The Boston Celtics are attempting to win back-to-back titles in these playoffs. If they win again, their roster for a potential threepeat is widely expected to look differently due to ongoing second apron concerns.
“I can tell you the rest of the league is bracing for some level of change to come to the Celtics from their roster this offseason,” said Shams Charania on The Pat McAfee Show. “And you know 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 to this roster. 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.”
The Celtics have Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown on supermax contracts, while Derick White, Jrue Holiday and Kristaps Porzingis are each on expensive contracts of their own.
“They have five players right now scheduled to make $28 million or more next season. That’s a league record. They would have a salary bill of $500 million. I think the Celtics knew when they traded for Jrue Holiday and they traded for Kristaps Porzingis, they’d be staring at this in the face this summer.
“But none of these changes are the top of mind for the Celtics now. This is obviously the most talented team in the league. I think a lot of people would agree with that. So these are good problems to have, but the league is bracing for some level of change to come to this Celtics roster in the offseason.”