Olynyk goodbye placed on hold
Qualifying offer in play
Contrary to reports elsewhere, the Celtics will not be allowing Kelly Olynyk to become an unrestricted free agent as the negotiating period opens at midnight this evening.
The Herald has learned the Celts will meet today’s deadline and present the 7-footer with his qualifying offer, thus making him a restricted free agent and retaining the right of first refusal for the club should another team sign him to an offer sheet.
But this doesn’t mean Olynyk will definitely be back in green for a fifth season. In fact, if the Celtics achieve their goal of getting free agent Gordon Hayward to agree to sign here, they will almost certainly need to get Olynyk off their books to clear part of the salary cap space they will need.
Olynyk made $3,094,013 last season, which made his qualifying offer $4,187,599. He carries a cap hold of $7,735,033, which would be the case whether or not the Celts tendered him the qualifier.
To clear Olynyk from the ledger, the Celtics would have to renounce him. And just because they have given him the qualifying offer doesn’t mean they are required to keep that offer on the table. Last season, the Celts pulled back the QO they had given to Jared Sullinger.
Celtic president of basketball operations Danny Ainge would neither confirm the team will give Olynyk the offer by today, nor would he make any comment on his situation vis a vis the roster.
He did say, “I feel like Kelly has improved every year, and I think he’s got his best basketball ahead of him.”
Olynyk is coming off a season in which he averaged 9.0 points and 4.8 rebounds in 20.5 minutes. While his overall field goal percentage went up to 51.2 percent last year, the floor-stretching big man saw his 3-point marksmanship drop from 40.5 percent in 2015-16 to 35.4.
As has been the case during his entire stay in Boston, however, he has shown flashes of brilliance when he’s played with the type of assertiveness for which his coaches and teammates have begged. In Game 7 against Washington, he scored 26 points on 10-for-14 shooting.
The potential for Olynyk to remain with the Celts is almost entirely dependent on what the club is able to accomplish in free agency and trades in the next few weeks. For example, he could be part of a deal himself.
The C’s have continued to work on potential trades, and sources indicated they — and other clubs around the league — are waiting for the Pacers to temper their demands for Paul George, especially in light of the fact the star forward can opt out of his contract and become a free agent after next season.
In the meantime, the Celts are preparing for the opening of the free agent negotiating period. Teams and players can talk and reach verbal agreements, but no contracts can be signed until next Thursday.
As has been noted here, Ainge and his staff would like to know first what they will be able to get done in free agency, because a player they desire would take up their available space. They could then work on trying to make a significant trade (or two), armed with the knowledge of the level at which they may be able to compete in the 2017-18 season.
League sources continued to note yesterday that the Celts are remaining very protective of their more important future draft assets. They have been unwilling to make available the 2018 Brooklyn first-round pick or the Laker/Sacramento pick they received from Philadelphia.