Re: Celtics must be thinking of cap

["Dan Forant" <dforant1@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Good to see Danny taking time and putting lots of effort trying to improve
the Celts. This is his opportunity of a lifetime. I don't think he will
fail. Already he has improved the team.

Walker is just untradable for reasons already stated or he would have been
gone in the draft. So it looks like Ainge is working on what's available for
the $$ we have. If things work out we move up the playoff ladder. Those
looking for ECF's will have to be patient. It's a ways back to that wrong
turn in the road we took long ago.

DanF
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Stephen Beauregard" <sb@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: "celtics list" <celtics@xxxxxxxx>
Sent: Tuesday, July 01, 2003 8:15 AM
Subject: Celtics must be thinking of cap


> Celtics must be thinking of cap
>
> Ainge must work with strict budget
>
> By Shira Springer, Globe Staff, 7/1/2003
>
> ith the futures game played out at last week's NBA draft, teams can start
to
> pursue established talent through free agency. Teams may begin negotiating
> with free agents today, though they cannot sign players until July 16. But
for
> most franchises, including the Celtics, free agency is a waiting game that
> will last well into the summer.
>
>
>
> Like most NBA organizations, the Celtics are over the salary cap and want
to
> keep payroll costs down next season, making them especially wary of luxury
tax
> implications. As a result, Boston will not use the available mid-level
> exception of $4.95 million. So, director of basketball operations Danny
Ainge
> and his staff will watch to see where the big names go for the big money.
> Then, the Celtics will court players who fit their needs for far less cash
in
> an effort to fill out what likely will be a 13-man roster.
>
> According to Ainge, Boston either will sign free agents to veteran minimum
> contracts or work out sign-and-trade deals. But given the Celtics'
proactive
> pursuit of Marcus Banks on draft night, it's clear Ainge will work the
phones
> to get a player the team can use.
>
> ''Sitting back is not my style,'' said Ainge. ''Since 10 o'clock where I'm
at
> right now in Utah, I've been on the phone all day long with different
teams
> and my own staff. We've been talking a lot, going through all the
different
> options that we've already gone through over and over again. But teams are
> starting to talk sign-and-trade.
>
> ''There's a lot of possibilities right now. I'm preparing for different
> things. There's some free agents that I like, but we're not in the
ballpark
> for the big-name free agents, unfortunately.
>
> ''We're trying to get guys that want to come to Boston because of the
> opportunity that they might have, certainly not because of the money that
we
> have. Those aren't the guys that are costing millions and millions of
dollars,
> but maybe a $1.4 million that might want to come play for us for the
> minimum.''
>
> The two biggest names among eligible free agents this summer are point
guard
> Jason Kidd and power forward Jermaine O'Neal. Then there are veteran
> superstars like Karl Malone, Alonzo Mourning, Gary Payton, and Scottie
Pippen.
> But like last summer, free agents enter a buyers' market, where few teams
are
> far enough below the cap to offer contracts worth significantly more than
the
> mid-level exception. San Antonio, Denver, Utah, and the Los Angeles
Clippers
> are among the lucky few. Kidd plans to visit the Spurs next week, while
O'Neal
> has told Indiana officials he also will explore his options in San
Antonio.
>
> Ainge put athletic point guards, small forwards, power forwards, and
centers
> on the Celtics' wish list, though he did not want to divulge names of
players
> in whom he was interested. There are a couple of names that come quickly
to
> mind, such as Antonio Daniels and Erick Strickland. Walter McCarty and
Mark
> Blount, two of the Celtics' own free agents, also would fit. Ainge said
that
> he would sign McCarty and Blount for veteran minimums today if he could.
>
> But both McCarty and Blount are looking for offers greater than their
> respective veteran minimums and Ainge doesn't blame them.
>
> And while Ainge works at continuing to shape the roster for next season
> through free agency, reports of serious trade talks between Boston and New
> York surfaced in the New York Daily News yesterday. One deal had Antoine
> Walker going to the Knicks for Latrell Sprewell. Another rumor had Walker
> going to New York in a possible three-team trade. Ainge discredited the
> reports.
>
> ''It's definitely not true, any of it,'' said Ainge. ''I don't care if
it's
> from the New York Post or the Boston Globe. I have serious talks with
> everybody, but there's nothing close to happening. What is a serious trade
> talk? If it's where you exchange ideas, I've had many serious trade talks,
but
> nothing that has been close to happening. Nothing is close to happening
with
> Antoine.''
>
> Thanks,
>
> Steve
> sb@xxxxxxxxxxxx
>
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