Doc Rivers is out that door, and he isn’t coming back … at least not until the Clippers make their one and only visit to Boston next season.
What will the Celtics look like when the Clippers come calling?
Good question, and my answer is that Boston will look like a totally different team, with Rajon Rondo possibly one of the few holdovers from what was a pretty nice era for the C’s now that we look at it in retrospect.
I fully expect Danny Ainge to trade Rondo sometime during next season, but teams will first want to see that he is fully recovered from his knee surgery.
(RELATED: Rondo dropped F-Bomb on Doc; Two Nearly Had Fistfight)
The first order of business is what to do with Paul Pierce, whose contract has a $5 million buyout. The best option would be to trade him before June 30, which would put the Celtics under the luxury tax threshold and allow them to avoid the new punitive repeater tax.
The luxury tax line for the upcoming season has been projected to be $71.6 million. The Celtics payroll at the moment is $76 million. That would carry a tax bill of $6.6 million. Waiving Pierce would cut the payroll down to $66 million. So the Celtics, by waiving Pierce, would essentially be saving $16.6 million dollars. Toss in Rivers’ $7 million and we’re up to $23.6 million in savings.
As first reported by our own Joe Kotoch in Mock Draft 6.0, the Cavs are willing to surrender picks 31 and 33 to acquire Pierce. The Bucks and Wolves are also reportedly interested.
The next issue is Kevin Garnett, who has a no-trade clause.
The deal that would have sent him to the Clippers for DeAndre Jordan apparently will not pass muster with NBA commissioner David Stern, but the teams may still try to pull it off and call Stern’s bluff — if it is a bluff. If a Clippers deal cannot be done, the Celtics can ask Garnett for a list of teams he would approve a trade to.
Boom goes the dynamite, as the saying goes.
More in this video with CineSport’s Noah Coslov.
Why would Danny trade Rondo now? What is he going to get in return. Rondo’s contract is so reasonable you are not going to get all-star level talent in return. Trading Rondo would be pointless. At least with him, you have something to attract season ticket holders and fans. Rondo is obviously quite popular with fans – was going to start the all-star game last year and is top 10 in jersey sales among all NBA players. Makes no sense to trade a top 5 pg. Risky business to tank for Wiggins or Parker.
The Celtics cannot use their amnesty provision on Garnett – that is only available for existing contracts when the CBA was ratified in 2011. It is not available for Garnett’s contract, which was executed last summer.
Exactly. Only two that can be amnestied are Pierce and Rondo.