There have been so many rumors over the past few days, it's extremely difficult to keep track of what the Celtics actually have. Here, with an assist from Chris Forsberg, is a look at the current Boston Celtics roster:
Follow that link for a contract breakdown. But the short story is that roster costs the Celtics $84 million. The luxury tax line is a little more than $70.3 million. So the Celtics are paying about $14 million in luxury taxes so far.
The Celtics have 15 players currently on the roster, but they can easily waive minimum wage deals to add a player. The Celtics also currently have the $3 million mid level exception at their disposal, which they could use, or could hold on to.
(Chris Wilcox, per Paul Flannery, got the MLE. In the following paragraph, replace $3 million or MLE with veteran minimum)
Remember, there are three players currently playing in China: Kenyon Martin, J.R. Smith and Wilson Chandler, all of whom will become available in March when the Chinese season ends. Smith and Martin are unrestricted. If the Celtics want to hold on to the $3 million, they could try to make a play for Kenyon Martin for front court depth or Smith if they need scoring depth. If the C's are a top 3 seed, they might be able to convince one of those guys to hop aboard the train for the rest of the season for a chance at a ring.
As for the current roster, we're looking at a front court rotation of KG, Jermaine O'Neal, Chris Wilcox and Brandon Bass. On the wings, we'll have Pierce and Allen along with Marquis Daniels and Jeff Green and Rajon Rondo and Keyon Dooling will handle the point guard duties. That's a 10-man rotation. JaJuan Johnson, E'Twaun Moore, Avery Bradley and Sasha Pavolvic will occasionally see time as well in the middle of particularly tough grinds.
One thing to note: the NBA has expanded the active roster from 12 to 13 over the first couple of months, so that means more guys in uniform to start the season.
That's the roster as it stands. What do you guys think?
[polldaddy poll=5753957]Are you happy with the Celtics roster as it currently stands?
Add The Sports Daily to your Google News Feed!
