Every morning, we compile the links of the day and dump them here… highlighting the big story line. Because there’s nothing quite as satisfying as a good morning dump.
Thus far, over half of the 75 players that have come to terms with teams this summer have agreed to just one-year deals. Here’s a look at the length of contract breakdown so far.
One-year: 41
Two-year: 19
Three-year: 6
Four-year: 8
Five-year: 1A huge chunk of those two-year contracts will also end up becoming one-year pacts by the end of next season since they are full of player options and non-guaranteed second seasons. By the start of 2019 offseason, it’s entirely possible somewhere around 70 percent of the 2018 free agent class will be looking for a new deal yet again.
BSJ (subscription): NBA Notebook: A big problem awaits middle class in 2019 free agency
Great work here by Brian Robb… if you haven’t subscribed to the Boston Sports Journal, it’s worth it for his work.
By now we know the perils of Marcus Smart’s free agency… as a restricted free agent, the money quickly dried up and his dreams of a big payday are circling the toilet. Unless his agent can get the Sacramento Kings to put together a big offer sheet, Smart will have to come back to the Boston Celtics with few options and no leverage.
He could, as many people suggest and expect, sign his qualifying offer of $6.3 million and roll the dice next year. I’ve been screaming from the rooftops about how that’s a bad idea because of how next year’s free agency has materialized. Marcus Smart could find himself fighting for scraps again… which means Terry Rozier is in a lot of trouble.
As Robb notes, Kyrie Irving, Kevin Durant, Jimmy Butler, Klay Thompson, Kawhi Leonard and Karl Anthony-Towns are ALL hitting the market next summer. It’s possible a few of those guys could change uniforms, which could take a big chunk of money off the table.
On top of that, 41 players so far have set themselves up to re-enter the free agent market next season. While the cap is expected to jump to $108 million, that still doesn’t leave a ton of money for all of them to split.
Smart, if he does sign his qualifying offer, will at least have more freedom to go where he wants or feels appreciated. Rozier will not.
Rozier will be in the same boat next season as Smart is right now. The piranha frenzy for mid-level free agent cash will go on while Rozier sits on the sidelines waiting for the leftovers. Unless he makes another big leap forward, he’ll be waiting in the wings like Smart is this season, twisting in the financial wind.
What does that mean for Rozier?
That’s hard to say. I don’t know that Boston is willing to make any long-term commitment to him right now. Smart will return one way or another and him being back at practice and with the team could smooth over a lot of what’s been happening this summer. The Celtics striking a deal with Smart can’t be ruled out.
Neither can the possibility of Kyrie Irving leaving. I’m not trying to stoke that flame at all, but we have to at least acknowledge that possibility here. The Celtics might need to keep Rozier on a string just in case Kyrie bolts.
Losing Smart AND Kyrie would suck, but having Rozier back as a decent two-way player who knows the system would minimize the damage at least a little.
Terry Rozier is probably just as stuck as Marcus Smart is right now. There’s no incentive right now for the Celtics to sign him to an extension before the start of the season. They almost have to wait to see what will happen with Irving and Smart before they decide on Rozier. I doubt teams will be breaking down his door next summer to lure him away from Boston, so we might be sitting here a year from wondering what will happen with Rozier… just like what we’re doing with Smart.
Page 2: Point Yabu!!
“He’s a ball-handling big guy,” Larranaga said of Yabusele after the win. “He has very good court vision. You compare him to a Kelly Olynyk, a Boris Diaw, guys like that that are most dangerous when they have the ball in the post as passers.”
Celtics.com: Yabusele shows off evolving playmaking skills to lead Celtics to win
Yabu was dropping some dimes last night in Vegas!
https://youtu.be/qzSwmthNEEE?t=1m12s
.@DTP_Mario with another dime! https://t.co/aHcIGs5NNF
— Boston Celtics (@celtics) July 15, 2018
He also had this coast to coast basket.
Yabu is a point guard trapped in a big's body pic.twitter.com/hC7OJgokDH
— Dan Greenberg (@StoolGreenie) July 14, 2018
I’m not going to say it’s easy to make these plays in summer league, but it’s much easier for defense to lose players. Still, Yabu had to make the plays, and he made some nice passes.
This is in line with what Brad Stevens told us last week.
“I’ve always said Guerschon’s greatest strength is his ability to see the game and make plays for others and continuing to put himself in position to do that and seeking opportunities to do that whether it’s on a roll, driving a big off a closeout, being great with his footwork so he can get by the big on the closeout, are all things that we’re focus on with him”
There have been some questions about keeping Yabu or not. We’ll see what happens moving forward, but he’s only going into his second year in the NBA. The Celtics have team options in the third and fourth seasons they can decline if they needed to, but its way too early to be discussing that.
The bottom line is Yabu has the potential to be a decent player and he’s on a cheap rookie contract. This Celtics team has the luxury of developing him, and I think he can be a useful player.
You can hear Brad talk about Yabu and others in my Locked On Celtics podcast from Las Vegas.
[protected-iframe id=”3ab56154a0e19e8699c38d968442efb9-142507471-1227608″ info=”https://player.megaphone.fm/LKN4415705874?” width=”100%” height=”200″ scrolling=”no”]Related links: NBCSN Boston: Yabusele, Henry shine as Celtics beat Heat in Summer League second round | MassLive: Guerschon Yabusele, Boston Celtics hold off Miami Heat 74-72 at Summer League: Four things we learned
The rest of the links:
Globe: Marcus Smart, Jabari Bird, and the Celtics’ other looming roster decisions | How Magic Johnson convinced LeBron to join the Lakers
Herald: Celtics notebook: Rookie Robert Williams’ summer league status still uncertain | Pierria Henry out to continue global hoops journey in NBA | Bulpett: Doc Rivers sees perfect rebuild blueprint in Celtics
MassLive: Kadeem Allen will be released from two-way contract, replaced next week (report)
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