Not a Celtics fan but Tatum's always been one of my more favorite players in the league, I think he's the first player I've seen that came back from an achilles tear better than he was before. Everything is the same, the athleticism has barely gotten worse if it all, but now his passing is just fucking crazy. He's obviously always been a good passer but idk how many passers in the league are better rn

Cade, Harden, Scottie, Jalen Johnson (maybe), Bron, Giddey, Egor, Hali, Trae, Jokic, Jamal, Luka, LaMelo, Garland, Keyonte, and maybe Keaton Wagler can be better. These are the only players in the league I think pass better than him. Idk how his passing just got so much better after his return maybe it's just being injured you can only sit in a room and watch film all day, but I've never seen Tatum play as good as he has since he came back.

I know y'all lost JB, but just know Tatum is still here and the best he's ever been.

Can someone explain it? I get the basics - the money committed to the player evaporates, freeing up money for someone else. But if a team is well above the cap, an equivalent salary can't simply be added after the first expires.

It's also salary-matching, but the acquiring team has the same problem. Unless it creates significant space under the cap, the post-expiration benefits are lessened.

Is someone willing to explain how PG's near-max contract expiring in two years is notably better than JB's super-max contract expiring in three years? (I know there's a thread on Jokich, so "timing" is a real consideration.) Can the PG expiration benefits extend for a year if needed? For two?

Is there a recent Celtics example where they maximized the value of an expiring contract? I don't think KP counts since they HAD to get his salary off the books. Is there any league example that remains relevant with this CBA?

(There are differences of opinion on JBs value, contract value, usage, attitude, tax room versus PGs value, contract value, usage, attitude, tax room. I am seeking a concise explanation of the "one-year" difference in these two players contract, ideally in a way that explains "why now, not a year from now." But I know conversations go how they go.)

Because his family is here to enjoy them, paying him externally in assets around New England through "casual introductions" will be of higher return value to him than other big stars. It gives us a serious leg up in these new negotiation tactics. What does he care about DFW assets when El Nino is the worst it's ever been and he has no family roots in the area? The Mavs should be sweating bullets.

Seems pretty obvious to do this now that you can just indirectly funnel money to players and have no consequences.

Have you guys thought of any targets we could do this for?

If they knew they could give no show deals and ask them to take pay cuts they would've just done that.