With free agency somehow (impossibly) already upon us, the Celtics have a chance to add talent to the roster with the help of the mid-level exception (MLE).
As a refresher course, the mid-level exception allows teams to sign players to a deal above the minimum even if they are above the cap. There are two iterations — the taxpayer and non-taxpayer MLE. This season, the former is worth $6.4 million while the latter is worth $10.3 million. The Celtics likely will only have access to the smaller exception, since using the non-taxpayer MLE hard-caps a team.