The Boston Celtics made a series of trades during the summer offseason, effectively breaking apart their 2023-25 championship-caliber core to slash money while six-time All-Star power forward Jayson Tatum recovers from a torn Achilles tendon for most or all of the 2025-26 season.
Gone are former starters Jrue Holiday and Kristaps Porzingis, plus critical reserve big men Al Horford (who actually started more playoff games than the often-ailing Porzingis over the last two postseasons) and Luke Kornet. In their stead are bench guard Anfernee Simons — acquired in the Holiday trade — rookie wing Hugo Gonzalez, and free agent signings Chris Boucher, Josh Minott, and Luka Garza.
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Former title-era backups Payton Pritchard, Sam Hauser, and Neemias Queta are all today starting for this reconfigured Boston squad.
The Celtics did manage to dip below the NBA’s brutally punitive second luxury tax apron over the summer. Will they make further deals to get under the first apron? Chris Forsberg of NBC Sports Boston certainly seems to think so, predicting that they’ll actually make such a move about a month prior to the league’s February trade deadline.
As Forsberg observes, the Celtics are currently $4 million over the first luxury tax apron, and $12 million above the league’s luxury tax line entirely. To avoid some of the league’s repeater penalties, Boston team president Brad Stevens would want to dip beneath the tax line.
The Celtics are currently off to an 0-2 start, with their new-look frontcourt appearing to be particularly troublesome. In fairness, the drop-off from Jayson Tatum and Kristaps Porzingis/Al Horford to Sam Hauser and Neemias Queta is fairly significant — especially defensively — so this isn’t altogether surprising.
Should the Celtics right the ship and start to look like the kind of team that, with a Tatum return to health and a trade for some additional power forward/center help, could become a frisky playoff squad in the very attainable Eastern Conference, Forsberg thinks Stevens will seek to bring in some pieces that could upgrade the team’s ceiling.
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The more likely outcome, from where this writer is sitting, is that Boston looks more like a fringe play-in tournament team. Should that happen, Stevens could look to ditch Simons’ expiring $27.7 million contract and/or Hauser’s $10 million contract for future draft equity and cap savings.
Both players should have respectable trade markets. Hauser’s sticker rate and elite skillset (3-point shooting) could make him easier to move without having to take big money back.
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