason, sign Randle and either 1) keep him cause he is good, or 2) use his salary + Smart + whatever else in a trade for someone like Davis. Theother thought was that a team like NO would not want Horford, so you would need other salary that isn't strictly filler.
 

ssspence

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Danny Leroux had an interesting thought on how to use the DPE. Use it to acquire a guy who is a soon to be RFA, with the thought of signing that player to a decent contract and perhaps using that salary to acquire a star. The hypothetical was trade XYZ to Lakers for Julius Randle. In the offseason, sign Randle and either 1) keep him cause he is good, or 2) use his salary + Smart + whatever else in a trade for someone like Davis. Theother thought was that a team like NO would not want Horford, so you would need other salary that isn't strictly filler.
Yep — this has been on my mind, as well. I think the market for Smart and / or Randle could be tough this summer. Interested to see if either or both may end up on bargain contracts, relatively speaking. I think Smart and Randle in the P-N-R could be a nasty combo on the 2nd unit.

One idea: if the Cs agreed to take Clarkson, would the Lakers give up Randle essentially for nothing in the DPE?

Something like: Cs trade Morris and Nadar for Clarkson

Separate transaction: Cs trade DPE for Randle.

The issue becomes long term salary. Cs have to be careful how many players they can take on above the MLE (on top of their Big Three). They could end up in a position where they are forced to dump salary in 2019-2020. But before then, if they indeed added Clarkson, they could move one of Smart or Rozier for a meaningful pick to add to their quiver for The Brow or Klay T.
 

finnVT

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The RFA approach seems like it would make sense, and Randle seems like one of the better options that's realistically available, but how does he fit on this team? The way they play, they probably don't need three pure C's, with Baynes and Theis. And while Randle is better than those guys offensively, I'm not sure that's what they really need from that position, especially if he's a step down (or sideways) defensively. I guess if the cost is some combination of Clippers pick/the C's own pick/2nd rounders then it doesn't really matter since I don't think those are worth much, but I can't see moving anything of real value.
 

the moops

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Here is the list of all RFA

PLAYER TEAM 2017-2018 AAV
Jabari Parker MIL $7,413,237
Aaron Gordon ORL $4,504,865
Dante Exum UTH $4,081,356
Nemanja Bjelica MIN $3,900,000
Marcus Smart BOS $3,707,815
Julius Randle LAL $3,386,491
Nik Stauskas BKN $3,103,867
Noah Vonleh POR $2,854,628
Elfrid Payton ORL $2,712,375
Doug McDermott NYK $2,609,109
Malcom Delaney ATL $2,500,000
Zach LaVine CHI $2,411,825
Lucas Nogueira TOR $2,118,326
Jusuf Nurkic POR $2,118,326
Bruno Caboclo TOR $1,755,806
Rodney Hood UTH $1,608,046
Shabazz Napier POR $1,561,140
Clint Capela HOU $1,515,672
Marcus Georges-Hunt MIN $1,312,611
Kyle Anderson SAS $1,142,880
Montrezl Harrell LAC $1,045,000
Raul Neto UTH $910,849
Pat Connaughton POR $838,158
Salah Mejri DAL $804,825
Okaro White MIA $761,803
Davis Bertans SAS $724,360
Sheldon McClellan WAS $724,360
Fred VanVleet TOR $724,360
Bryn Forbes SAS $724,360
Patrick McCaw GSW $724,360
David Nwaba CHI $693,070
Treveon Graham CHA $543,471
Yogi Ferrell DAL $207,798
Ryan Arcidiacono CHI -
 

joe dokes

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I'm probably missing something, but how can Yogi Ferrell's $$ be less than half the minimum. Is the list prorated?
 

ssspence

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Marcus Morris is a better basketball player than both those guys
Maybe, depending on what you like in a player. But Vonleh will be better than him in time (with the right coach), and Davis fits a clear needs on this team well. Combine that will Morris’ gimpy knee and I’m in.

And — neither of them specializes in ballstopping elbow isolation resulting in clanging long 2s that lead to immediate fast breaks for the other team. So they have that going for them. Which is nice.
 

Kliq

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Evans is having a pretty great year for Memphis; he’s averaging 20-5-5 and shooting 41 percent from three. Considering the success Evan Turner had in Brad’s system, Evans would be ideal and he is a much better outside shooter than Turner. The bidding will be competitive but with a lot of picks to dole out, Boston should have the inside track on dealing with the lottery-bound Grizzlies.
 

JakeRae

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Evans is having a pretty great year for Memphis; he’s averaging 20-5-5 and shooting 41 percent from three. Considering the success Evan Turner had in Brad’s system, Evans would be ideal and he is a much better outside shooter than Turner. The bidding will be competitive but with a lot of picks to dole out, Boston should have the inside track on dealing with the lottery-bound Grizzlies.
Evans shouldn't be too expensive because he's the rare pure rental. No Bird rights and playing way too well to not get paid by a team with cap space. His season is also great for the Celtics from a Marcus Smart's market standpoint as he's guaranteed to burn up a bunch of available FA dollars.
 

DeJesus Built My Hotrod

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Maybe, depending on what you like in a player. But Vonleh will be better than him in time (with the right coach), and Davis fits a clear needs on this team well. Combine that will Morris’ gimpy knee and I’m in.

And — neither of them specializes in ballstopping elbow isolation resulting in clanging long 2s that lead to immediate fast breaks for the other team. So they have that going for them. Which is nice.
What does either Vonleh or Davis do that the Celtics actually need? Neither can shoot from deep at all whereas Morris can. The C's need more scoring - not more big guys who clog the lane on the offensive end. And I am an Ed Davis fan in terms of him being an energy big who can give you ~15 minutes per game off the bench. But he would steal minutes from someone like Theis which isn't a good thing.

Also, Terry Stotts is a very good NBA coach - he isn't on Stevens level but he arguably is in the same category of doing more with less given the Blazers overall talent.

Boston needs scoring. The dream is obviously Lou Williams but short of that, Evans is a good target. Not two 6-10 guys who both struggle to do anything aside from provide league-average, or worse, minutes for their team.
 

chilidawg

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What does either Vonleh or Davis do that the Celtics actually need? Neither can shoot from deep at all whereas Morris can. The C's need more scoring - not more big guys who clog the lane on the offensive end. And I am an Ed Davis fan in terms of him being an energy big who can give you ~15 minutes per game off the bench. But he would steal minutes from someone like Theis which isn't a good thing.

Also, Terry Stotts is a very good NBA coach - he isn't on Stevens level but he arguably is in the same category of doing more with less given the Blazers overall talent.

Boston needs scoring. The dream is obviously Lou Williams but short of that, Evans is a good target. Not two 6-10 guys who both struggle to do anything aside from provide league-average, or worse, minutes for their team.
Our rebounding has been inconsistent, and Davis is an elite rebounder. Don't see what Vonleh would bring.
 

DeJesus Built My Hotrod

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Our rebounding has been inconsistent, and Davis is an elite rebounder. Don't see what Vonleh would bring.
Fair enough - I neglected to note that Davis can grab boards. However, all evidence suggests that Ainge/Stevens don't value that skill as highly as other teams. More to the point, is Ed Davis even available? The Blazers are currently sitting at fifth in the West. They aren't likely to deplete their front-court depth just to help the Celtics out.

I was considering starting a Celtics trade deadline thread but this is effectively it. This is just my suggestion but if we are going to propose trades, they should have some basis in reality. The elements of this are a trade partner who is actively looking to move players and they should be players who match what the C's need. Furthermore, we should be realistic about what the C's might have to surrender to get said player. That said, its just my opinion and you all are free to post whatever you like.
 

nighthob

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What about Ilyasova as a homeless man's Olynyk?
A month ago I would have shrugged on that one, but Horford's knee (and Morris' for that matter) has me rethinking a bit. Another body at the 4 that can stretch the floor might not be the worst acquisition.
 

Devizier

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They're not going to get a difference maker with the DPE. I'd like to see some depth to keep the starters' legs fresh for the playoffs.
 

sezwho

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They're not going to get a difference maker with the DPE. I'd like to see some depth to keep the starters' legs fresh for the playoffs.
I’m still hoping to see Noel in the Cs system. It’s not like Theis role is raining threes so they should be able make it work on offense.
 

Pedrino

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I bet the Blazers want to cut salaries, they have a high payroll and are having a disappointing season, I don't see them taking any salary back in a trade. They also like draft picks.

Personally not sold on Noel, plus has he even come back from injury/doghouse? I don't think a out of shape Noel could beat out Theis for playing time.

I do agree with people they should probably look for a big with the injuries Morris and Horford have been sustaining, would be good to have some depth where they can rest some the 2nd half of the season.
 

Cesar Crespo

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Boston needs scoring. The dream is obviously Lou Williams but short of that, Evans is a good target. Not two 6-10 guys who both struggle to do anything aside from provide league-average, or worse, minutes for their team.
I'd have been with you a month ago. I think I'd prefer Evans now. Either way, I think we would all be ecstatic with either. I'm not really on the Monroe train but he does fit a need and this team does need some size. I'm not sure I'd want him long term though. I'll admit I'm just not a fan of Monroe though.

Also, as much as I like Randle, I don't think he is needed. He's an underrated passer so I think he'd fit in offensively even without a 3 point shot but the C's already have Horford.
 

Cesar Crespo

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Our rebounding has been inconsistent, and Davis is an elite rebounder. Don't see what Vonleh would bring.
Vonleh is going to be an elite rebounder. I'm not sure the rest of his game improves enough for it to matter much, but dude can rebound.
 

Kliq

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There are people still on the Noah Vonleh train? If he wasn’t from Haverhill would anyone be considering him for the DPE?
 

Cesar Crespo

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There are people still on the Noah Vonleh train? If he wasn’t from Haverhill would anyone be considering him for the DPE?
I wouldn't mind taking a flyer on him but I wouldn't offer the DPE. He is still younger than Kyle Kuzma, albeit by a month. He's really not worth acquiring. Guys like him are almost always overpaid although with Nerlens Noel, maybe there's been a correction.