Danny Ainge said he is considering adding ‘shot with size’ to the Celtics in recent weeks and a new prominent name has emerged on that front in the open market ahead of the March 25 deadline at LaMarcus Aldridge.
The Spurs big shot ‘mutually agreed’ to split according to Gregg Popovich on Wednesday and Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.com reported on Wednesday night that the team is looking to switch to Aldridge on several fronts.
Aldridge, 35, averages 13.7 points and 4.5 rebounds per game in his 14th season in the league and has a winning contract worth $ 24 million in 2020-21. He also had health problems this year in San Antonio, losing eight of his last 11 games due to a hip and hip injury.
The Celtics have the resources to switch to the declining veteran, but the question is whether there is an adjustment that could make sense for both sides. Let’s look at the factors at play to get a better sense of where there is a potential match.
The money
Aldridge contributes a lot to his skill set at this stage in his career, and although his $ 24 million contract fits the Boston $ 28.5 million exception, the Celtics would still not be able to add it without sending some due salary to the hard salary of the limit team for the year. Boston currently has $ 19.6 million under the hard limit, which means that the Celtics would have to shell out just under $ 5 million in salary to receive Aldridge’s salary with the TPE.
There is also the question of the luxury tax. The Celtics are currently $ 13.6 million under the tax line and there are some major advantages for the team to remain under tax this season, including delaying the repeat tax to come into play for Boston in future seasons, which will be useful for the financial flexibility since the Boston payroll skyrockets considerably when Jayson Tatum’s maximum extension starts operating next year. Danny Ainge said the team is willing to pay the tax this year, but only for a player who provides a substantial upgrade. Whether Aldridge is that guy at this point in his career is debatable.
TPE scenarios
The Celtics currently have a full attacking pitch, with Tristan Thompson, Daniel Theis and Robert Williams, all sharing minutes in the middle every night. With Marcus Smart ready to return to the roster after a calf injury on Thursday night against the Brooklyn Nets, getting enough minutes for everyone in that group will be a difficult task, with big doubles not doing well on paper for the team ( except the little-used Theis / Rob Williams combo).
Needless to say, there would not be enough space to give Aldridge the role he desires in Boston without moving one of these guys elsewhere. From a financial point of view, moving Thompson and his $ 9.2 million salary would free up enough space to fit Aldridge’s money in the Boston TPE and fit comfortably under the strict limit. About $ 4 million more would need to be transferred to Thompson for Celtics to avoid paying the tax.
Would Thompson and an asset to Aldridge work on the role? Yes, but the Celtics probably have much bigger aspirations with their exception as a big traded player than a 34-year-old player on an expiring contract. Boston would be able to renew Aldridge after the season with Bird Rights if they acquired him in a deal, but his age does not align well with the team’s young core. Bringing an elderly veteran into mid-season doesn’t seem like an efficient route to using TPE, especially with no guarantee that Aldridge would want to stay in Boston beyond this year.
Would any other trade make sense for Boston without using its TPE?
Realistically, there is a way for the Celtics to switch to Aldridge without using TPE, but it is a move that the franchise probably would not consider strongly at the moment and that is dealing with Kemba Walker. The money works between the pair for wage parity and that would help Boston clean up future salary books for an impending luxury tax crisis, if they want to add another big name in this off-season with their huge exception as a traded player and still stay below budget.
However, this type of highly successful business is an extreme hit for obvious reasons. The Celtics have shown no interest in moving Walker this season and the Spurs have a very long list of young guards under contract for the coming seasons (Derrick White, Lonnie Walker, Dejounte Murray) and wish to bring one – the old Walker making the most money – extremely low in all likelihood. The Celtics could become the Spurs by adding young players or recruiting assets in a hypothetical exchange, but Walker’s strong game in recent weeks probably doesn’t give Boston any inclination to make that kind of change in the middle of the season that would be more geared towards improving future flexibility at the cost of downgrading talent in the present.
Final thoughts
A rejuvenated Aldridge can be of great help to any candidate in the coming weeks, but the moving parts don’t make a lot of sense from a Boston perspective. Upgrading from Thompson to Aldridge would be an advantage, but the Celtics should aim higher with their TPE. Aldridge in a deal that is expiring at this stage in his career is not the guy that is worth taking a big hit, unless it is a change that also creates substantial payroll flexibility for another major talent upgrade in Boston in the future .