AINGE & CO. MOVE ON TO NEXT PHASE

Ainge has multiple balls in air with roster, cap considerations

Danny Ainge briefly sounded squeamish. The question was about next year’s $99 million salary cap falling about $2 million short of projections, and news of that sort is never good for a personnel chief with plans to go major free agent hunting when the market opens Saturday.

“That hurt. That hurt a little bit. A little sting, but that’s going to make it a little more challenging,” the Celtics president of basketball operations said of the disappointing cap news. “We’ll be able to fix it. We’re in foul trouble right now, but we’ll be back. We’ll be back in the second half.”

The second half starts this week as the Celtics have some hard decisions to make, such as meeting a June 30 deadline to either offer a qualifying offer to Kelly Olynyk or renounce the big forward’s contract and thus a $7.7 million cap hold in the name of salarycap space.

This is only one example of the hard choices Ainge will be forced to make in order to create room for a big free agent.

There is always the costly luxury tax route, and Celtics ownership has displayed a willingness to pay luxury tax penalties in the past in exchange for a shot at the top.

And there are as many options for clearing space as there are expiring contracts.

Tyler Zeller’s $8 million for next season, for example, becomes guaranteed on July 2. Walking away from Olynyk and Zeller would be one path to clear enough space. But the options are too many to list, with Amir Johnson, Jonas Jerebko, Gerald Green and James Young all about to become unrestricted free agents.

By the time the Celtics summer leaguers end their swing through Salt Lake City and Las Vegas on July 17, the parent club could have a very different — even pared down — look in preparation for trades and free agency.

“I think July is the busiest time of the year. So, yeah, we anticipate being very active and continuing to try to improve and improve our roster,” said Ainge, who resumed his roster management after the draft night, failed negotiations for the Knicks’ Kristaps Porzingis, and the news that longtime target Jimmy Butler was rejoining Tom Thibodeau in Minnesota.

He also resumed discussions with Indiana about a Paul George trade, though that figures to be a much later-developing matter, after the Celtics find a way to first shoehorn in a free agent.

“It’s a very active time. I mean, you’re just on the phone constantly talking with every team about all players, and it goes very fast,” Ainge said, admitting that trade matters may not be resolved until later in the summer.

“I think it both has its benefits to do it before, and it has its benefits to do it after,” he said “So it certainly hasn’t closed a window that we didn’t do it (draft night). There’s still a window open for trade opportunities for us in July.”