What Mitchell Robinson signing means for Celtics trade possibilities

· Yahoo Sports

The Celtics made their first big splash in free agency on Wednesday morning, signing Mitchell Robinson to a three-year deal worth $47 million. The former Knicks big man gets the full non-taxpayer mid-level exception worth just over $15 million next season and will have a player option in year three of the deal. He replaces Nikola Vucevic, who signed with the Magic on Wednesday.

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The Robinson signing along with the addition of Mike Conley Jr. for a veteran’s minimum contract changes the complexion of Boston’s roster already just 24 hours into free agency. It also changes what options Boston now still has at its disposal to improve the roster, barring more moves. Let’s take a look at what the Robinson signing means for Boston’s remaining offseason possibilities.

Celtics current payroll

Boston has $203.9 million committed to 15 players after the Conley and Robinson signings. However, some of those contracts are non-guaranteed (Dalano Banton, Jordan Walsh) so Boston can trim that salary number if they need to. For now, this pushes Boston over the luxury tax line for next season ($201 million).

Using MLE on Robinson creates a hard cap for Boston at first apron ($209 million)

Several moves can trigger a hard cap for a team and using the full non-taxpayer mid-level exception is one of them. Boston now can’t go over the $209 million first apron this year. Given the roster is close to full, that may not seem like a big deal but it does impact one major weapon Boston has for roster building.

What about Boston’s big Traded Player Exception?

The Celtics still have a $28.5 million traded player exception available to use until it expires at the trade deadline. However, the hard cap now limits Boston’s ability to take that type of big contract in. For now, the Celtics would only be able to take back a player making about $5 million in that slot without sending out other salary to stay under the hard cap.

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That situation serves as a backdrop to a potential Jaylen Brown trade. If the team elects to deal their All-Star and cuts salary as part of the deal, they will have more wiggle room to use the bigger TPE. They also could move other smaller salaries to create more space for a player with a bigger salary that fits into that slot. All of this does not matter unless the Celtics have a player they want to target in that salary range.

What’s the Celtics remaining spending power in free agency

For now, the Celtics still have a $5.5 million bi-annual exception they can use along with their TPEs. They also can still sign and trade for free agents as long as they remain under the first apron.

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