This article gave me a lot to think about, and also showed why Al Horford contract was one of the worst we could have done in the long run. Yes, he did help us get to the Eastern Conference Finals, but did he hurt us building in the future. Especially with a chance like this summer with Hayward and George. Also it kind of puts in perspective I feel showing Isaiah Thomas isn't going to be worth a Max contract. Plus also showing us the value of Avery Bradley's as well as his contract and also Marcus Smart value. This is also not including the Lakers pick that we might have next year in the money that they talk about period unless they're talking about that getting traded for Paul George.
To me this almost makes me want to see if there is a trade option for Al Horford and Isaiah Thomas. For the simple reason if we want the two stars to be Gordon Hayward and Paul George, these two could really hurt us in the money situation period because I don't honestly see the Celtics paying that much in luxury tax.
Or this just means our better course of action is just to stay put, make a small signing this offseason for another score and interior presents for rebounding and blocking. Then trying to go after a Gordon Haywood for max deal. I just found this article very interesting because it sheds some light about the salary cap and what's going to happen to us. Especially if we're going to try to pay Isaiah Thomas of Max deal. Figured I'd see what everybody else's opinion would be on it because it was an interesting read.
http://www.celticslife.com/2017/06/how-luxury-tax-may-affect-free-agency.html?m=1
If that's what you're getting out of that article then you need to re-evaluate your predispositions. Horford's signing wasn't a mistake. It was a coup.
1. There was never any indication that the Cs would get Paul George in a trade deal until recently. You're looking at the situation with 20/20 hindsight. Yes, we will be in a cap/tax crunch with 4 superstars. Guess what? So is every other team.
2. Without Horford we don't make the ECF. Without making the ECF, Paul George almost certainly isn't as interested in coming here. So we wouldn't be having this discussion without that event happening.
3. Horford was the first major signing of any FA to Boston. The narrative of "FAs don't go to Boston - especially those of color" ended the moment Horford signed. For this reason alone the signing was worth it to end the stigma of the Celtics being a "white man's team".
4. It also was an attempt to get into the KD sweepstakes and frankly it worked. We went from a non-entity to an attractive destination. Just like signing Hayward may lead to PG13.
Signing Al got us into this position. Without him we're not having this discussion. Hence, considering this a bad thing is taking a rather dim view of things. Any time you have a team packed with superstars you're going to run into cap issues. That's why James Harden plays in Houston rather than OKC. That's why the Cavs are in dire straits. That's why Golden State is already planning the departure of Klay. But unlike all of those teams, we have top talent coming up behind these superstars where there's a reasonable hope that they can fill actually step into shoes of these greats.