Could the Boston Celtics be closely monitoring the potential for the Utah Jazz to trade former Celtics center Kelly Olynyk, as recent reports seem to intimate? Perhaps! But most likely not for the reason many seem to be thinking they are.
A recent column from Substack’s Marc Stein certainly paints such a picture on first blush. Per Stein, “Boston is among the teams that is monitoring Utah’s Kelly Olynyk in advance of a potential trade pursuit.” Stein, among the most trusted names in behind-the-scenes intel in the league, is reporting what he is hearing — but changes in the NBA’s new collective bargaining agreement (CBA) suggest that Stein may be choosing his words carefully here.
The short version of why that may be the case is because Boston likely cannot put together a package to land the Kamloops native via trade that would make sense.
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— The Celtics Wire (@TheCelticsWire) December 25, 2023
The more comprehensive answer is that this is because Olynyk is currently making $12.2 million this season, meaning that with the new CBA rules for second apron ball clubs like Boston currently is prevent the aggregation of multiple minimum salary contracts.
Cap guru Eric Pincus laid it out in detail for a Sports Business Classroom article published soon after those new rules became public knowledge.
“From July to December 15, if the number of aggregating players going out is larger than the number coming back, only one minimum contract can be included in that aggregation,” writes Pincus. “This would prevent the practice that the Boston Celtics used with Nik Stauskas, Malik Fitts and Juwan Morgan to acquire Malcolm Brogdon from the Indiana Pacers.”
“The rule allows a team to send out two minimum contracts (exclusively) in aggregation,” he adds.
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— The Celtics Wire (@TheCelticsWire) December 25, 2023
If that capologist-speak makes your eyes gloss over, the short version is that the only deals Boston could make for Olynyk would require them to send out a contract as large as Al Horford as the starting point.
And none of those players would make Boston better without a major expansion of the trade extremely unlikely midseason — and for second apron teams.
But there is a very good reason for the rest of what Stein said to make sense, if you read it from the right perspective.
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— The Celtics Wire (@TheCelticsWire) December 25, 2023
Astute readers will have noted that Stein did not at any point say that the Celtics hope to trade for the Canadian big man, but that they are monitoring a player they have ties to — and a potential need for.
“Olynyk played his first four NBA seasons in Boston and is playing this season on an expiring $12.2 million deal, which has helped thrust him to the upper reaches of the list of Players Most Likely To Be Traded this season,” notes Stein. “The 6-foot-11 Olynyk, who turns 33 in April, would seemingly make sense as a trade target for the Knicks as well given New York’s acute need for size in the wake of Mitchell Robinson’s ankle injury that is feared to be season-ending.”
Again, no mention of the Celtics angling for a trade here.
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— The Celtics Wire (@TheCelticsWire) December 24, 2023
But as has been pointed out on a recent episode of the CLNS Media “Celtics Lab” podcast, the prospect of Olynyk as a top Boston buyout candidate given he slides in as making just enough to fit inside this season’s full mid-level exception ($12.4 million) is an intriguing one.
Second apron teams like the Celtics cannot sign buyout candidates making more than that, but if no team wants to roll the dice on Olynyk by the deadline, he will almost certainly be bought out.
And thus, some very close monitoring by his former team, who could use some big man depth with playoff chops, making all the sense in the world.
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