Danny Ainge has said he is considering adding ‘shooting with size’ for the Celtics in recent weeks and a prominent new name has emerged on that front in the open market ahead of the March 25 trade deadline in LaMarcus Aldridge.
The Spurs big man ‘mutually agreed’ to part ways according to Gregg Popovich on Wednesday and Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.com reported on Wednesday night that the team is pursuing trade options for Aldridge on multiple fronts.
Aldridge, 35, is averaging 13.7 points and 4.5 rebounds per game in his 14th season in the league and is on an expiring contract worth $24 million in 2020-21. He also has had health concerns this year in San Antonio missing eight of his last 11 games due to a hip and quad injury.
The Celtics have the resources to trade for the declining veteran but the question is whether there is a fit involved that could make sense for both sides. Let’s run through the factors at play to get a better sense of where there is a potential match.
The Money
Aldridge makes a lot for his skillset at this stage of his career and while his $24 million expiring deal does fit in Boston’s $28.5 million trade exception, the Celtics still would not be able to add him without sending out some salary due to the team’s hard salary cap for the year. Currently, Boston sits $19.6 million under the hard cap, meaning the Celtics would have to clear out just under $5 million in salary in order to take in Aldridge’s salary with the TPE.
There is also the issue of the luxury tax. The Celtics are currently $13.6 million under the tax line and there are some strong advantages for the team to staying under the tax this season, including delaying the repeater tax from coming into play for Boston for future seasons, which will be helpful for financial flexibility since Boston’s payroll skyrockets considerably when Jayson Tatum’s max extension kicks in next year. Danny Ainge has said the team is willing to pay the tax this year but only for a player that provides a substantial upgrade. Whether Aldridge is that guy at this point of his career is debatable.
TPE scenarios
The Celtics have a crowded frontcourt at the moment with Tristan Thompson, Daniel Theis and Robert Williams all sharing minutes in the middle on a nightly basis. With Marcus Smart set to return to the lineup from a calf injury on Thursday night against the Brooklyn Nets, getting enough minutes for everyone in that group will be a tall task with double big lineups not faring well together on paper for the team (except for the little-used Theis/Rob Williams combo).
Needless to say, there would not be enough room to give Aldridge the role he wants in Boston without moving one of these guys elsewhere. From a financial standpoint, moving Thompson and his $9.2 million salary would clear out enough room to be able to fit in Aldridge’s money into Boston’s TPE and fit comfortably under the hard cap. About $4 million more would need to be moved out on top of Thompson for Celtics to avoid paying the tax.
Would Thompson and an asset for Aldridge work on paper? Yes, but the Celtics likely have far bigger aspirations with their big traded player exception than a 34-year-old on an expiring deal. Boston would be able to re-sign Aldridge after the season with Bird Rights if they acquire him in a deal but his age does not line up well with the team’s young core. Bringing in an aging veteran for a half-season does not seem like an efficient route to use the TPE, especially with no guarantee that Aldridge would want to stay in Boston beyond this year.
Would any other trade make sense for Boston without using their TPE?
Realistically, there is a way the Celtics can trade for Aldridge without using the TPE but it’s a move the franchise probably wouldn’t consider strongly at the moment and that’s dealing Kemba Walker. The money works between the duo for salary matching and this would help Boston clear the future salary books for a looming luxury tax crunch if they want to add another big name this offseason with their massive traded player exception and still stay under budget.
However, this type of blockbuster deal is an extreme long shot for obvious reasons. The Celtics have shown no interest in moving Walker during this season and the Spurs have a very long list of young guards under contract for the next few seasons (Derrick White, Lonnie Walker, Dejounte Murray) making their desire to bring in a 30-year-old Walker earning max money extremely low in all likelihood. The Celtics could make it the Spurs’ while by adding young players or draft assets in a hypothetical swap but Walker’s strong play in recent weeks likely gives Boston no inclination to make that kind of a shakeup midseason that would be geared far more towards improving future flexibility at the cost of downgrading talent in the present.
Final Thoughts
A rejuvenated Aldridge could be a big help for some contender in the coming weeks in the middle but the moving parts do not make much sense from Boston’s standpoint. Upgrading from Thompson to Aldridge would be a plus but the Celtics should be aiming higher with their TPE. Aldridge on an expiring deal at this stage of his career isn’t the guy worth taking a big swing on unless it’s a move that also creates substantial payroll flexibility for another major talent upgrade in Boston in the future.
