The Celtics haven’t engaged in any free agency activities because, well, they lack the necessary skills. There weren’t many resources available to sign free agents after President of Basketball Operations Brad Stevens re-signed Derrick White, Jayson Tatum, Jrue Holiday, and Kristaps Porzingis.
The best the Celtics can hope for is a veteran’s minimum, and because they want to maintain flexibility, they will be selective in who they choose to fill the 15th and final roster position.
The Celtics are seeing the effects of the second apron for the first time this summer. A team that surpasses the second apron is not eligible for a mid-level exception, cannot sign a player above the mid-level exception, and is not allowed to incorporate cash in a trade. Additionally, sign-and-trade agreements cannot be completed by second apron teams until they fall beneath the apron.
You now know the reason behind the lack of engagement with teams like Milwaukee, Golden State, Denver, and the Celtics.
NBA Commissioner Adam Silver claimed that the new collective bargaining agreement’s goal of leveling the playing field for clubs in smaller markets and those with more constrained budgets has worked.
“We’re not looking to flatten salaries throughout the league, but one of the goals we set in collective bargaining was to ensure that every team was in a position to compete for championships and had the resources available to do so,” he said. “The early feedback is that the system appears to be working in that we are very clear that we set out to put more pressure on the high end.” “I believe the new agreement goes above and beyond the second apron, for instance, and has more than simply financial ramifications. Although the financial ramifications are quite severe, they affect your ability to sign and select players.
concur.
Yes, there is yet another restriction on the second apron. If you live in that neighborhood, your draft pick will be frozen for the next seven years and cannot be moved. After three consecutive years in the second apron, the pick from seven years later falls to the bottom of the first round.
Teams are finding there are actual fangs in those regulations, Silver said, even as the second apron is starting to take effect. I’m not sure how to feel about this, but rumors have it that the summer wasn’t exciting for fans. In my opinion, it wasn’t. Even Nevertheless, we witnessed a number of very significant players switching teams as free agents. However, I also believe that this new method will place teams—all thirty of them—in a better competitive position, even though I don’t want it to be monotonous. I believe we’re headed in that direction.
Golden State no longer has to literally create money to win four titles in a row. That will not only lead to expensive luxury taxes but also to second-apron limitations that make it nearly hard to retain a team over the long run.