As we're talking about growing players who can be major contributors on contracts far less than the max, Peyton Pritchard is a case in point.
While the main issue was paying JB and Tatum back to back, the notion that Pritchard is also eligible for an extension in October is on the frontburner for the Celtics. He's certainly been one of the most underpaid Celtics, and the game plan is to have guys like Hugo, Cenac, Queta and others fill those affordable salary slots.
The most a team can offer these guys in an extension is set by CBA rules and that's 140% of the NBA average in Peyton's case, which has most ballparking the extension the Celtics hope he accepts at 3 years/$67 million. He had similar constraints which lead to him getting his 4 year $30 mil contract extension last time, which he'll finish here, but he can also reject the extension and opt for Free Agency
Queta's 4 year $57 million contract will hopefully look like a bargain in a few years too, but there's also a bunch of other, younger guys who they will be trying to lock into contracts similar to what Pritchard is getting now.
I think Stevens knows that for long term success, you have to get into a player extension resonance to be able to keep your key all stars and mix them in with all-stars of the future who you've locked into the affordable contracts to afford two top tier guys, maybe 3 depending on how they are staggered... but it's the staggering of contracts that becomes a key factor into creating a team that's a contender every year.
So yes, this is going to be a gap year, but hopefully an exciting gap year like last year's was, but that's effectively the tradeoff for being a sustainable contender. That's of course the financial side of things - players need to play and you need the right players and the right scheme - but this approach also provides some quality depth as there will be players that just don't pan out and players who get injured.
So we've got a LOT of players who have tremendous potential but are on really affordable contracts now, and even their initial extensions will remain affordable. The upside to a gap year I guess is that they actually might get some playing time with guys like Walsh, Gonazales, Schierman etc getting a chance to show they can be part of the future. Heck, we might even see some Cenac time this season, but better to let him develop in G league most of the year.
The new-look Celtics roster will take some getting used to. Here's the updated depth chart with contracts and more after the Jaylen Brown trade.
www.nbcsportsboston.com
media0.giphy.com ·
