Danny Ainge said during a press conference on Thursday that the Boston Celtics are likely to receive a mini mid-level exception, which is the smaller version of the exception afforded to tax-payers, rather than the full mid-level given to teams under the luxury tax.

Obviously, that wouldn’t be good news. The Celtics are already strapped for cash, already over the salary cap, and need to fill between four and seven roster spots during the free agency period. The difference between using a $5 million exception and a $3 million exception could be the difference between Shane Battier and Tracy McGrady, or between Carl Landry and Anthony Parker (yes, I understand they play entirely different positions).

The C’s have a difficult task this offseason, like they’ve had for the past three offseasons — they have to play a balancing act between now and the future, and improve a bench without any real salary cap space. Not having the full mid-level exception only makes that task more difficult.