Brad Stevens Did It Again By Convincing Kristaps Porzingis To Extend His Contract At A $17M Discount
First Brad Stevens shocked everyone by pulling off a trade for Kristaps Porzingis while most people were sleeping. The idea that there was going to be an eventual extension is what everyone thought given what they paid for Porzingis. You don't make that kind of move for 1 year of a guy and then hope he stays in UFA. We all knew there was going to be an extension, they even talked about it yesterday.
The question was more what the hell would it be?
Now we know. A 2/60M extension is $17M cheaper than the $77M extension Porzingis was technically eligible for. So, not only did Brad bring in a player he feels helps his two best players in an effort to get them over the hump, but now he's keeping that player at a pretty heavy discount. With the 2nd apron penalties and how complicated it might be in the near future to build a contending team, saving this kind of money is a pretty big deal.
This certainly isn't the first time we've seen Brad cook like this. He got Rob on that team friendly extension, he got Al on that team friendly extension, and now we have Porzingis. While I don't think it's going to happen, part of my brain is now thinking that maybe Jaylen is also about to re-sign on a non-supermax. OK, that's crazy. He's definitely taking the $295M. The point is though, Brad continues to work wonders when it comes to this stuff. In a world where Jerami Grant just got 5/160M in his extension to stay in POR, somehow Brad gets all these guys at a discount to stay in Boston. It's incredible really.
There's still more to come of course given that we don't know about Grant yet (not a surprise) and the Celts have around 4 roster spots to fill. In terms of a start to their free agency, I'd say this is about as solid as you can get. You don't have to worry about any uncertainly around Porzingis' deal AND you got him at a legit price that should help you moving forward making sure your books are in order.
Brad man, the guy seems to be pretty good at this whole team building thing.