We’ve spent a good portion of the summer trying to figure out where the Celtics stood salary-wise… and now we’re finding out some real specifics. HoopsWorld has all the salary details… which ESPN Boston broke down nicely.
SIGNED FOR 2012-13 WITH SALARY ESTIMATES (13)
Guards: Rajon Rondo ($11 million), Avery Bradey ($1.6 million), Jason Terry ($5 million), Courtney Lee ($5 million); Keyon Dooling ($854,389**)
Forwards: Paul Pierce ($16.8 million), Brandon Bass ($6 million), Jeff Green ($8.4 million), Jared Sullinger ($1.3 million*)
Center: Kevin Garnett ($11.6 million), Chris Wilcox ($854,389**), Jason Collins ($854,389**), Fab Melo ($1.3 million*) NON- OR PARTIALLY GUARANTEED 2012-13 CONTRACTS (3) Kris Joseph ($473,604); Jamar Smith ($473,604), Dionte Christmas ($473,604)
(* = 120% of rookie scale; ** = League pays portion of veteran-minimum deal)
The Cetlics gave Jason Terry the full Mid-Level Exception, which prevents them from going any higher than $74.3 million in salary. They are currently just over $70.5 without the non-guaranteed contracts and a hair under $72 million with all of the non-guaranteed deals.
So the Celtics, essentially, have enough room to either use their $1.9 million bi-annual at some point this season, add a veteran at the minimum, or make a trade in which they take in a little more salary than they send out.
The options are limited, but there are options should the Celtics need to fill a need down the road.
The Celtics have 13 guaranteed contracts at the moment. I would expect Kris Joseph to be a 14th, even if he’s sent to the D-League. That would leave one open roster spot, which make sense considering Danny Ainge’s history and the team make up.
You might ask what that means for guys like Dionte Christmas and Jamar Smith. Well, league rules allow teams to cut players who were in camp but keep them within their system by signing them to D-League deals. I would say at least one or both of those guys would be candidates for that kind of move.
In the end, two guys made this possible: Kevin Garnett and Jeff Green. KG’s deal starts at $11.5 million but I’m betting another team would have thrown more at him considering what he did at the end of the year and in the playoffs. His cap-friendly deal allowed Danny to give Green his deal at a starting price that worked under the current CBA.
We can debate Green’s deal all we want, but the reality is that he got a deal that worked for him and Danny did it in a way that didn’t screw the team financially.
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