The Celtics traded Kristaps Porziņģis to Atlanta on Tuesday, shedding more than $200 million off their luxury tax bill and sliding below the second apron line by $7 million in combination with Monday’s Jrue Holiday deal.
Boston parted ways with no draft picks in the two trades, maintained No. 28 and 32 entering Wednesday’s NBA Draft and convinced the Hawks to offset Terance Mann’s salary in the trade by routing him with the No. 22 overall pick to Brooklyn. That allowed the Celtics to save $22.5 million in salary from Porziņģis’ $30 million expiring contract. In turn, Boston acquired Georges Niang (1yr, $8.2M) and a 2031 Cavs second-rounder.
With added trade and financial flexibility, the moves set up a critical day in Celtics history where Boston will choose between a larger step back and keeping as much of the remaining roster together as possible. Shams Charania reported that the Celtics continued to field calls on Jaylen Brown and Derrick White, preferring not to move them while demanding high prices for rivals to acquire either player.
Boston currently sits roughly $7-million over the first apron and $15-million above the luxury tax threshold.
Trading either could vault the Celtics up Wednesday’s draft board, something they reportedly have interest in doing, and secure Boston the long term assets necessary to reset around Jayson Tatum. The Porziņģis trade thinned a center position that Al Horford and Luke Kornet could also vacate in free agency. Only Neemias Queta and Xavier Tillman Sr. are signed there, who played sparingly late last season. It’s still unclear whether Boston views Anfernee Simons as a long term piece in the back court, which also appears increasingly thin.
If the Celtics hold onto Brown and White, the ensuing steps they take could prove telling regarding how competitive of a roster Boston can court around two super max players.
As Bill Chisholm’s ownership group assumes the Celtics soon, whether or not they pay some luxury tax to keep Sam Hauser and others could also answer how much finances influenced the team’s decision this week. While there are some competitive considerations to avoiding the second apron and paying more than $200 million in tax doesn’t make sense for a team that won’t contend for a title, committing to some tax would allow Boston to retain key role players around Brown and Tatum for when they return.
The Celtics’ tax bill is currently $69 million. There’s middle ground between paying that much and none.
Several moves, including a Hauser salary dump, declining JD Davison’s team option and another small subtraction could keep Boston out of the tax. Two consecutive years out would end their repeater tax penalties. Though they’d likely come at the cost of Kornet or Horford. Bobby Marks reported the Celtics have room for one minimum contract and a second-round pick after they sign their first-rounder.
There are other options here. Perhaps moving off Niang’s salary could allow Hauser to stay. Trading both sets up Horford and Kornet re-signing. A follow-up Simons trade might allow the Celtics to maintain along the edges of the roster. But that’s the difficult position they’re in. Their best hope without Tatum, Holiday and Porziņģis would be holding the line. It’s hard to imagine Boston improving without finding unsung draft prospects. They don’t own premiums first-rounders from other teams, and they owe their own rights to others in 2028 and 2029.
This could all amount to a shocking draft night trade.
There’s no rush for the Celtics to address the tax, or Brown and White’s futures. Trade exceptions and cap space drying up could complicate moving Hauser or Niang later, but Boston didn’t need to make the trade it did on Tuesday without urgency to move below the second apron. Other moves could’ve led to a better roster in 2026. Whether that rush related to needed payroll reduction, desiring the ability to make more expansive trades, or saw them as timely opportunities will become clear in the coming weeks.
They accomplished that goal without much pain. But plenty of work lies ahead.
If the Celtics retain Brown and White, pay some luxury tax to retain much of the roster and try to compete in 2025-26, they’ll maintain limited pathways to improving. Tuesday’s move opened up some by allowing aggregating contracts in trades, creating greater draft pick flexibility into the future and setting up multiple additional salaries to expire after 2026. Whether that’s enough to sustain past losing two starters from the championship run, at least, stands as the difficult decision the front office asks itself in the coming days.
More to come.
