Anybody else have that gut feeling that Posey is as good as gone....

[biggs1221]

you NEVER overpay in money and dollars for bench players.  i like posey, but he's not a starter in the nba.  he's a great 6th man, but you'd never want him starting for you over the long haul.

Curiously, he was a starter for the NBA Champions two years ago.

Posey would be a starter, or a faux bench player like Ginobili, for lots of teams in the NBA, including contenders like Cleveland or New Orleans.

And we're talking about the MLE. The MLE is not overpaying a "great 6th man", quite the opposite.

Absolutely agree.  I have no problem with trying to get the best contract possible with Posey, but the only way I can understand the ownership / management not wanting to use the full MLE on him for 4-5 years is if they hope to also use part of it on other players.  The C's are a championship caliber team, and should do all possible to remain that way (including spending the full MLE whether on Posey or others).

It is also not "fiscally irresponsible" to spend the full mle on a 4-5 year contract(s).  The NBA isnt like the NFL with a hard cap.  Next year, ownership / management will get to use the full mle again, regardless of its cap status.
The only way a 3 year contract benefits the Celtics is if management plans on being significantly under the cap in year 4 to sign away big time players from other teams.  Unless this is the plan, failure to use the full mle on longer contracts this year signifies that ownership is unwilling / unable to be huge spenders.

A few final thoughts

1. Big contracts in their final years are an asset in the NBA (and helped the C's land both Allen and KG).  No doubt Posey / other contracts could be used to land a star player anyway, even if the C's lack the cap space to sign one.

2. If management wanted, it SHOULD be easy for it to get significantly under the cap in five years, regardless of the Posey contract.

3. Just because Isiah Thomas doesn't know how to translate a high payroll / overpaid players into success doesn't mean it cant be done.

4. If the team attempts to remain successful immediately after the prime of GPA, it will require great trading / drafting, as the team wont have cap space to sign away big ticket free agents anyway.

5. If the team commits to rebuilding after the GPA era, the Posey contract wont get in the way.


End of rant