Celtics Weigh Options With Jeff Green

Jeff Green's agent, the famous David Falk, spoke with reporters yesterday. He laid out pretty clearly what his client's options are.

Jeff Green: The Celtics' past or future? - ESPN Boston

1. Accept the Celtics' qualifying offer, play out the season and become an unrestricted free agent next summer

2. Produce an offer sheet from another team, which the Celtics would then have three days to match

3. Sign an extension and stay with the Celtics

4. Sign an extension as part of a sign-and-trade A week from today, at the latest, we are likely to know which one of those four avenues Green takes.

It is in Green's (and Falk's) best interest to work out a mulit-year deal giving him security. On the flipside, David was doing his best to dissuade the Celtics from taking the wait-and-see option.

Jeff Green wants long-term deal from Celtics - The Boston Globe

The Celtics not reaching a deal with Green, Falk said, would mean getting little for Perkins, ostensibly renting Green for a season and a half. "Their ability to protect his value depends on his ability to make a multiyear deal,’’ Falk said.

I personally don't really buy this position. If the Celtics indeed feel they made a mistake in acquiring Green, signing him to a long term extension doesn't do anything to undo the mistake and doesn't offer a lot of benefit going forward - beyond giving them something of a trade chip to use.

On the other hand, if the Celtics are believers in Green on his merit alone, then by all means they should pay him what they think he's worth - and not a penny more. Ok, perhaps that's a bit unrealistic. As a free agent, they'll probably have to pay him a little more than he's actually worth, but if it gets into a bidding war or if he gets a nutso offer sheet from another team, I don't see why they'd feel it necessary to match "at all costs." In short, don't throw good money after bad.

All that said, the tone that Falk took seemed to be one of "playing ball" (to his own client's benefit of course) with the team. That says to me that he's perfectly willing to let the team discuss him in sign and trade deals that might give his client an even bigger payday than a potential offer sheet from another team fearing that it would be matched anyway.

I've felt all summer that letting him accept the qualifying offer would be the most flexible option for the Celtics but I'm starting to resign myself to the non-likely reality of that situation. If I had to guess, I'd say he's probably going to be here for a long time or headed out in some kind of sign and trade deal. We'll just have to see which option Danny and the team likes the best and if it fits into Jeff's plans.