SQ14 #3 Buyouts?

Gerald Wallace, Joel Anthony and DNP’s?  Marcus Thornton and Brandon Bass?  Players fallen out of use and locker-room discord led to a paid vacation for Keith Bogans that is running into its sixth month.  Typically players want to play.  Most love this game that has fortuitously provided them a very comfortable living.  When they fall into disuse, it is usually in the best interests of all for the player to move on. 

Sometimes it is an aging player whose salary far outstrips their remaining ability to contribute on the court.  In other cases they just end up in a situation where the playing time is better invested in another player, either better or similar in skill with more future upside.  Regardless, this situation is a volatile mix that can rapidly devolve into strife in the locker room that is a poison to team chemistry.

For a team that is rebuilding, these issues are almost unavoidable.  A quick resolution is critical, and often a bit difficult to achieve.  Players, especially aging vets, find it really hard to say “Take back a few million dollars and just get me off this bench!”  For many of them that “few million” represents much of their retirement income and their likelihood of recouping that bundle in their dwindling career is nearly zilch.  Even for players in the midst of their careers, leaving cash on the table may be unacceptable.  Often their lifestyle leaves them with little buffer; and if the team wants to buy them out, their current production may not demand an equivalent salary from another team.

For the Celtics players in question, there are differing scenarios.  For Wallace and Joel Anthony it seems highly unlikely that any remaining years in their respective careers would allow them to recoup the funds lost in a buyout.  If bought out, I suspect that Bass and Thornton would have trouble demanding their current salary, but if the buyout was for only half of this final year’s guaranteed money, they could likely get on with another club to make up the difference and probably play more minutes than I expect them to earn on the 14-15 Celtics.

It will be a situation that bears close monitoring and prompt attention if it becomes problematic.  Brad Stevens, in only his second year as coach, doesn’t need additional headaches as he tries to mature his crop of youngsters into a coherent and formidable force.  Three of those mentioned have expiring contracts and have some value as trading chips or cap-clearing pieces but it will be important for them to assume mentoring roles rather than become distractions.

If there is no consolidation trade, I feel sure Ainge would love to buy out Anthony. It might get the them under the Lux Cap and it would allow an open slot to add a player released by another team, take a flyer on someone like Oden, or keep a camp standout (my favorites would be Johnson or Moser rather than Iverson, who could use another year of seasoning in Europe, in spite of that leaving Boston short at center which is already the weakest position).

Only 62 days until camp?
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