The Big Al Question
Al Jefferson established himself as a top young big man in the league with his play on the court this season. One would assume that he'd like that stature to soon be represented in his bank account as well. Big Al has one year left on his contract and will be re-signed this offseason but the question is for how much and, more importantly, how will the deal be structured.
The first question of how much is Jefferson worth is somewhat easy, but in the end (as the saying goes) a million here, a million there and soon it starts to add up to real money. While Big Al has played as well as many max contract guys, the team also couldn't win a lick when he was the main man so I think you can easily talk him out of demanding that much. Then again, big guys who have shown less have signed for good chunks of change (i.e, Chris Kaman, Nene, Troy Murphy). For me, I think Jefferson will be getting a deal that is around 6 years, 64 - 75 million. Getting him at closer to 60 would be a steal and help the C's significantly when it comes to signing someone to help Pierce. Closer to 75 and the team will be flirting with the luxury tax if they try to add anyone significant.
But perhaps the bigger issues is how the Celtics structure his deal. The typical deal is one with rising salaries. The first year will be the low amount and the players will get a raise each season afterwards. For instance, Chris Bosh makes 12 million next year and, in four years, will take home 16 million. While this has been the norm, some GM's are starting to sign descending deals. David West and Kirk Hinrich have these types of contract which are beneficial because, as the years progress, the team will get more and more cap space. Those deals are usually made by teams that are already under the cap space and can afford to take the biggest sum of the contract in the beginning. And then there's the seldom seen even money deal. Theo Ratliff has that and Luke Ridnour recently signed one of these deals. These contracts have the player making the same amount of money throughout the contract.
At first, the descending deal seems like the obvious choice as it will enable us to make more moves in the long run however that type of deal limits the type of player that we will be able to bring in after next season. If you want to sign someone to help Paul Pierce, then you can't give Big Al that type of deal. You need his cheapest years now. If Jefferson's biggest amount (say 14 million) is plopped on the books for the 2008/9 season, the Celtics will likely be right at the salary cap and unlikely to afford more than some vet minimum/LLE type free agents. However, if Jefferson signs a rising deal, then we might be able to afford someone for 3 or 4 million dollars more. In the end, it could mean the difference between signing Brevin Knight as opposed to Dan Dickau. That being said, the downside of a rising deal is that in 2010/11, Pierce and Jefferson's contract could eat up 3/5's of the Celtics' cap space.
A Luke Ridnour, even-money type deal gives the worst of both worlds. The team won't save all that much to add help now and won't be saving enough in the long run to make it easier to sign someone in spite of Pierce's 2nd max deal.
Danny has been avoiding it for years but it's time to figure out whether he's going to focus on winning now or winning later. Jefferson's contract will likely shape the moves that the Celtics will be able to make for the coming five or six years. I don't think this team is going anywhere (or signing anyone) next year so I would be in favor of the declining deal. It frees up money in the long run and will help offset the raises that Pierce is in line to make. Then again, if The Truth learns that the team won't be able to make even an MLE signing this offseason, lord knows if he'll even be a Celtic for the last year's of his contract. Personally, that's a risk I'm willing to take.
But perhaps the bigger issues is how the Celtics structure his deal. The typical deal is one with rising salaries. The first year will be the low amount and the players will get a raise each season afterwards. For instance, Chris Bosh makes 12 million next year and, in four years, will take home 16 million. While this has been the norm, some GM's are starting to sign descending deals. David West and Kirk Hinrich have these types of contract which are beneficial because, as the years progress, the team will get more and more cap space. Those deals are usually made by teams that are already under the cap space and can afford to take the biggest sum of the contract in the beginning. And then there's the seldom seen even money deal. Theo Ratliff has that and Luke Ridnour recently signed one of these deals. These contracts have the player making the same amount of money throughout the contract.
At first, the descending deal seems like the obvious choice as it will enable us to make more moves in the long run however that type of deal limits the type of player that we will be able to bring in after next season. If you want to sign someone to help Paul Pierce, then you can't give Big Al that type of deal. You need his cheapest years now. If Jefferson's biggest amount (say 14 million) is plopped on the books for the 2008/9 season, the Celtics will likely be right at the salary cap and unlikely to afford more than some vet minimum/LLE type free agents. However, if Jefferson signs a rising deal, then we might be able to afford someone for 3 or 4 million dollars more. In the end, it could mean the difference between signing Brevin Knight as opposed to Dan Dickau. That being said, the downside of a rising deal is that in 2010/11, Pierce and Jefferson's contract could eat up 3/5's of the Celtics' cap space.
A Luke Ridnour, even-money type deal gives the worst of both worlds. The team won't save all that much to add help now and won't be saving enough in the long run to make it easier to sign someone in spite of Pierce's 2nd max deal.
Danny has been avoiding it for years but it's time to figure out whether he's going to focus on winning now or winning later. Jefferson's contract will likely shape the moves that the Celtics will be able to make for the coming five or six years. I don't think this team is going anywhere (or signing anyone) next year so I would be in favor of the declining deal. It frees up money in the long run and will help offset the raises that Pierce is in line to make. Then again, if The Truth learns that the team won't be able to make even an MLE signing this offseason, lord knows if he'll even be a Celtic for the last year's of his contract. Personally, that's a risk I'm willing to take.
The crazy coaching connections of college basketball continues. Michael Beasley (pictured left) was about to walk from Kansas State but was pleased to find out that they promoted assistant coach Dalonte Hill to replace the out-going Bob Huggins. Hill, it seems, was actually more influential than Huggins when it came to Beasley's decision to attend Kansas State. The McDonald's All-American had originally committed to Charlotte, in part because Hill was an assistant coach there. But then Hill suddenly was wooed to go to K-State 
The already ugly story that is Bill Walker's college career has taken another turn for the worse. Bill Walker went from a possible lottery pick to poster boy for the worst case-scenario for top ranked high schoolers going to college. Heading into this year's recruiting season, Bill Walker and O.J. Mayo were two prizes both of whom seemed to have ties to unemployed coach Bob Huggins. In fact, some reports had Huggins using that fact as a reason for school's to hire him. In the end, Kansas State hired Huggins (despite in checkered past) and Bill Walker seemed like a sure thing to join the team next season.
Then something strange happened. It turned out that Walker's transcript was incorrect and he actually had had two freshmen years. What that meant was that Walker's junior season was actually his fourth, and final, year of eligibilty so he was no longer able to play college basketball. While some would see this as a crushing blow to a young man, it was a minor hurdle for Walker who simply (and suddenly) was able to graduate early and matriculate to K-State in time for the second semester of the 2006-2007 school year (and second half of the team's season). An ugly battle loomed on the horizon as Walker was looking to test the NBA's age limit. To be eligible for the draft, a player has to be one year removed from his graduating class. Unfortunately for Walker, while the Ohio hoops governing board saw 2005 - 6 as his senior year (and thus ruled him ineligible to play), the NBA still counted 2006-7 as his graduating class so he wasn't able to declare either. Adding more confusion to the mix is Sonny Vaccaro who pointed out that Walker had dual citizenship. The rule about being one year removed from high school didn't apply to foreign players, which, by some stretch of the imagination, Walker technically was.
The drama on the horizon, however, quietly set the moment that Walker blew out his knee in his seventh game at K-State. Much like the Celtics' Tony Allen, Walker has a long rehab ahead of him. Still, Walker hoped to work back into shape and take on the NCAA's alongside top recruit and McDonald's All-American Game MVP Michael Beasley.
Not so fast. Now, the man who brought Walker to Manhattan, Kansas might be on his way out. Bob Huggins is considering leaving Kansas State for the West Virginia. If he does so, Michael Beasley would likely rescind his letter of intent and head to another school, leaving Bill Walker stuck. Walker could transfer but then he could be forced to sit out a full year before being eligible to play and, for a player with his eyes on the NBA Draft, there could be nothing worse than being forced to sit for a year and a half. Most likely, he plays out his year at K-State and bolts for the NBA. Hardly what he was expecting when he was promised big things from Huggins.
This is my problem with forcing players to go to college. In many cases, coaches are focused on themselves. They may have some deeper will to win but, more importantly, they all have a need to win or else they will be fired. In any other profession, college is supposed to prepare you for your future career. College sports, however, are focused on winning now, future be damned. The rules in college limit the freedom of the player so choosing the wrong school (or having the school recruit another top prospect at your position) could ruin one's chances at making the NBA. In the end, forcing people into a situation which doesn't care about their future and from which they have little power to maneuver is patently unfair.
And like the Celtics, she looks like she needs to learn to suck a little better if she's ever going to get the best available men.
