Trading Chips and Keepers

[nighthob]

Can you explain how they'd have enough room to have 3 max players (1 being Kobe, 1 being Love, & 1 other ... say Carmelo)?
 
The only scenario I can make work is if they extend Gasol for a 1 year deal or trade him very soon.

I think the Bryant signing was LA's way of politely bowing out of the Anthony sweepstakes. Which means that they're unlikely to sign a max guy this summer unless it's someone like Bosh. I think LA is rolling over its cap space to the summers of '15 & '16.

 

[Brickowski]

You're going to have to go to max to get Utah to think twice. Fortunately Boston can't.

That's not necessarily true. The Jazz are small market. And who knows what happens on draft night? Maybe the Jazz get Wiggins or Parker. Where does that leave Hayward in Utah's rotation?

 

[nighthob]

Who cares? They certainly have the revenue to support a first max for Hayward.

 

[Brickowski]

Who cares? They certainly have the revenue to support a first max for Hayward.

Time will tell. Maybe they just don't want to pay max dollars to a guy who might be coming off the bench. The real issue is what kind of offer sheet Hayward is willing to sign. If the Jazz match, that's life and you move on to the next free agent.

 

[mcpickl]

The Lakers will have plenty of cap room in the summer of 2015. More importantly it's still LA and they're still going to get the pick of the litter in the free agent market. That's just how it goes.

This is unlikely.
 
The Lakers aren't going to take next year off and burn a season of Kobe when he has so few left. They'll overpay some free agents this summer because they have to or Kobe will go ballistic, and I doubt those guys will take one year deals.

 

[bowiac]

This is unlikely.
 
The Lakers aren't going to take next year off and burn a season of Kobe when he has so few left. They'll overpay some free agents this summer because they have to or Kobe will go ballistic, and I doubt those guys will take one year deals.

FWIW, this is exactly what Ramona Shelburne said they're going to do. We'll see I guess if Kobe throws a fit, but I'm guessing he's probably okay with it. Lets him chase some scoring titles instead of passing the ball.

 

[nighthob]

This is unlikely.
 
The Lakers aren't going to take next year off and burn a season of Kobe when he has so few left. They'll overpay some free agents this summer because they have to or Kobe will go ballistic, and I doubt those guys will take one year deals.

They don't need to take the year off. They will likely bring back Gashole on a short term deal and fill in around the edges from there.

 

[wutang112878]

This is unlikely.
 
The Lakers aren't going to take next year off and burn a season of Kobe when he has so few left. They'll overpay some free agents this summer because they have to or Kobe will go ballistic, and I doubt those guys will take one year deals.

 
I think the Lakers are already in this limit spending mode.  They were trying to offload Gasol just to save money, and they werent exactly aggressive this offseason. 
 
If they were able to somehow unload Nash, then things are very different and they can go on their shopping spree this offseason

 

[wutang112878]

I would too, but they owe their 2015 1st to Phoenix and you cant trade 1st in consecutive years.  However, I think we could trade for the right to swap 1sts with the pick we are owed from the Nets/Hawks

 

[mcpickl]

They don't need to take the year off. They will likely bring back Gashole on a short term deal and fill in around the edges from there.

Gasol is going to take a one year deal? Why?

 

[mcpickl]

 
I think the Lakers are already in this limit spending mode.  They were trying to offload Gasol just to save money, and they werent exactly aggressive this offseason. 
 
If they were able to somehow unload Nash, then things are very different and they can go on their shopping spree this offseason

They didn't have money this offseason.
 
They're currently committed to 34 million for next season for 3 players. (assuming Nick Young turns down his 1.2M player option)
 
They can have the room to add a max guy if they want. Or a couple of 8-10Mish guys. Or re-sign Gasol longterm. Or trade Gasol/other expirings for a big salary guy/
 
I'd be stunned if the Lakers weren't extremely active this offseason. I don't see Jimmy Buss as a patient guy who's going to wait for 2015 to make his move.

 

[Devizier]

The Lakers have a big problem with that Steve Nash contract. They could either pay someone a draft pick for an expiring contract  (Kardashian has one of those, doesn't he?) then try and score in free agency, or they'll have to wait until the deadline next year when he's an expiring deal to grab someone else's overpaid or otherwise unwanted asset. A rational front office would weigh those options carefully before making a decision. But this is no rational front office..

 

[Koufax]

There is a piece on Yahoo! written by a Rockets fan suggesting that the Rockets acquire Rondo + Bass in exchange for Lin + Asik + a first round pick.  That works in the Trade Machine.  Does it work for the Celtics?

 

[Jer]

I don't think so. It certainly solves some problems for the Rockets, but doesn't seem to solve any for the Celtics.
 
Lin and Asik both have really undesirable contracts next year and they'll both be expiring. Expiring deals can be handy, but aren't the big assets we need. A Rockets pick is probably 20-25, so it's nothing to covet.
 
I'd rather just resign Rondo than go for a deal like this.

 

[wutang112878]

They didn't have money this offseason.
 
They're currently committed to 34 million for next season for 3 players. (assuming Nick Young turns down his 1.2M player option)
 
They can have the room to add a max guy if they want. Or a couple of 8-10Mish guys. Or re-sign Gasol longterm. Or trade Gasol/other expirings for a big salary guy/
 
I'd be stunned if the Lakers weren't extremely active this offseason. I don't see Jimmy Buss as a patient guy who's going to wait for 2015 to make his move.

 
Didnt they have the MLE or the tax payer MLE?  Thats what I meant by not aggressive.  And if they wanted to they probably could have flipped Gasol for players who might be slightly more valuable but had longer financial commitments.
 
I do agree wholeheartedly that Buss is basically bonkers, so glad he is playing a role running that franchise.
 
 

There is a piece on Yahoo! written by a Rockets fan suggesting that the Rockets acquire Rondo + Bass in exchange for Lin + Asik + a first round pick.  That works in the Trade Machine.  Does it work for the Celtics?

 
Yeah no thanks, I second what Jer said. 
 
Asik and Rondo both need to be resigned after next year too.  I dont think either Rondo or Asik are considered amazing assets around the league, but I think Rondo can have more impact on the game than Asik. 
 
This would be great for Houston, but we would just be moving sideways with this one.

 

[ifmanis5]

One thing I am sold on is that Jeff Green is not a keeper.
Very nice player as a #3 option but that is his ceiling. And he's overpaid.... Then again, Tyrus Thomas makes the same salary, so it's not totally insane.

 

[Koufax]

I'm with you on Jeff Green.  He is a waste of money and playing time.

 

[Cellar-Door]

One thing I am sold on is that Jeff Green is not a keeper.
Very nice player as a #3 option but that is his ceiling. And he's overpaid.... Then again, Tyrus Thomas makes the same salary, so it's not totally insane.

I'd say he's probably properly paid, he'd get 8-10M a year if he was a FA. Not to say I think he's a keeper, I don't. He just isn't really overpaid based on league wide salaries.

 

[moly99]

The Asik deal is stupid. This team isn't trying to win now. If we trade Rondo it needs to be for high picks or young guys.
 
 
It's a shame so many of the dumb teams around the league already have a point guard in place or have already blown their wad of picks. It will be tough to find someone to fleece.

 

[Brickowski]

One thing I am sold on is that Jeff Green is not a keeper.
Very nice player as a #3 option but that is his ceiling. And he's overpaid.... Then again, Tyrus Thomas makes the same salary, so it's not totally insane.

IMHO he's not even a #3 option at this point. It looks to me as if he has packed it in, or else he has some sort of psychological block against using his talent. If he has shot 30% from the floor in the last two games, I'd be surprised. He's not overpaid, he's just massively underachieving.

 

[bowiac]

I'd say he's probably properly paid, he'd get 8-10M a year if he was a FA. Not to say I think he's a keeper, I don't. He just isn't really overpaid based on league wide salaries.

I think if the bloom was off him for "potential breakout" purposes, then I doubt he'd get this kind of contract. JR Smith got 3 years 18M after winning NBA 6th man of the year for instance, and was widely considered overpaid.

 

[The_Powa_of_Seiji_Ozawa]

IMHO he's not even a #3 option at this point. It looks to me as if he has packed it in, or else he has some sort of psychological block against using his talent. If he has shot 30% from the floor in the last two games, I'd be surprised. He's not overpaid, he's just massively underachieving.

 
Jeff Green is the Mr. Rogers of the NBA, when he puts on his uniform it's like he's putting on a cardigan sweater.

 

[Brickowski]

He's more like Robin Williams parody of Mr. Rogers. Maybe Ainge ought to offer Green to the Nuggets for Andre Miller (who they are trying to unload) and whatever else the Nuggets can throw in to make the salaries match. Alternatively just take Green's minutes away and send him home when he complains. Who knows? Maybe he won't exercise his player option.

I've given up on Green. He's the kind of dog who rolls over and presents his throat whenever he's in a fight.

 

[Brickowski]

Take Green's minutes away and give them to whom, exactly?

Who cares? Stevens isn't trying to win games anyway. Just look how he coaches the 4th quarter of close games, experimenting with lineups that don't have his best players.

Give Green's PF minutes to Olynick or Humphries. Give his SF minutes to Crash, Bass, or the guy they just signed from the D-league. Or call someone up from the Red Claws. Small forwards are a dime a dozen, and they have too may power forwards as it is. The main thing is to get out from under Green's contract, especially that player option for the year after next.

 

[Sprowl]

Now that Crawford, Brooks and Lee are gone, Jeff Green can realize his destiny as shooting guard. I don't think it's gonna happen. Green never seems to take full advantage of his length.

 

[Koufax]

Green is not the same guy he's always been.  He's worse now than he was last year.  I think being on the floor with KG and PP at least put some pressure on him to perform. Now that he has greater latitude with no team enforcer present he's mailing it in. Folks here are down on Gerald Wallace for indirectly calling him out, but I think Gerald is spot on.  Why should he throw his body all over the court when Jeff Green doesn't care?  Wallace is way past his prime and was never really good to begin with, but at least he's paying attention. Jeff Green is out there thinking about his bank account balance.

 

[mcpickl]

Jeff Green should just change his name to JD Green or Jeff Drew to fit in with all the odd undeserved hate he gets in this town. It's crazy to me. There are still people who think they got the worse end of the trade giving up Perkins. I don't get it.
 
He's not aggressive enough...........even though he drives to the hoop more than anyone else on the team.
He's grossly overpaid............even though he's only the 70th highest paid player in the league this year.
They never should've signed him!!.......even though the only other option with that money was to stuff it in their pockets.
He's inconsistent!!............just like every other player in the league who isn't either great or horrible.
He was the 5th pick in the draft! I expected more!.......well that's not his fault. I don't think he demanded to be picked fifth. Not that it should matter to Cs fans, since they didn't use the capital of the #5 pick to have him now(though they technically picked him for SEA) they essentially traded Kendrick Perkins for him(with other pieces thrown in).
 
Just so strange to me. He's just a good player, but since he's not great he's a bum. Yeah let's take away his minutes, to give to Gerald Wallace I guess?, and then hopefully he gets mad so we can send him home. Fantastic idea, just the best.

 

[ifmanis5]

They never should've signed him!!.......even though the only other option with that money was to stuff it in their pockets.

You don't really believe that the Celtics only options were to A) sign Jeff Green or B) pocket tons of cash! Or do you?

 

[Manzivino]

They were over the cap when they signed him, IIRC the options were sign Green with his Bird rights or lose the ability to sign anybody with the money budgeted for him. They didn't have to give him 4/$36, that was bidding against themselves, but the options from a personnel standpoint were sign Green or pocket whatever they would have paid him.

 

[nighthob]

Green is not the same guy he's always been.  He's worse now than he was last year.  I think being on the floor with KG and PP at least put some pressure on him to perform. Now that he has greater latitude with no team enforcer present he's mailing it in. Folks here are down on Gerald Wallace for indirectly calling him out, but I think Gerald is spot on.  Why should he throw his body all over the court when Jeff Green doesn't care?  Wallace is way past his prime and was never really good to begin with, but at least he's paying attention. Jeff Green is out there thinking about his bank account balance.

I think people are making this issue way more complicated than it needs to be. Last year Green was a swing forward coming off the bench, so he was largely playing against subs, who he was better than. When he was on the court with the starters, opponents were far more worried about Pierce and Garnett than Green so Green didn't draw opponents' best defenders. What we're seeing this year is what happens when teams have the leisure to aggressively guard Green.

 

[Devizier]

I feel no differently about Jeff Green now than I did last year, or the year before it.
He's an average-ish NBA player that many people (possibly including Ainge) had unrealistic expectations for.

 

[Nick Kaufman]

Jeff Green should just change his name to JD Green or Jeff Drew to fit in with all the odd undeserved hate he gets in this town. It's crazy to me. There are still people who think they got the worse end of the trade giving up Perkins. I don't get it.
 
He's not aggressive enough...........even though he drives to the hoop more than anyone else on the team.
He's grossly overpaid............even though he's only the 70th highest paid player in the league this year.
They never should've signed him!!.......even though the only other option with that money was to stuff it in their pockets.
He's inconsistent!!............just like every other player in the league who isn't either great or horrible.
He was the 5th pick in the draft! I expected more!.......well that's not his fault. I don't think he demanded to be picked fifth. Not that it should matter to Cs fans, since they didn't use the capital of the #5 pick to have him now(though they technically picked him for SEA) they essentially traded Kendrick Perkins for him(with other pieces thrown in).
 
Just so strange to me. He's just a good player, but since he's not great he's a bum. Yeah let's take away his minutes, to give to Gerald Wallace I guess?, and then hopefully he gets mad so we can send him home. Fantastic idea, just the best.

 
Agreed. Although truth be told, I expected him to have better numbers and be more aggressive on this year's team.

 

[Nick Kaufman]

They were over the cap when they signed him, IIRC the options were sign Green with his Bird rights or lose the ability to sign anybody with the money budgeted for him. They didn't have to give him 4/$36, that was bidding against themselves, but the options from a personnel standpoint were sign Green or pocket whatever they would have paid him.

Jeff Green has supposedly the same agent as Sullinger and the conspiracy theory is that he helped them grab him in the draft. Beyond that, I think someone ran the numbers at the time and the deal wasn't out of whack compared to what other people were getting paid at the time.

 

[moondog80]

Jeff Green has supposedly the same agent as Sullinger and the conspiracy theory is that he helped them grab him in the draft. 

 
 
So because of a deal Jeff Green signed, Sullinger's agent purposely damaged his draft stock so he cold fall to the Celtics and make less money?  

 

[wutang112878]

Jeff Green should just change his name to JD Green or Jeff Drew to fit in with all the odd undeserved hate he gets in this town. It's crazy to me. There are still people who think they got the worse end of the trade giving up Perkins. I don't get it.
 
He's not aggressive enough...........even though he drives to the hoop more than anyone else on the team.
He's grossly overpaid............even though he's only the 70th highest paid player in the league this year.
They never should've signed him!!.......even though the only other option with that money was to stuff it in their pockets.
He's inconsistent!!............just like every other player in the league who isn't either great or horrible.
He was the 5th pick in the draft! I expected more!.......well that's not his fault. I don't think he demanded to be picked fifth. Not that it should matter to Cs fans, since they didn't use the capital of the #5 pick to have him now(though they technically picked him for SEA) they essentially traded Kendrick Perkins for him(with other pieces thrown in).
 
Just so strange to me. He's just a good player, but since he's not great he's a bum. Yeah let's take away his minutes, to give to Gerald Wallace I guess?, and then hopefully he gets mad so we can send him home. Fantastic idea, just the best.

 
The reason we get on Greens case is because now we are looking at him through the lens of a rebuilding team.  While we were on his case last year, but not nearly as bad, he was a necessary evil on a contending team.  A player that had to be resigned because the alternative was to let him walk and lose talent.  Its the exact same reason we resigned Bass for his albatross contract.  But now in hindsight after seeing how fruitless his contributions were to the contending team, and how his contract now has no value and is difficult to move in the context of a rebuilding team he is an awful player to have on our team.  Fair or unfair we get on his case for his play and attitude, and we are doing the exact same thing with Bass so the attitude isnt Green specific.
 
As for what we want, or at least I want, I want Green to do whatever he has to do on the court so that he can be moved for something of value.  Perhaps a late 1st rounder, or perhaps just 2 smaller contracts that are easily movable.  There are so many 'good' players that could justify a $9M contract on a rebuilding team when the franchise would actually like to showcase them, but Green isnt doing it.  For those reasons, yeah I think its fair to get on the guys case.

 

[mcpickl]

You don't really believe that the Celtics only options were to A) sign Jeff Green or B) pocket tons of cash! Or do you?

No, I don't believe it. I know it.

 

[mcpickl]

 
The reason we get on Greens case is because now we are looking at him through the lens of a rebuilding team.  While we were on his case last year, but not nearly as bad, he was a necessary evil on a contending team.  A player that had to be resigned because the alternative was to let him walk and lose talent.  Its the exact same reason we resigned Bass for his albatross contract.  But now in hindsight after seeing how fruitless his contributions were to the contending team, and how his contract now has no value and is difficult to move in the context of a rebuilding team he is an awful player to have on our team.  Fair or unfair we get on his case for his play and attitude, and we are doing the exact same thing with Bass so the attitude isnt Green specific.
 
As for what we want, or at least I want, I want Green to do whatever he has to do on the court so that he can be moved for something of value.  Perhaps a late 1st rounder, or perhaps just 2 smaller contracts that are easily movable.  There are so many 'good' players that could justify a $9M contract on a rebuilding team when the franchise would actually like to showcase them, but Green isnt doing it.  For those reasons, yeah I think its fair to get on the guys case.

This isn't true though.
 
You really think there is as much whining about Bass as there is about Green?
 
It's not close. I'd say it's at least 10 to 1 in Greens' disfavor with the complaining. I don't see commenter after commenter, or radio hosts/callers one after another say Brandon Bass doesn't try, or doesn't care, or has checked out like they do constantly about Jeff Green.
 
It's great that you want Green to do whatever he has to do on the court to be moved, but he's already doing what he can do. He can't do what you want, and apparently others are also demanding, because he's not a great player. He's a good one. This is what good players do. They play inconsistently, especially when they're surrounded with other players who aren't great. You're basically just saying, hey why can't he just be a better player than he actually is so we can trade him.

 

[wutang112878]

Not as much but Bass is being critiqued for exactly the same thing.  However, Bass has looked much more aggressive on the court, which given how our fanbase appreciates effort and translates aggression as effort, he is given more slack.  Bass also makes 70% of what Green does and as a result is a bit easier to move.
 
Your point is correct that good players are more likely to be overpaid than great players, but I dont think we should give a pass to all the good players because of that.  Regardless of your skill level, I do think you should justify your contract, its not like we gave Green a max deal.  Its too much to ask the 70th highest paid player in the league to look movable?  Sure its probably unfair for me to want Green to justify a $10M salary, but its probably also unfair to just say 'Green is what he is, and thats ok' because Green is good enough, and smart enough and goddone it people like him.  A reasonable request is probably something somewhere in between.

 

[mcpickl]

Not as much but Bass is being critiqued for exactly the same thing.  However, Bass has looked much more aggressive on the court, which given how our fanbase appreciates effort and translates aggression as effort, he is given more slack.  Bass also makes 70% of what Green does and as a result is a bit easier to move.
 
Your point is correct that good players are more likely to be overpaid than great players, but I dont think we should give a pass to all the good players because of that.  Regardless of your skill level, I do think you should justify your contract, its not like we gave Green a max deal.  Its too much to ask the 70th highest paid player in the league to look movable?  Sure its probably unfair for me to want Green to justify a $10M salary, but its probably also unfair to just say 'Green is what he is, and thats ok' because Green is good enough, and smart enough and goddone it people like him.  A reasonable request is probably something somewhere in between.

What exactly has Bass done to look more aggressive? I don't understand this.
 
Green shoots more than Bass, gets to the line more than Bass, defends as well as Bass.
 
I don't get this argument. This is why I compared him to JD Drew. Outside of the media pushing that he's not aggressive, and the fans picking it up and running with it, why is it true? He gets to the line more than anyone on the team. Wouldn't that point to aggressiveness? Don't you tend to get fouled more when you're aggressive attacking the rim?
 
I think people just look at his face, much like JD Drew he doesn't show much emotion, and just conclude ah he doesn't care.
 
I also don't think it's unfair to say Green is what he is, and that's ok. I think it's unfair to expect Jeff Green to be something he's not. Doesn't that make sense?
 
PS, Greens contract is movable if the Celtics wanted to move it. For example, You think the Lakers wouldn't give you Steve Nash straight up for him to allow you to get out from Greens deal a year early? In a heartbeat they would. Green has value at his current salary. His contract is a non issue in my opinion, no matter what sports radio would have us believe.

 

[Devizier]

Green's contract is a non issue for the same reason why Gerald Wallace's contract is a non-issue. The Celtics aren't going to be signing any premier free agents for a little while, and they need contracts to ballast salary. The problem with Green's contract is that he has little added value, so if the Celtics want to move him for something useful, they would need a partner that has a glaring need at his position. Few of those exist among the contenders.

 

[Brickowski]

I agree that his contract is not an issue. It's his play that's the issue. I don't know what his problem is, but there is a significant discrepancy between his talent and his production. I hope he snaps out of it so that he has some trade value, but I do not see him as a member of the next Celtics contending team. Green reminds me of Benjamin Watson, another guy with a world of talent who consistently underperformed.

 

[wutang112878]

What exactly has Bass done to look more aggressive? I don't understand this.
 
Green shoots more than Bass, gets to the line more than Bass, defends as well as Bass.
 
I don't get this argument. This is why I compared him to JD Drew. Outside of the media pushing that he's not aggressive, and the fans picking it up and running with it, why is it true? He gets to the line more than anyone on the team. Wouldn't that point to aggressiveness? Don't you tend to get fouled more when you're aggressive attacking the rim?
 
I think people just look at his face, much like JD Drew he doesn't show much emotion, and just conclude ah he doesn't care.
 
I also don't think it's unfair to say Green is what he is, and that's ok. I think it's unfair to expect Jeff Green to be something he's not. Doesn't that make sense?
 
PS, Greens contract is movable if the Celtics wanted to move it. For example, You think the Lakers wouldn't give you Steve Nash straight up for him to allow you to get out from Greens deal a year early? In a heartbeat they would. Green has value at his current salary. His contract is a non issue in my opinion, no matter what sports radio would have us believe.

 
Green does not defend as well as Bass.  Here is a great article that details some stats for Bass early in the season and it speaks to the intensity that he has had defensively this year. 
 
As for the aggression, this year he had the chance to be 'the guy' offensively, the alpha dog.  Yes he doesnt have the skillset to do that, but that doesnt stop guys like say Gay or Evan Turner from taking shots at a rate as if they are really 'the guy'.  Thats what I would have liked to see from Green, not even changing his game and driving more, just taking more shots.  He is one of our best offensive players and even if he is taking a lower efficiency shot for him its better than some of the other options we have on the team taking one of their most efficient shots.
 
Unless the Lakers are idiots they dont do that, they dont want Green clogging their cap.  Furthermore, if you want to take on a $9M a year contract and allow another team to shed salary, there are more talented players than Green that you could do that with.  Also, in that Green for Nash scenario we get nothing but to shed Greens salary, I dont see what value we receive.

 

[nighthob]

Gay, for all his faults, has a much broader offensive game than Green. Green has a few spots on the floor he can shoot from, and a couple of spots where he can execute dribble drives providing he's being guarded by a slower player. He just isn't that good. And people expecting to suddenly morph into a complete offensive player in his sixth NBA season had radically unrealistic expectations. If Green were allowed to play his natural roll, swing forward off the bench, people would be singing his praises. But what he was able to do against subs or as the other guy on the floor just doesn't translate when he's the focus of opposing defenses.

 

[cardiacs]

As for the aggression, this year he had the chance to be 'the guy' offensively, the alpha dog.  Yes he doesnt have the skillset to do that, but that doesnt stop guys like say Gay or Evan Turner from taking shots at a rate as if they are really 'the guy'.  Thats what I would have liked to see from Green, not even changing his game and driving more, just taking more shots.  He is one of our best offensive players and even if he is taking a lower efficiency shot for him its better than some of the other options we have on the team taking one of their most efficient shots.

 
This is pretty much where I am. It's crazy to me that Bradley is taking more shots than Green - he should be averaging 20 shots a game. But is aggressiveness a "skill"? I suppose it depends if you consider it a disposition that is hardwired or it's a motivational issue. For example, if Delonte West banged his mom would he be flipping the switch more often?

 

[tbrown_01923]

 
Agreed. Although truth be told, I expected him to have better numbers and be more aggressive on this year's team.

 
I agree as well, and while I wish he would be a touch more aggressive, he is who he is.  Stevens should focus on getting the most out of Jeff NOT changing who Jeff is, as the latter is far riskier and unlikely to have a positive impact on him.  
 
It was Green or nobody, whoever doesn't believe that needs to review the CBA, salary cap, and state of the C's two summers ago.  Yes they may have overpaid for him, the overpay isn't egregious as many poster would have you believe.  It is reasonable strategy to pay more for your workers to create a positive work environment.  Ainge may missed evaluated Green's market, may have been employing a strategy to create a sense of support and belief in Green - we will not know.  At the end of the day, if we pay him 7.5 a year it is a bargain and 9 a year is an overpay, so we are discussing a 1.5MM window with an inflation overlay, and no way to leverage the initial investment in another manner (salary cap), and likely no way to leverage  the 1.5MM overpay in any reasonable way now.
 
At the end of the day I don't care about his aggressiveness or under-performance  because I don't care if they win this year.  I want Ainge and Stevens to continue to build a balanced team of multifaceted, unselfish 2 way players (I believe KO and Sully will develop as smart team defenders, to compliment Bradley, Rondo, Green).  Sure there needs to be a go to scorer, but that person doesn't need to be the highest pair person on the team I(or even the third highest paid person on the team).  They are developing assets, and they are putting themselves in a position to acquire some rookie scale talent to compliment there roster.  
 
A turn around wasn't going to happen in a single season, and it will take longer without Bradly and Green.  Yes they should flip Bass and Humphries, if only for future seconds or rights to swap first round picks. Wallace is likely on this roster for the duration of his contract, and the sad part there is there are a ton of kids who will grow up thinking he is and always was a stiff - but when he came on the scene he was a warrior.  I always felt the biggest mistake with Antoine was him being the top dog on a terrible team without any veteran leadership.  I keep in the back of my mind what he could have become, with someone as intense as Garnet or Wallace gunning for him in practice on a daily basis.  
 
The next six months are going to be interesting for this team.  We are likely to be surprised, excited, and disappointed, and tat may be on a single deal.  Tighten the seat belt and enjoy the ride -

 

[Jer]

A turn around wasn't going to happen in a single season, and it will take longer without Bradly and Green.

 
This was a thoughtful post, but I could use some elaboration on this quoted point.
 
Which of the following are you suggesting?
 
Green and Bradley will...

1. ...be part of the next contending Celtics squad.
2. ...help the Celtics attract free agents or players forcing a trade.
3. ...ensure the best possible development of young talent on the team.
4. ...[something else]

 

[Brickowski]

This is pretty much where I am. It's crazy to me that Bradley is taking more shots than Green - he should be averaging 20 shots a game. But is aggressiveness a "skill"? I suppose it depends if you consider it a disposition that is hardwired or it's a motivational issue. For example, if Delonte West banged his mom would he be flipping the switch more often?

We saw another example of this last night when Green passed up an open three that would have won the game, and instead made a bad pass. As a result, the Celtics never got a shot before the clock expired.

 

[wutang112878]

 
It was Green or nobody, whoever doesn't believe that needs to review the CBA, salary cap, and state of the C's two summers ago.  Yes they may have overpaid for him, the overpay isn't egregious as many poster would have you believe.  It is reasonable strategy to pay more for your workers to create a positive work environment.  Ainge may missed evaluated Green's market, may have been employing a strategy to create a sense of support and belief in Green - we will not know.  At the end of the day, if we pay him 7.5 a year it is a bargain and 9 a year is an overpay, so we are discussing a 1.5MM window with an inflation overlay, and no way to leverage the initial investment in another manner (salary cap), and likely no way to leverage  the 1.5MM overpay in any reasonable way now.

 
These are a few high level team building issues.  As for the first, this is no way to run a franchise.  If you give Jeff Green a 20% premium for happiness, you better believe every single agent notices and is going to be looking for the same thing for their clients.  The $1.5M is also somewhat relevant considering the Celtics are flirting with the luxury tax this year with very little talent on the roster.  Rebuilding takes more than 1 season, but being right up against the luxury tax limits what Danny can do via trade.  These arent egregious problems for the franchise, but its an attention to detail type of thing and if you make too many mistakes like this you really can cripple your franchise to some degree. 
 
When things like this come up I think of franchise who have gone with this 'lets keep it together' approach before without true elite top level talent.  Take the 99/00 Knicks, they get to the Eastern Finals with a core of Ewing/Houston/LarryJohnson/Sprewell, Ewing retires and they keep the rest of that core together and in 2 years Larry Johnson is hurt and Spreweel and Houston are almost useless and they win 30 games.  Granted thats a horribly run franchise, but at the end of the 01/02 season they had a lot of rebuilding to do with a horrible roster and horrible cap situation. 
 
Now the Celtics arent in that bad of a position, but I can confidently say that if we didnt make a 20% overpay for Bass and Green and those contracts were movable or not on the books we would be much better off and would have more flexibility to speed up rebuilding.  Basically this 'well this isnt that bad' approach to being a GM is a slippery slope.

 

[nighthob]

Two years ago the Celtics were over the cap and decided against blowing the team up. Their options were to sign an MLE PF and go into the season with Lee as their only additional guard, and a 4/5 rotation of Garnett/MLE player/pray the bench doesn't get kicked too badly or to re-sign Green and Bass to provide depth at the 3/4. They made the right choice. Does it suck that Jeff Green isn't an alpha-scorer and is a roleplayer? Sure, we all wish that Boston were getting an all star with that contract they gave him. But all-stars get the max, so you should have set more realistic expectations.

 

[tbrown_01923]

 
These are a few high level team building issues.  As for the first, this is no way to run a franchise.  If you give Jeff Green a 20% premium for happiness, you better believe every single agent notices and is going to be looking for the same thing for their clients.  The $1.5M is also somewhat relevant considering the Celtics are flirting with the luxury tax this year with very little talent on the roster.  Rebuilding takes more than 1 season, but being right up against the luxury tax limits what Danny can do via trade.  These arent egregious problems for the franchise, but its an attention to detail type of thing and if you make too many mistakes like this you really can cripple your franchise to some degree. 
 
When things like this come up I think of franchise who have gone with this 'lets keep it together' approach before without true elite top level talent.  Take the 99/00 Knicks, they get to the Eastern Finals with a core of Ewing/Houston/LarryJohnson/Sprewell, Ewing retires and they keep the rest of that core together and in 2 years Larry Johnson is hurt and Spreweel and Houston are almost useless and they win 30 games.  Granted thats a horribly run franchise, but at the end of the 01/02 season they had a lot of rebuilding to do with a horrible roster and horrible cap situation. 
 
Now the Celtics arent in that bad of a position, but I can confidently say that if we didnt make a 20% overpay for Bass and Green and those contracts were movable or not on the books we would be much better off and would have more flexibility to speed up rebuilding.  Basically this 'well this isnt that bad' approach to being a GM is a slippery slope.

 
Reasonable or not, I do see scenarios play out like this in the "real world" often enough not to rule it out as an approach.  Your point on the overpay is well placed, and the premium in that light sounds excessive. For the record I don't run my organizations/companies like this.  
 
You are correct that the C's position would be improved if the league (GMs) perceived all their contracts as "valuable".  Admittedly, I like Jeff as a player on this team over the duration of his contract, I like what he contributes and versatility he provides.  And I think the (IMO) 1.5 MM overpay is probably in the upper end of the variance (in talent -> salary) you could have forecasted in him as a player when the contract was rewarded.  I am in agreement that there is a slight overpay for JG now, I am suggesting it is not the overpay people are making it out to be.  The contract may have been driven by a different motive than we are discussing (e.g. happiness) or due to imperfect forecasting of his growth.
 
I think Bass and Humph can and will be moved, but I don't think there is anything of much value coming back.  Sure lower salaries would open up potential partners and therefore theoretically increase demand. The contracts to Bass, Lee/Terry (in light of having bradly on the roster) that I would be more critical of.