The noise surrounding a possible Aaron Gordon switch has increased dramatically in the past few days, as several reports have put the Celtics as the current favorite to launch the Orlando Magic ahead of Thursday’s switching deadline.
The inclusion of two choices in the Boston team’s first round put them in front of the pack at the moment, but it is safe to say that the Celtics will look for more than just Aaron Gordon if they are willing to push a pair of important futures active in the middle of the table. of poker. The Celtics have also been connected to Evan Fournier in recent days as an exchange target, despite the fact that it is an expiring deal and Magic has several other cost-effective players available at the end of the cast that could be attractive to the cast.
However, the structure of any business will be limited by a few key factors: Boston’s rigid salary cap and the prospect of avoiding the luxury tax this season to avoid a severe repeater tax over the decade, according to the payroll of Boston increases.
So, what are some of the hypothetical mechanics for a Gordon multiplayer deal? Let’s look at some options that the Celtics will be evaluating in the negotiations.
Business focused on Marcus Smart for Gordon and Fournier
Hypothetical negotiation: the Celtics send Smart, Tristan Thompson and some extra salaries (Semi Ojeleye, Carsen Edwards, Javonte Green) with two first-round choices for Magic for Aaron Gordon, Evan Fournier and a central substitute (probably Khem Birch)
Overview: The money here is the most important, as an exchange like this keeps the Celtics under the luxury tax of the season, as Ryan Bernardoni, capitalization guru of the Celtics points. The Celtics lose a central player, but some impact offensive players win at Fournier and Gordon, with Gordon holding a good deal throughout the 2021-22 season. Expiring Fournier’s contract would put him at risk of flight, but the Celtics retain bird rights over him so that they have a chance to sign it again if enough money is withdrawn from the team’s future payroll (i.e., move Kemba Walker) to maintain it. In this scenario, the Celtics would also be able to maintain the complete player exception traded by Gordon Hayward in this off-season, giving them the flexibility to make big additions through the exchange, despite being well above the salary cap.
The Celtics closing a deal like this would be much more about creating some maneuverability with finances in the next off-season under the luxury tax, while having a huge TPE in place, since the value in this type of business doesn’t it is so attractive. The Celtics could simply get Gordon with two choices in the first round alone, then add Smart to the mix just to get an expired contract at Fournier, a reserve center and dump some money (Thompson) for next season is selling very little on Smart. The math works, but if the team is on the rise in Smart as they say it is, there must be other dominoes falling and more active coming to Boston (in this business or elsewhere) for this change to make sense to Danny Ainge.
Business focused only on Aaron Gordon
Hypothetical exchange: the Celtics offer a choice of the first round, a choice of the second round and a young wing (Aaron Nesmith / Romeo Langford) for Gordon
Overview: This is the asking price that the Celtics expect Magic to finally give up on a smaller business structure. League sources told MassLive that Orlando has been holding on to two choices in the first round for a long time, so the Celtics could try to keep things simple here and offer a little less than that, using part of Hayward’s TPE to get the salary Gordon. This adds a useful player in the present, but still kicks the can in wage crisis issues that will be arising in the off-season in Boston.
Is there a way for the Celtics to involve Kemba Walker instead of Smart?
Hypothetical trade: the Celtics send two choices in the first round, Walker, Romeo Langford, Rob Williams for Magic by Aaron Gordon, Evan Fournier and Khem Birch
Overview: We haven’t heard of Walker directly connected to Orlando, but with his former coach Steve Clifford at the helm, this is a hypothesis that is also worth investigating from a Boston perspective. Magic has many young talents on the backcourt (Markelle Fultz, Cole Anthony), but taking on Walker’s contract would allow them to earn many more future assets than Smart and give them a player with the most potential advantage during a pick-and-up. – roll with one of the best stretches in the league in Nikola Vucevic. This could potentially help Walker rebuild some value in his new home.
Still, Orlando could look at a package like this and think it’s not enough to take Walker’s albatross contract. If they get some choices from Gordon and Fournier in the first round separately, it is fair to wonder if the Williams / Langford advantage is enough to take on Walker’s nearly $ 80 million salary over the next two seasons. This seems like a point where Magic asks for another choice of the first round, which the Celtics would probably refuse, as this would exhaust their ability to make future moves in the years to come. There is a price that can be paid for a team to take Walker now, but Boston is probably not willing to give in to that yet.
Final thoughts
Gordon’s second commercial package is probably the most realistic from Boston’s perspective. Adding Fournier to the deal would be a sign of a now bigger winning move and it is difficult to justify so much on a Celtics 21-22 team over 60 percent of the way over the course of the season. The Celtics may well be moving Smart on time, but they should be looking for more value than just a short-term rental in Fournier.