I don't get this Springer luv. I want a Dynasty, I want as many NBA ready players as possible NOW. Springer hasn't looked good at all in preseason and hasn't sniffed much playing time, he was literally benched last game. I understand why fans would rather have Walker. I'm not worried about Springers playing time in 2027 when he won't even be here next season after his contract and 4mil cap hit expires. Dude makes more than most all the bench players
@@drmoze That’s what championships are won for the bulk of the money is coming from their family but there are other contributors. Quality workers are worth quality pay ! Greed gets you nowhere. Spend and invest money you can’t die with it and it comes right back !
Sorry bruce. This wont stop. 100% disagree. This isnt really just about lonnie vs. Springer: 1. the rotation fight is done. Walsh won for now. Neither are playing. 2. Brad isnt going to fill that 15th spot. If lonnies coming in, someone will move out. Thats springer. 3. Why springer? Hes a vet min guy being paid double. Lonnie would be paid vet min. Swapping them out isnt about performance (though lonnie justifies it too). Its about money. Cutting springer and signing lonnie leads to 11+M in tax savings. 4. springer sucks. Simple as that. With walsh, baylor, anton, drew, etc. theres no need to develop him. Develop the others. Lonnie on the other hand is already developed and is a great break glass in case of emergency kind of guy. 5. Joe wasnt high on him recently. Springer showed insubordination as Karalis observerd. Joe screamed for him to take a charge and he refused to. After committing a boneheaded TOV, Joe benched him and he hasnt played since. DNPs. Springers days on the celtics are numbered. They either dump him this season or let him go in the offseason. Why? Celtics have 2 picks coming next season. Assuming JD is gone, the 2nd rd pick takes that 2W spot. The 1st RD pick will have to take a roster spot. We know brad doesnt want to go past 14. If luke re-signs, someone has to go because everybody else is under contract. Thats springer. Hes an expiring.
If they cut springer rob they would be paying him 4mil & then if they signed Lonnie they would then have 11m in taxes left over from still being over the cap. By cutting springers salary it doesn’t make us less then a 2nd apron team. We would then be owning 15 mil in taxes for both. For what? Lonnie to sit on the bench when springer is going to be doing the same thing. Rather not go down the rabbit hole of giving out more money when we don’t have it. Is he more deserving of a bigger role yes but unfortunately we are full. - Bruce
@@CelticsDigest you are looking at this the wrong way. When people say cut here, they dont mean waive him. They mean go dump him on a team wiyh cap (like the pistons) or who has a 4M TPE. Then ask for a conditional 2ND RD pick back. Like the banton trade to portland. This means boston isnt on the hook for any of the salary. Its off their books. They are required however to fill up 14 players. They can then sign an FA like lonnie for vet min AND thus save 11+M in taxes. Nobodys asking for springer to be waived. People are asking for him to be salary dumped.
Yes we all know he’s better than an X 10 but the issue isn’t that. The issue is that he’s on a Good enough roster with barely any room to fit in. Even if he’s on the roster he’s not getting 10-15 minutes a night he’s getting 5-7. Then everyone would riot still. We have TOO much talent, and not enough room. Not a bad thing to deal with just the unfortunate circumstance we are in now - Bruce
You people are so dumm. In the regular season, only the top eight contracts play and only the top 6 contracts get to participate in accumulating stats. In the playoffs, only the top 7 players get to play and only the same top 6 contracts get to participate. It would be STUPD beyond belief to have an unplayable bench player making more than minimum.
@@CelticsDigest this year…let’s not be so short sighted, we know some one is getting moved after this year, his contract and skill level will be needed next year.
I must admit there is more to Lonnie Walker that we should not give up on if there is any way possible keep them both but my pick is on keeping Lonnie Walker on the roster
Springer is already on the roster. Lonnie Walker will definitely take the 15th spot. It's a matter of when or play for Maine for a while to get a little more money aside from the veteran minimum he will get when he is elevated to the regular roster. If Springer will agree to a team friendly deal next season like Pritchard's contract, Cs can keep him moving forward. In Walker's case, should he decide to stay with the Cs for the next three years like Luke Kornet, Cs can pay him eventually as that will align with Jrue Holiday's retirement or end of contract and by then the Cs will have his Bird rights.
All that sounds nice but as soon as he gets a call from another team, he’s leaving the g league system. I don’t know why people think he’s gonna stay with the Celtics g league team. He’d leave at first call…from another team
If Looney is really good enough. Many teams will definitely give him a guaranteed contract, not just a training camp contract. Too many people treat him as a treasure, which is a very dangerous thing.
If Brad stevens lets Jaden springer or Drew Peterson 2 guys who have zero chance of cracking the rotation get in the way with them getting Lonnie Walker than im losing some faith in Brad.. Springer is trash
Springer looks rough.. getting rid of springer makes Lonnie available… sorry but springer looks flat out bad. I was a springer believer but he’s not looking good. They aren’t going to go with 15 spots and Lonnie will leave if he goes to g league. It might not happen but it seems like most Celtic are in agreement and springer can’t fill a role at all right now and I doubt he will in the future… if u can upgrade your tenth man and save money why wouldn’t you? U can always extend walker for cheap and make him a part of our future. Idk it’s rough to believe that they are dead set on springer when joe can’t stand his play half the time…
@@CelticsDigestyou can’t blame fans for wanting him cut of shipped to Maine, if you watch walker play you know he can score , we can’t say the same for springer . Good video with the education of what’s really going on but us fans just see one guy scoring and another one that hits a 3 every now and then.
Why did the celtics bring Lonnie Walker inIf they had no intentions on signing him? It seems like a waste of time money and resources. Why give preseason min to a guy you can't afford?
To evaluate him and see if he can make the roster in the future. If you can stack up for the uncertainties a season can bring you make yourself better for the future. Why just throw a player away for nothing? We aren’t helping other teams win, keep him and let him get time if need be. - Bruce
This is a way to sign another player to stimulate the improvement of the main core. Look at the introduction of SVI Mykhailiuk last season, which gave Sam Hauser a sense of crisis and transformed into a high-quality shooter.
@@Kevin-cg4gj Although your point has some validity, most of that is just "fanspeak". Hauser (every player not guaranteed a spot) is already doing the best they can. Hauser's improvement is simply based on his physical maturity, his increased playing time, his acquiring a better contract status, and his expanding familiarity with his team mates and his better understanding of his slot on the team. Svi was irrelevant to Hauser's improvement trajectory.
So heres the real question. Why bring him on if they werent gonna have enough for him? Just so get a look at him play?? I think hes gonna get it. People sre more excited for Walker than q Springer my guy. Just night and day as far as game
Fan excitement and contract structure/finance are two different things. The latter is a real factor when making roster decisions. Nice summary of the details, Bruce!
Sir, I give you credit for asking the question instead of posting some stupid comment. There are several reasons to "bring him on". There is more to it than I can put here in one post, but here is the foundation of the subject, and then I'll tie in the answer to your question: You have to understand the NBA business model, and you have to view it from several standpoints, and then integrate those views into an understanding of that NBA business model. First, EVERYTHING IS BASED ON UNION CONTRACT STATUS, PERIOD. So whenever someone deviates from that basic foundation, they are just being stupid. There is now LITERALLY a contract that the name of the contract GUARANTEES PREFERENTIAL TREATMENT FROM THE REFS. That contract status is called DVPC. (DESIGNATED VETERAN Player Contract) THE PREFERENTIAL TREATMENT, AND WHO GETS THAT PREFERENTIAL TREATMENT IS IN THE CONTRACT TITLE. "Designated" - this term tells the refs that these players get privileges that the other players do not get. "Veteran" - this term tell you that AT A MINIMUM, one must be past their "rookie contract". Meaning ROOKIES DON'T GET PRIVILEGES, ergo, players on rookie contracts are basically worthless to legitimate championship contenders, ESPECIALLY IN THE PLAYOFFS. The CBA is set up that each team can have TWO players with combined salaries of up to 70% of the team's salary cap, (based on the max cap). That leaves TWELVE players to split the remaining 30% of the cap-allowed salary. Obviously, there are teams that are giving the proverbial "middle finger" to the league by SIGNIFICANTLY abusing their financial ability to pay league tax penalties to retain superior players that, if they were within the standard salary cap, they would not be able to retain. Keep that in mind when we analyze this Celtic's team. Boston, obviously is one of those teams waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay over the cap. The new Apron Tax Penalties are going to bring the league back down to a "common sense" level, (as much as humans getting paid hundreds of millions of dollars to play a kid's game could be considered "common sense"!) So here's three ways to analyze a team's construction: 1. There are Premium players, primary players, filler players, practice players, and now that the rosters can go 15 deep, there are "less than practice players". Another way to view the team construction: 2. There are five "starters", five "practice players", two back-up practice players, and three "less than practice players". The third way to view roster construction: 3. There are "participating" players - players who have contractual expectations of opportunities to accrue statistics. There are also "filler" players (these players get some playing time in the heart of the game, but when they are on the court they have ZERO expectations of being allowed to take statistics away from "participating" players.) Then you have garbage players. They play in blow-outs, finish up quarters, are inserted soley to "take a foul" so participating players and filler players don't have to be assessed that foul, and play some limited minutes in games in which the team is sitting out 3/4 players for load management purposes. Keep in mind that no matter how many good players are on a team, there ARE ONLY 7 TIME SLOTS AVAILAVBLE, and there is a limited number of players who have adequate "contract status" to be effective because of the officiating being WHOLLY BASED ON CONTRACT STATUS. One can be a great player, but without "contract status", in the eyes of the league and the eyes of the refs, that player is nothing to the league, in terms of a chance to perform on a fair and equal basis. So on Boston, the Premium players are: JB/JT (DVPC players) (keep in mind that because Brad Stevens is AMAZING, AND he had permission to go significantly over the cap, this Celtic's roster has some variances. If the ownership pulls the plug on obscene spending, they will come back to the norm.) Primary players: Zing Holiday White and I'll toss in Horford. Filler players: PP/LK/SH, with secondary shout-outs to Queta and Tillman. Basically, the filler players split the time of ONE player, so last season PP/LK/SH split the time of ONE player. For the 2023/2024 season, combined, those three, COMBINED, averaged about 50 mpg, which is slightly over the playing time of one player, but factoring in the injuries to Zing and Kornet, and Horford sitting out game 2's on back-to-backs, this is a reasonable variance. But this season, Tillman and Queta are in that "filler" mix, so Boston will go 10 deep to fill 7/8 slots. But they don't divide the minutes available by 10 and everyone is equal. They divide the first 5 slots by 7, and the remaining 2/3 slots by 8. (8+7=15 players) Now back to your question: Anyone below #10 is going to get virtually no minutes, certainly no major or no key minutes. So why bring in Walker as he is not going to crack that top ten? 1. Stevens CONSTANTLY brings in quality vets, at bargain prices, to establish a "veteran aura" with the team. He has to bring in somebody to fill these temporary, part-time slots, and with the league over-budget on the Premium players, there are a lot of quality vets to fill those spots because their salaries are at rock bottom prices because of the top-heavy salaries in the league. 2. For premium positive PR. Bringing in Walker has made a splash in interest. They could have brought in someone with a lesser name for the same price, but then they lose the free positive publicity, which keeps Boston in the top of mind to the other players, and more importantly, player's agents. 3. Stevens knows how to play the game. A large part of all of this is the PLAYER'S AGENTS. They are more important than the players because a player controls only himself, but agents control MULTIPLE PLAYERS, so staying in their good graces is just best practice. Stevens can pass along some bank to otherwise unemployed quality players, scoring big points with those players AND THIER AGENTS. The formerly unemployed player gets some cash, BUT THE AGENT ALSO MAY GET A CUT OF THAT CONTRACT. It's called "greasing the wheels". Additionally, it gives Stevens a chance to talk to the agents in a positive situation ("I'm giving you some free cash!") and in a situation which is not high pressure, as it would be in negotiating with an agent on a Premium or Primary player transaction. In essence, Stevens gets an opportunity to know the agent on a more personal level, before having to deal with them in pressure situation. Agents are like refs, they are not the star of the show, but if they favor you, they can carry a lot of influence with their clients to make a deal come to fruition, but if they are unfamiliar with you, or negative towards you, they can all influence the deal in a negative fashion. There is also another reason to run thru some players in general, but it's magnified with a player of Walker's status, and that is "practice" There are a ton of technicalities when trying to make trades. One technicality can ruin a trade, ESPECIALLY IF THAT TRADE IS TIME SENSITIVE, as in the Zing acquisition. In the Zing acquisition, that trade had a 24 hour window, and the first attempt failed, so the CLOCK WAS TICKING. By running players thru the system, especially players of Walker's status, everyone in the front office involved with the trades, gets to "practice" the trade flow. There have been quite a few trades, across all sports, that were never completed because of some minor but trade-stopping technicality. Had Stevens, and his front office, not been on top of it for the Zing trade, there's no way the Celts pull off that deal in a window of less than 24 hours. I'm not in the front office for sure, but I would venture to say that processing a vet contract like Walker's is more pressure than processing, say, Svi's contract. I can't help but think that kind of run-thru is the type of practice that allowed Stevens to completely re-shift the focus of the first failed Zing acquisition attempt, and find another combination of trade partners to make that trade possible, in less than 24 hours. In that situation, there was no room for even a minor mistake. Practice, practice, practice. Most people are too dumm to understand any of this. They think it's all about "basketball" and "statistics". But Stevens is the master because he understands it's about positive human interaction and a complete understanding of the CBA (UNION) rules. Bringing in Walker, vs some lesser know player, checks all the boxes, for the same relative price, even if he doesn't stick, or probably better said, even though Stevens knows for a fact, in advance, that Walker isn't getting a slot on the 15 man roster. It's not hard to understand, but it is certainly detailed and intricate and takes more than a Level 1 thought process to grasp the totality of the situation. You can troll my detail, or you can read, absorb, and learn about how the NBA actually operates. Peace out!
@@drmoze If you move Springer you can keep Lonnie, what don't you understand lol there's articles everywhere saying this you don't have to take my word for it.
@@s.a.d7882 agreed. Brad wont go past 14. It doesnt make sense financially. So if they want to bring someone in, like lonnie, they move someone out. The most expendable is springer and his heftier contract. Hes also an expiring brad hasnt offered an extension to. No way a 12th-14th man on the roster should be earning more than the vet min like springer is. P.S. hes gone by next draft day anyway (along with JD) as the celtics have 2 picks in the 2025 draft. 2 players will have to go to accommodate the 2 rookies. Boston has 4 FAs: luke, al, jaden and JD. guess whos the worse 2 of that 4?
He cannot, he’s on a guaranteed deal. They already have 3 two ways. They woukd have to covert one of them ( JD, Drew, Anton) to send springer down? When springer is better than all 3. Yeah doesn’t move me. - Bruce
What Bruce said, but additionally, it's hard to see any team paying a G-league player 4+ million dollars to go play in the minor leagues when they absolutely know for sure that there is no way this guy will ever get any meaningful playing time on the parent team, EVER.
The entire bench and first round draft picks (3) for Bronnie James...he's about to bust out of mediocrity....so sez my sources. Send him to Maine. Lebron follows. Buys beach house on Popham Beach. Buys Spinneys. Buys Reid State Park.
![[Sub Thai] APT. - ROSÉ & Bruno Mars](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/bYjhzP8x_uc/mqdefault.jpg)
Lonnie Walker IV 💯
I'd go with Lonnie Walker IV
Lonnie Walker was on fire we definitely need to keep him! He was doing some incredible things! I also like Anton Watson! 😀🙏⚖️🔥
I agree
Springer defense is crazy doe!!!!!
I don't get this Springer luv. I want a Dynasty, I want as many NBA ready players as possible NOW. Springer hasn't looked good at all in preseason and hasn't sniffed much playing time, he was literally benched last game. I understand why fans would rather have Walker. I'm not worried about Springers playing time in 2027 when he won't even be here next season after his contract and 4mil cap hit expires. Dude makes more than most all the bench players
Sorry but Lonnie Walker looks better than Springer lol.💚☘️#19
He is good enough that other teams have already offered guaranteed contracts, but no team is willing to give him haha
Springer sucks
Pay the fees to keep Lonnie. They got lots of debt from this team however these back to backs gonna pay off as a great investment
Agreed
$11M when he wouldn't even be in a primary backup slot? Easy to say when it's not your money...
@@drmoze That’s what championships are won for the bulk of the money is coming from their family but there are other contributors. Quality workers are worth quality pay ! Greed gets you nowhere. Spend and invest money you can’t die with it and it comes right back !
@@drmoze Thank you for trying to educate the ldiots.
Sorry bruce. This wont stop. 100% disagree. This isnt really just about lonnie vs. Springer:
1. the rotation fight is done. Walsh won for now. Neither are playing.
2. Brad isnt going to fill that 15th spot. If lonnies coming in, someone will move out. Thats springer.
3. Why springer? Hes a vet min guy being paid double. Lonnie would be paid vet min. Swapping them out isnt about performance (though lonnie justifies it too). Its about money. Cutting springer and signing lonnie leads to 11+M in tax savings.
4. springer sucks. Simple as that. With walsh, baylor, anton, drew, etc. theres no need to develop him. Develop the others. Lonnie on the other hand is already developed and is a great break glass in case of emergency kind of guy.
5. Joe wasnt high on him recently. Springer showed insubordination as Karalis observerd. Joe screamed for him to take a charge and he refused to. After committing a boneheaded TOV, Joe benched him and he hasnt played since. DNPs.
Springers days on the celtics are numbered. They either dump him this season or let him go in the offseason. Why? Celtics have 2 picks coming next season. Assuming JD is gone, the 2nd rd pick takes that 2W spot. The 1st RD pick will have to take a roster spot. We know brad doesnt want to go past 14. If luke re-signs, someone has to go because everybody else is under contract. Thats springer. Hes an expiring.
If they cut springer rob they would be paying him 4mil & then if they signed Lonnie they would then have 11m in taxes left over from still being over the cap. By cutting springers salary it doesn’t make us less then a 2nd apron team. We would then be owning 15 mil in taxes for both. For what? Lonnie to sit on the bench when springer is going to be doing the same thing. Rather not go down the rabbit hole of giving out more money when we don’t have it. Is he more deserving of a bigger role yes but unfortunately we are full. - Bruce
@@CelticsDigest you are looking at this the wrong way. When people say cut here, they dont mean waive him.
They mean go dump him on a team wiyh cap (like the pistons) or who has a 4M TPE. Then ask for a conditional 2ND RD pick back. Like the banton trade to portland.
This means boston isnt on the hook for any of the salary. Its off their books. They are required however to fill up 14 players. They can then sign an FA like lonnie for vet min AND thus save 11+M in taxes.
Nobodys asking for springer to be waived. People are asking for him to be salary dumped.
Lonnie Walker is even better than I remembered! We definitely need to offer him a full contract! And Anton Watson as well! 😀
I haven't seen the video yet Bruce but what exactly is it that needs to be stopped? 🤔
@@ritchievernon8099watch the video! 🙄😅
They will be crazy to let another team get him.
Everyone is excited for Lonnie.
Love his hustle and athleticism. That will be great for the season run
You gotta stop acting like he’s an X 10 player, dude is way better than springer and should be on the roster.
Yes we all know he’s better than an X 10 but the issue isn’t that. The issue is that he’s on a Good enough roster with barely any room to fit in. Even if he’s on the roster he’s not getting 10-15 minutes a night he’s getting 5-7. Then everyone would riot still. We have TOO much talent, and not enough room. Not a bad thing to deal with just the unfortunate circumstance we are in now - Bruce
@@CelticsDigest he’s on a good enough roster this year, but when they have to move ppl next year, his cheap contract will be needed.
You people are so dumm. In the regular season, only the top eight contracts play and only the top 6 contracts get to participate in accumulating stats. In the playoffs, only the top 7 players get to play and only the same top 6 contracts get to participate.
It would be STUPD beyond belief to have an unplayable bench player making more than minimum.
@@CelticsDigest this year…let’s not be so short sighted, we know some one is getting moved after this year, his contract and skill level will be needed next year.
I must admit there is more to Lonnie Walker that we should not give up on if there is any way possible keep them both but my pick is on keeping Lonnie Walker on the roster
Springer is already on the roster. Lonnie Walker will definitely take the 15th spot. It's a matter of when or play for Maine for a while to get a little more money aside from the veteran minimum he will get when he is elevated to the regular roster. If Springer will agree to a team friendly deal next season like Pritchard's contract, Cs can keep him moving forward. In Walker's case, should he decide to stay with the Cs for the next three years like Luke Kornet, Cs can pay him eventually as that will align with Jrue Holiday's retirement or end of contract and by then the Cs will have his Bird rights.
All that sounds nice but as soon as he gets a call from another team, he’s leaving the g league system. I don’t know why people think he’s gonna stay with the Celtics g league team. He’d leave at first call…from another team
So Lonnie at 2mil is 10mil so what are we paying springer who isn’t ready at all? The only way to keep him is to trade someone else for a pick
DONT TELL ME TO CHILL!
Yeah.....what the....Be thankful were not force fed Bronnie
I say keep walker and Walsh especially Walsh he reminds me of Derrick white and Tatum in his game and can be a 2 way player off the bench easy
If Looney is really good enough. Many teams will definitely give him a guaranteed contract, not just a training camp contract. Too many people treat him as a treasure, which is a very dangerous thing.
I believe Looney plays for the Warriors.
Lonnie walker should be ahead of kornet and imo could pass Hauser by the end of the year
If Brad stevens lets Jaden springer or Drew Peterson 2 guys who have zero chance of cracking the rotation get in the way with them getting Lonnie Walker than im losing some faith in Brad.. Springer is trash
Thanks for the explanation though sounds better to wait patience young grass hoppers patience
Of course my guy! Thanks for always being invested! - Bruce
Springer looks rough.. getting rid of springer makes Lonnie available… sorry but springer looks flat out bad. I was a springer believer but he’s not looking good. They aren’t going to go with 15 spots and Lonnie will leave if he goes to g league. It might not happen but it seems like most Celtic are in agreement and springer can’t fill a role at all right now and I doubt he will in the future… if u can upgrade your tenth man and save money why wouldn’t you? U can always extend walker for cheap and make him a part of our future. Idk it’s rough to believe that they are dead set on springer when joe can’t stand his play half the time…
Discourse is good!
They don’t play springer , not sure how much he is on their plans
They don’t play him? He’s been here for half a season? What evaluation is that?
@@CelticsDigestyou can’t blame fans for wanting him cut of shipped to Maine, if you watch walker play you know he can score , we can’t say the same for springer . Good video with the education of what’s really going on but us fans just see one guy scoring and another one that hits a 3 every now and then.
He's not.
Why did the celtics bring Lonnie Walker inIf they had no intentions on signing him? It seems like a waste of time money and resources. Why give preseason min to a guy you can't afford?
To evaluate him and see if he can make the roster in the future. If you can stack up for the uncertainties a season can bring you make yourself better for the future. Why just throw a player away for nothing? We aren’t helping other teams win, keep him and let him get time if need be. - Bruce
This is a way to sign another player to stimulate the improvement of the main core. Look at the introduction of SVI Mykhailiuk last season, which gave Sam Hauser a sense of crisis and transformed into a high-quality shooter.
@@Kevin-cg4gj Although your point has some validity, most of that is just "fanspeak".
Hauser (every player not guaranteed a spot) is already doing the best they can.
Hauser's improvement is simply based on his physical maturity, his increased playing time, his acquiring a better contract status, and his expanding familiarity with his team mates and his better understanding of his slot on the team.
Svi was irrelevant to Hauser's improvement trajectory.
See my comment above to TEDSHOTTHAT. I don't know what "THAT' did to deserve to get SHOT by TED, but check out my comment anyway!
So heres the real question. Why bring him on if they werent gonna have enough for him? Just so get a look at him play?? I think hes gonna get it.
People sre more excited for Walker than q Springer my guy. Just night and day as far as game
Fan excitement and contract structure/finance are two different things. The latter is a real factor when making roster decisions.
Nice summary of the details, Bruce!
@@drmoze dude i know the facts. If it came down to a fan vote that would be great. But at the end of the day Business is business period
Sir, I give you credit for asking the question instead of posting some stupid comment.
There are several reasons to "bring him on".
There is more to it than I can put here in one post, but here is the foundation of the subject, and then I'll tie in the answer to your question:
You have to understand the NBA business model, and you have to view it from several standpoints, and then integrate those views into an understanding of that NBA business model.
First, EVERYTHING IS BASED ON UNION CONTRACT STATUS, PERIOD.
So whenever someone deviates from that basic foundation, they are just being stupid.
There is now LITERALLY a contract that the name of the contract GUARANTEES PREFERENTIAL TREATMENT FROM THE REFS.
That contract status is called DVPC. (DESIGNATED VETERAN Player Contract)
THE PREFERENTIAL TREATMENT, AND WHO GETS THAT PREFERENTIAL TREATMENT IS IN THE CONTRACT TITLE.
"Designated" - this term tells the refs that these players get privileges that the other players do not get.
"Veteran" - this term tell you that AT A MINIMUM, one must be past their "rookie contract". Meaning ROOKIES DON'T GET PRIVILEGES, ergo, players on rookie contracts are basically worthless to legitimate championship contenders, ESPECIALLY IN THE PLAYOFFS.
The CBA is set up that each team can have TWO players with combined salaries of up to 70% of the team's salary cap, (based on the max cap).
That leaves TWELVE players to split the remaining 30% of the cap-allowed salary.
Obviously, there are teams that are giving the proverbial "middle finger" to the league by SIGNIFICANTLY abusing their financial ability to pay league tax penalties to retain superior players that, if they were within the standard salary cap, they would not be able to retain.
Keep that in mind when we analyze this Celtic's team.
Boston, obviously is one of those teams waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay over the cap.
The new Apron Tax Penalties are going to bring the league back down to a "common sense" level, (as much as humans getting paid hundreds of millions of dollars to play a kid's game could be considered "common sense"!)
So here's three ways to analyze a team's construction:
1. There are Premium players, primary players, filler players, practice players, and now that the rosters can go 15 deep, there are "less than practice players".
Another way to view the team construction:
2. There are five "starters", five "practice players", two back-up practice players, and three "less than practice players".
The third way to view roster construction:
3. There are "participating" players - players who have contractual expectations of opportunities to accrue statistics.
There are also "filler" players (these players get some playing time in the heart of the game, but when they are on the court they have ZERO expectations of being allowed to take statistics away from "participating" players.)
Then you have garbage players. They play in blow-outs, finish up quarters, are inserted soley to "take a foul" so participating players and filler players don't have to be assessed that foul, and play some limited minutes in games in which the team is sitting out 3/4 players for load management purposes.
Keep in mind that no matter how many good players are on a team, there ARE ONLY 7 TIME SLOTS AVAILAVBLE, and there is a limited number of players who have adequate "contract status" to be effective because of the officiating being WHOLLY BASED ON CONTRACT STATUS.
One can be a great player, but without "contract status", in the eyes of the league and the eyes of the refs, that player is nothing to the league, in terms of a chance to perform on a fair and equal basis.
So on Boston, the Premium players are:
JB/JT (DVPC players)
(keep in mind that because Brad Stevens is AMAZING, AND he had permission to go significantly over the cap, this Celtic's roster has some variances. If the ownership pulls the plug on obscene spending, they will come back to the norm.)
Primary players:
Zing
Holiday
White
and I'll toss in Horford.
Filler players:
PP/LK/SH, with secondary shout-outs to Queta and Tillman.
Basically, the filler players split the time of ONE player, so last season PP/LK/SH split the time of ONE player.
For the 2023/2024 season, combined, those three, COMBINED, averaged about 50 mpg, which is slightly over the playing time of one player, but factoring in the injuries to Zing and Kornet, and Horford sitting out game 2's on back-to-backs, this is a reasonable variance.
But this season, Tillman and Queta are in that "filler" mix, so Boston will go 10 deep to fill 7/8 slots. But they don't divide the minutes available by 10 and everyone is equal. They divide the first 5 slots by 7, and the remaining 2/3 slots by 8. (8+7=15 players)
Now back to your question: Anyone below #10 is going to get virtually no minutes, certainly no major or no key minutes.
So why bring in Walker as he is not going to crack that top ten?
1. Stevens CONSTANTLY brings in quality vets, at bargain prices, to establish a "veteran aura" with the team. He has to bring in somebody to fill these temporary, part-time slots, and with the league over-budget on the Premium players, there are a lot of quality vets to fill those spots because their salaries are at rock bottom prices because of the top-heavy salaries in the league.
2. For premium positive PR. Bringing in Walker has made a splash in interest. They could have brought in someone with a lesser name for the same price, but then they lose the free positive publicity, which keeps Boston in the top of mind to the other players, and more importantly, player's agents.
3. Stevens knows how to play the game. A large part of all of this is the PLAYER'S AGENTS. They are more important than the players because a player controls only himself, but agents control MULTIPLE PLAYERS, so staying in their good graces is just best practice. Stevens can pass along some bank to otherwise unemployed quality players, scoring big points with those players AND THIER AGENTS. The formerly unemployed player gets some cash, BUT THE AGENT ALSO MAY GET A CUT OF THAT CONTRACT. It's called "greasing the wheels".
Additionally, it gives Stevens a chance to talk to the agents in a positive situation ("I'm giving you some free cash!") and in a situation which is not high pressure, as it would be in negotiating with an agent on a Premium or Primary player transaction. In essence, Stevens gets an opportunity to know the agent on a more personal level, before having to deal with them in pressure situation. Agents are like refs, they are not the star of the show, but if they favor you, they can carry a lot of influence with their clients to make a deal come to fruition, but if they are unfamiliar with you, or negative towards you, they can all influence the deal in a negative fashion.
There is also another reason to run thru some players in general, but it's magnified with a player of Walker's status, and that is "practice"
There are a ton of technicalities when trying to make trades. One technicality can ruin a trade, ESPECIALLY IF THAT TRADE IS TIME SENSITIVE, as in the Zing acquisition. In the Zing acquisition, that trade had a 24 hour window, and the first attempt failed, so the CLOCK WAS TICKING.
By running players thru the system, especially players of Walker's status, everyone in the front office involved with the trades, gets to "practice" the trade flow. There have been quite a few trades, across all sports, that were never completed because of some minor but trade-stopping technicality.
Had Stevens, and his front office, not been on top of it for the Zing trade, there's no way the Celts pull off that deal in a window of less than 24 hours.
I'm not in the front office for sure, but I would venture to say that processing a vet contract like Walker's is more pressure than processing, say, Svi's contract. I can't help but think that kind of run-thru is the type of practice that allowed Stevens to completely re-shift the focus of the first failed Zing acquisition attempt, and find another combination of trade partners to make that trade possible, in less than 24 hours. In that situation, there was no room for even a minor mistake. Practice, practice, practice.
Most people are too dumm to understand any of this. They think it's all about "basketball" and "statistics". But Stevens is the master because he understands it's about positive human interaction and a complete understanding of the CBA (UNION) rules.
Bringing in Walker, vs some lesser know player, checks all the boxes, for the same relative price, even if he doesn't stick, or probably better said, even though Stevens knows for a fact, in advance, that Walker isn't getting a slot on the 15 man roster.
It's not hard to understand, but it is certainly detailed and intricate and takes more than a Level 1 thought process to grasp the totality of the situation.
You can troll my detail, or you can read, absorb, and learn about how the NBA actually operates.
Peace out!
Ya keep lonnie idc what it takes
Facts
Yeah in Maine. - Bruce
Lonnie don’t play defense
I been saying this to my brother, the Celtics will move Springer to keep Lonnie and no it does not need to stop it needs to happen!
Did you not watch, or not understand, the video? Springer is guaranteed, moving him won't affect bringing Walker on board.
@@drmoze If you move Springer you can keep Lonnie, what don't you understand lol there's articles everywhere saying this you don't have to take my word for it.
@@s.a.d7882 agreed. Brad wont go past 14. It doesnt make sense financially. So if they want to bring someone in, like lonnie, they move someone out. The most expendable is springer and his heftier contract. Hes also an expiring brad hasnt offered an extension to. No way a 12th-14th man on the roster should be earning more than the vet min like springer is.
P.S. hes gone by next draft day anyway (along with JD) as the celtics have 2 picks in the 2025 draft. 2 players will have to go to accommodate the 2 rookies. Boston has 4 FAs: luke, al, jaden and JD. guess whos the worse 2 of that 4?
Ayo BAN Springer from the team
Let springer go to Maine then
He cannot, he’s on a guaranteed deal. They already have 3 two ways. They woukd have to covert one of them ( JD, Drew, Anton) to send springer down? When springer is better than all 3. Yeah doesn’t move me. - Bruce
What Bruce said, but additionally, it's hard to see any team paying a G-league player 4+ million dollars to go play in the minor leagues when they absolutely know for sure that there is no way this guy will ever get any meaningful playing time on the parent team, EVER.
The entire bench and first round draft picks (3) for Bronnie James...he's about to bust out of mediocrity....so sez my sources. Send him to Maine. Lebron follows. Buys beach house on Popham Beach. Buys Spinneys. Buys Reid State Park.
Wow, you have ZERO understanding of Brad Stevens' business model.