Note - options on Amir and Jerebko due Thursday

[BudweiserCeltic]

I think this is the relevant info.

http://www.cbafaq.com/salarycap.htm#Q64

Some salaries are only partially guaranteed, and/or the guaranteed amount can change based on certain conditions. For example, the salary in the final season of a player's contract might be unprotected for lack of skill, with the protection changing to full if the team has not requested waivers on the player (see question number 65) prior to the team's first regular season game of that season^1. The protection can even be tied to performance benchmarks -- for example a player's guaranteed amount might increase if he played 1,600 minutes the previous season. However, in practice these types of performance-based guarantees are rare.

. . . .

^1 A non-guaranteed season can be similar in function to a team option. Teams often prefer the additional flexibility provided by non-guaranteed salary -- the guarantee can change on a date of their choosing, they can guarantee partial amounts, and they can attach different conditions to the protection.

http://www.cbafaq.com/salarycap.htm#Q65

The waiving team continues to pay the guaranteed portion of the terminated contract (see question number 64). For contracts signed or extended before the current CBA took effect, the team and player may negotiate a revised payment schedule (see question numbers 67 and 68). The revised payment schedule may call for the guaranteed portion of the player's salary to be paid over a longer or shorter period of time than originally specified in the contract, or even as a lump sum.

Waiving the player is the mechanism by which the team removes the player from the roster, and waivers must be completed by the trigger date (per #65).

Yes, already figured it out before you posted. The key was in question 64, and not in question 65 as it was linked in the article.

Thanks!

[jpotter33]

I thought both of them had fully non-guaranteed deals for next season (up to an early July trigger date), not any sort of team options.

Here's what the article says:

"Both Johnson and Jerebko have non-guaranteed contracts at salaries that should look like bargains in the new salary cap climate, but both contracts reportedly become guaranteed July 3, which means the Celtics must decide before the start of open negotiations whether they want to keep one or both around at those prices. However, both contracts are good values for which other teams likely would be happy to trade."

48 hours to clear waivers would put that date of June 30th about right.

I'm still trying to find the rule that says that the player has to have cleared waivers before the trigger date. Unless it's a general understanding in practice, I've yet to stumble upon that rule, and reading the article you linked, and subsequently the FAQ it links to, I don't see it there either.

I'm iffy on this rule at the moment, unless someone can point me in the right direction. Since no one can truly say if "waived" means to have cleared by the trigger date  or simply put on waivers on or before the trigger date.

Hopefully someone with better understanding than me can elaborate.

Edit:

OK found the reference that might be in relation tot his if one follows the same logic, so it seems that the interpretation is correct:

In addition, on January 10 the base salary in all contracts becomes guaranteed for the remainder of that season (except for one case -- see question 67). A player must clear waivers before this date, so teams have to waive players by 5:00 PM Eastern Time on January 7th in order to have them off their rosters before January 10.

So if we change the trigger date to July 3, the you guys are correct it seems and it'll have to occur  on Thursday by 5pm.

Mystery solved, for me, it seems.

And not like it would've mattered anyways. Durant is supposed to make his decision early before July 9th before taking off to China on some type of tour, but that's a big difference than making the decision before July 3rd, even. So we'd most likely have to make that decision before we heard anything from free agents anyways, since it's most likely that no free agent makes a decision before Durant decides anyways.

[Csfan1984]

Not an issue given all the teams draft picks and high priced FA targets. You release the two minor role players and don't think twice about it or you deal them before deadline to release. Some team may want JJ or AJ given the battle to come for FAs this July. Could be a smart move by another team.

[Celtics18]

I read through this thread, and now my head hurts.

Anyway, my preference would be to pick up both players' salaries for next year and keep them.

That may change if a certain transcendent, uber duper superstar level talent decides to sign with us and we need the cap space.  In that case, of course, do whatever you need to do with Johnson and Jerebko.

[Surferdad]

I might pick up Amir as he is a decent defender/rebounder, and can hit shots from the low post.  He can play the 5.

Jonas has been a good soldier, but he hasn't shown me enough.  If he is not hitting his 3-ball, he's pretty useless out there.  Abusele should be able to do most of what he does.

[Celtics18]

I might pick up Amir as he is a decent defender/rebounder, and can hit shots from the low post.  He can play the 5.

Jonas has been a good soldier, but he hasn't shown me enough.  If he is not hitting his 3-ball, he's pretty useless out there.  Abusele should be able to do most of what he does.

I so disagree about Jerebko.  His greatest value lies in his rebounding and his defensive versatility.  The threes are a bonus.

[Ilikesports17]

Pick em both up then if you sign horford and/or durant figure out which ones need to go. Id imagine their contracts wont be hard to move, especially Jerebko's

[Tr1boy]

Not sure

Danny is stuck with zizic and yabu situations.

[SparzWizard]

Jerebko you've been good but it's time for you to go to another good team so we can make way for Durant and max contract #2.

Sully, Young, Turner...good riddance.

[Evantime34]

The only way we don't pick up both options is if we think we will get Horford and Durant. Even then we could probably find a team to take them on, since they are on reasonable salaries.

[bdm860]

Is there a rule about when contracts have to be guaranteed by, other than the rule that states all contracts must be guaranteed by Jan 10th?

Picking July 3rd last summer for contracts to be guaranteed this summer seems like an odd move by Danny now, especially knowing we could potentially be chasing a couple of max free agents.  Maybe he was hoping to move them in a trade before we got to this point though.

Obviously you don't want to pick a date too late, because the players want to be able to find a new home should they be waived, but couldn't Danny have picked July 10th or 15th or something?  When a player is agreeing to a non-guaranteed deal, you kind of got to figure the team has all the leverage.

And say Danny does decide to guarantee both deals by Jul 3, only to trade them later to sign Durant and Horford, wouldn't you as a player rather be waived so you can at least pick your team (and maybe even sign a better deal with the rising cap) rather than be traded where you have no say?  It's not like either of these guys should have trouble finding an NBA job.  I don't know, seems like it could have been a win-win having the guarantee date be a week or so later.

[Monkhouse]

Really liked Amir as a mentor, defensive stopper, and just for putting his body on the line, but... I'm done with him.

He isn't worth that much money unless Ainge feels like he can swing him for another deal. But JJ means a lot to us, and I cherish his grit and determination, and as the poster above said, his 3's are a bonus.

He works very hard, and a lot of posters here were giving him unneeded criticism, even though shooters go through slumps.

[PhoSita]

You may feel Amir and / or Jerebko are not worth keeping around at their current $$, but it's almost a certainty that somebody will want them.

No sense in declining their options.  Keep them and dump them later, if it becomes necessary.  Somebody will have cap space to absorb them for nothing.

[Gainesville Celtic]

The only way we don't pick up both options is if we think we will get Horford and Durant. Even then we could probably find a team to take them on, since they are on reasonable salaries.

Seems to me the danger in picking up their guarantee is that other teams stonewall us knowing that we *need* to move them to add 2 max FAs. (Though attaching the BOS and LAC 2019 #1s would have to be enough to break through that stonewall)

Seems the danger in not guaranteeing is they'd (a) get claimed on waviers or (b) sign elsewhere quicker than we could resign them.

I don't see any prohibition to our not picking up their guarantee, then turning around in 3 weeks (assuming they cleared waivers) and resigning them as non-Bird FAs (though we could only pay 120% of what they made last year).

[flybono]

Why Pick up options on these guys when there are far better options in Free agency? Makes zero sense.

Johnson is a dime a dozen and Jerebko is a JAG.