How does Indiana Pacers money compare to other NBA competitors?
By Josh Wilson
Boston Celtics payroll: $140 million, $109 million largest guarantee
The Boston Celtics have a really talented team that could compete deep in the playoffs for years to come if they stay healthy.
They’ve drafted so well, though, that they may face some money problems as a result of their young core elevating so quickly in their early careers.
The Celtics offered Jaylen Brown an extension prior to this season which, so far, has proven to be worth it, but Jayson Tatum has proven himself even more worthy of an even larger rookie extension this season.
In a short period of time, the Celtics are going to have two very large contracts going out to their two young stars.
Of course, the team also has Gordon Hayward on the books with a player option for next season valued at $34 million. At $140 million in total payroll if he opts into that, the Celtics are strapped for cash this summer, and following the likely Tatum extension, they probably will be for the foreseeable future.
It’s a good problem for Boston to have, their payroll situation is a signal of solid drafting and their team being ready to compete early rather than poor financial roster decisions, but it’s a tight budget nonetheless.
Thankfully for Boston, there really aren’t many big moves they need to make to create a competitive core, their free agency strategy this summer will be mostly fringe moves.
Milwaukee Bucks payroll: $132 million, $137 million largest guarantee
The Milwaukee Bucks have the league’s biggest free agency problem to attend to in the summer of 2021 when Giannis Antetokounmpo becomes a free agent.
Giannis is the sort of player that you offer the maximum amount of money possible to, no questions asked. They knew they’d be facing that kind of a dilemma last summer when they extended Khris Middleton and decided to move forward with that core.
This was one of the main reasons the Bucks were willing to complete a sign-and-trade for Malcolm Brogdon with the Pacers.
Milwaukee has also set their books up in such a way that they have pieces around Antetokounmpo and Middleton for this season and next, all coming off the books for that ever-important 2021 free agency period. Their payroll goes from $135 million this year to $132 million next year, all the way down to $86 million the year following.
They do have some players they’d likely want to retain this summer, though. Kyle Korver and Pat Connaughton are unrestricted free agents, and Robin Lopez and Wesley Matthews have player options on the next year of their deal.
The Bucks may be wise to try to negotiate one-year deals with each of them to sustain their usable payroll for the Giannis offseason.