The Boston Celtics are making a run to become the first team to repeat as NBA champions since the Golden State Warriors did so in 2017 and 2018. But even if the Celtics do accomplish the feat, thus marking the 23rd time in league history that has occurred, it doesn’t sound like the C’s will be able to keep their continuity.
Analyzing The Celtics Players Projected On Trade Block As Team “Slashes Salary”
Boston, which brought back 15 of the players on its 18-man roster this season, will open its second-round series against New York on Monday. It marks the fourth straight season that the Celtics have advanced to the Eastern Conference semifinals. The Celtics also won 61 games, giving the C’s back-to-back 60-win campaigns for the first time since 2007-2009.
“The rest of the league is bracing for some level of change to come to the Celtics roster this offseason,” ESPN’s Shams Charania said on the Pat McAfee Show. “Sources have been telling me for weeks now that the Celtics will be exploring trade options in the offseason.
“This iteration just is not going to be sustainable for this team, and no one around the organization – from players to staffers – would be surprised if there are changes coming. Because when you think about the new Collective Bargaining Agreement, there’s restrictions that come with trades, there’s restrictions that come with freezing of draft picks. That’s all stuff that they’re dealing with right now.”
Celtics Salary Cap Situation
Boston has 12 players currently under contract for next season, with a cap hit totaling over $227 million. That means the Celtics are more than $19 million over the second apron with at least two players to sign. Jayson Tatum and Derrick White‘s max contracts kick in next year, giving the C’s three max players, with Jaylen Brown being the other.
JD Davison has a team option of $2.2 million, which will likely be picked up. Davison has been with the Celtics since being selected in the second round of the 2022 draft. While the 22-year-old has only appeared in 36 games with the C’s, he was named the G-League MVP this season.
Al Horford, Luke Kornet, and Torrey Craig are unrestricted free agents. Horford is 38, and I can’t see him returning to Beantown. Craig also won’t likely be back. Meanwhile, Kornet is an interesting case.
Kornet has been with the Celtics since 2021. The 29-year-old center produced a career season this year and has been extremely efficient with the C’s. As a result, the 7-2 center should be in line for a raise from the $2.08 million he earned this year.
Who Are the Most Likely Celtics To Be Traded?
With Tatum, Brown, and White likely off limits, who is the Celtics’ top trade asset? The Celtics will likely get a lot of calls about Payton Pritchard. In the first year of a four-year, $30 million extension, Pritchard turned in a career season and was named the 2024-25 NBA Sixth Man of the Year. He had a pretty solid first-round series against Orlando, averaging 9.2 points with shooting splits of 51.6/50.0/66.1.
Sam Hauser signed a four-year $45 million contract extension this summer and could also garner some interest as a 3-and-D forward. Hauser is one of the best three-point marksmen in the league, but he really doesn’t provide anything else besides some defense. Like Pritchard, Hauser also had a nice first-round series against the Magic.
Kristaps Porzingis and Jrue Holiday
However, dealing either Pritchard or Hauser—even if packaged together—does not relieve the Celtics’ tax liability. Therefore, the Celtics will likely be shopping Kristaps Porzingis and Jrue Holiday.
Porzingis figures to be the easier player for the Celtics to trade. He is on an expiring $30.7 million contract and will be just 30 next year. Here is the problem for the C’s: They won’t likely be looking for dollar for dollar in return, but the 7-2 center continues to stay healthy. He also has struggled in the last three seasons, even though he has participated in the playoffs.
Despite still being an elite defender, Holiday figures to be a little tougher to trade. The nearly 35-year-old has not played 70 games since 2017-18 and has two fully guaranteed seasons of at least $32.8 million per season owed to him. He also holds a $37.2 million player option for the 2027-28 campaign.
More significantly, besides his age, Holiday has slowed down since coming to Boston. Granted, the Celtics haven’t needed Holiday to be great offensively, but his shooting and playmaking has dipped dramatically. On the positive side, he is still consistently knocking down shots from deep.
Boston owns five first-round draft picks between 2025-31. These picks are the Celtics’ own and each of the next three years. But they only have one second-round pick (2031).
Last Word
Could the sale of the Celtics change the team’s reported “sell-off” plan? Ben Horney of Front Office Sports reported earlier today that new owner William Chisolm and his group are expected to finalize the deal in the next week.
“Lead buyer Bill Chisholm’s group now has enough money to cover the cost of the deal and is in fact “oversubscribed,” two sources tell FOS,” Horney said. “The group will acquire more than 51% of the franchise in the first tranche of the deal, one source says. The exact size stake Chisholm will end up owning is still unclear.”
There are two points to this. The first, as Adam Himmelsbach of The Boston Globe points out, regardless of when the sale of the team is finalized, it won’t become official “until it’s approved by the NBA’s Board of Governors, probably in June or July.”
Secondly, Luke Adams of Hooprumors made a good point: “If Chisolm’s group is comfortable paying substantial tax penalties, there won’t necessarily be urgency to get below the second apron right away.” However, Adams did add that “the longer the team continues to operate above that threshold, the more limited its roster-building options become — a team that remains above the second apron for several years at a time would have a handful of future first-round picks “frozen” (ineligible to be traded) and moved to the back of the first round.”
Ranking The Celtics’ Assets Would Trade
- Derrick White: While White likely won’t be traded unless the Celtics don’t make the NBA Finals, he is the Celtics’ most valuable trade chip, not named Tatum or Brown.
- Kristaps Porzingis: There are considerable questions about the big Latvian, but he is still relatively young and highly skilled.
- Jrue Holiday: Supreme defender, but is he slowing down?
- Payton Pritchard: Elite Shooter who can light up a scoreboard when rolling on a highly reasonable contract.
- Sam Hauser: He is a 3 and D forward, though not an elite defender. Also, he doesn’t provide much else.
- Celtics Draft Picks: Since the Celtics are not likely to fall off much, a late first-round pick does not offer a ton of value. Unless a team can squeeze multiple first-rounders to take Porzingis or Holiday off the C’s hands.
Photo Credit: © David Butler II, Imagn Images
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