Boston Celtics guard Jaylen Brown (7) dunks the ball against the Golden State Warriors during the second quarter of Game 3 of basketball's NBA Finals, Wednesday, June 8, 2022, in Boston. (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer)AP

We’re running a weekly mailbag during the Celtics offseason. If you have questions about the Celtics or NBA, email brobb@masslive.com or tweet @briantrobb

Really enjoying your weekly mailbag columns.  I’ve got a question for you.  Could you please review the terms salary cap, luxury tax, apron, and any other relevant terms for those of us with only a loose grasp of them?  Also, have the 76ers found a way around the system, courtesy of James Harden?  And will the NBA allow this tactic to interfere with the carefully devised strategy to keep the league competitive?   Thanks. —Matthew, Rockport, ME

Sure thing Matt, let’s take a few of these in terms of how they relate to the Celtics’ current situation.

Salary cap: A limit each season on what a team can spend on players in free agency. There are rules around this (exceptions, Bird Rights, etc.) but this is a general premise. The Celtics will be over the salary cap with this roster with the salary commitments they’ve made for the next few seasons so they will be limited with their free agent spending to mid-level exceptions and veteran’s minimum contracts. Essentially, they won’t have ‘cap room’ for awhile.

Luxury tax: A number about $25 million over the salary cap that changes each year. When a team goes over it, they have to pay a penalty for each dollar they spend over the limit. It’s just a way to try to even the playing field for deep-pocketed owners. There are also a lot of team-building limitations for franchises in the tax.

Apron: This is another dollar figure that changes each year in connection with the luxury tax/salary cap. It only matters for teams that use the mid-level exception or completes a sign-and-trade where they receive a player. When that happens, the ‘apron’ get triggered and it serves as a hard salary cap (aka spending limit) for the team’s payroll that season.

The Harden stuff is fascinating from an investigation standpoint in regards to tampering or circumventing cap rules. If it’s proven the Sixers promised Harden a big contract after this year (unlikely), the NBA could come down hard with penalizing the Sixers with draft picks, big fines and vetoing the deal itself. However, that scenario is unlikely since it’s doubtful there’s a paper trail that exists if it happens. Instead, a simple minor penalty (second-round pick) is likely the worst the NBA will do to the Sixers here. However, this is an issue that should be taken more seriously in the next CBA since it’s a big competitive advantage for teams without cap room and title aspirations.

I wanted to ask about Rob Williams’s recovery?  Has anyone investigated how he’s feeling?  Or what his off-season’s been like? What’s he been doing to strengthen his body? And what kinds of things has he been working on? Can we expect more offense from him this year? — Matt

We have not heard from Rob this offseason but from talking to people behind the scenes, there is no long-term concern about his knee injury. No surgery was needed so ample rest this summer should have him at 100 percent in camp. He’s been posting some of his workout equipment/drills on Instagram and you can tell there’s a lot of strength training involved there. I don’t think we will see much new offense out of him next year but likely a push by the team’s coaching staff for him to be more aggressive with finishes/putbacks around the rim given the fact Boston will be stretching defenses more with their shooting additions.

Hi Brian,  Thanks for having this Mailbag about our beloved Celtics. Do Payton Pritchard and Grant Williams have the potential to improve significantly, or is what we have seen from them pretty much what they’re capable of? Put differently, will they play roughly the same amount of minutes in the 2022-23 season as they did last season, or will the acquisitions of Brogdon and Gallinari sharply reduce their minutes? Thank you, Paul F

I definitely think they have the potential to improve. Pritchard in particular is someone to watch given how much he was buried on the bench for the first half of last season. His defensive growth will be critical to him earning minutes but I think his ability to create for others will be something to watch as well. His 3-point shooting is what it is (can’t expect that to get much better than 41 percent) but if he can serve as a better passer/creator/driver with that skill, that will force Ime Udoka to keep him in Boston’s rotation. There were some nice flashes of that with him early in the postseason last year but he fell flat in the NBA Finals, giving him plenty to work on this summer.

The same goes for Grant Williams offensively. He just needs to become more of a better all-around threat in that area beyond his 3-point shooting. The growth he’s shown in that part of his game as well as his youth is a sign he can add in other areas as well. Williams will be more important than ever this year with the team likely wanting to keep minutes down more for Al Horford. The Celtics will take in a second the numbers he produced in the regular season but the potential is there for him to do more.

B Robb, Regarding Jaylen; I thought Jaylen can just be offered a SuperMax in 2024 by the Cs, that’s not the case though correct? He must be named to 1 of the 3 All NBA teams or DPOY (which either of those seems like a stretch)…He can be offered a $123 Mill extension in October “plus incentives”, questions:

1) How “attainable” can those incentives be…IE; can they be “soft” and set by the team so they’re able to be made hence keeping Jaylen well compensated and close to other players at his level OR are they set/reviewed by the league to be made harder to attain etc?

2) If the SuperMax isn’t attainable with the Cs, even if he goes to Brooklyn for Durant, he isn’t going to qualify for a max deal anyway, even if he could there’s no way he’s making any all NBA team or DPOY on that team & they would not be anywhere near as good as the Cs, correct?Appreciate the time…Look forward to your response. Thanks, Neil

I wrote an article on Jaylen’s contract situation a couple weeks ago here, where it lays out that he must hit the criteria (All-NBA, etc.) to have the superman even be a possibility.

Regarding your first question, Brown’s incentives can be “soft” or tough to achieve, it’s all up to the team. They can be based on playing time, stats, games played, team stats, even weight goals, etc. Those numbers can’t exceed contract limits set by CBA rules though.

For question two, the only team Brown can get a supermax deal with is the Celtics. If he hits one of those criteria during the next two years, the Celtics will have the option to offer it to him. If he’s traded to the Nets, the supermax possibility disappears since it can only be offered by a team that drafted a player or traded for him in his first four seasons. Brown probably wouldn’t want to play for a worse team in Brooklyn regardless if a deal is done as you said but financially, the upside for him would be less as well with any deal.

Hello Brian. Who gets the final 3 roster spots out of Thomas, Jackson, Caboclo, Vonleh, & Valentine? How much do Pritchard & Hauser play since they’re 11th & 12th men, it seems? What lineups do you think Ime should try most in camp/preseason? What’s your favorite scheduled game? — Eddy FB

I would guess only two players get roster spots out of that group. With the team deep in the luxury tax, I bet they keep the 15th roster spot open to begin the year for flexibility with trades and to save some cash down the line. That could change if an injury or two happens and extra bodies are needed but 14 guys to begin the year wouldn’t be a surprise at all. I’d bet on Vonleh and Jackson out of that group but it’s toss up and is also going to be about how they fit in the system during camp and how they perform. No one has a big edge going in. I bet Pritchard plays regularly but Hauser will probably only see action when injuries/rest nights arise. I would want to see more small lineups in the preseason to see if three-guard lineups are a good option for this group with the new personnel. The home game against the Warriors in January is my top one.

Could Brian Scalabrine in his prime make the roster for the current Celtics team?? — Joe

Absolutely. Danny Ainge gave prime Scalabrine a five-year deal back in the day! It was an overpay but he was solid depth back in 2009 and 2010 during the regular season at least. That Scalabrine would be a great fit as the 13th man on this roster.

Please send any questions about the Celtics or NBA for a future mailbag to brobb@masslive.com or tweet @briantrobb

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