The Celtics who exchange Jrue Holiday are only the beginning. What is Boston’s next move?
The second apron of the NBA is, essentially, a salary limit of $ 207,825,000.
The restrictions, which affect the ability of a team to operate in the markets of the draft, the free agency and the exchanges, are so punitive from the point of view of the construction of elements that makes little sense to spend above the limit. It is also worse if a team spends in the second apron in consecutive years, since the luxury tax penalties increase.
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Which takes us to the Boston Celtics, whose salaries of the players passed the second apron last season, while they pursued a repetition championship. That research failed in the second round of the playoffs, while their superstar, Jayson Tatum, broke the Achille right tendon. That combination of events, which has also influenced their ability to contend for next season, while Tatum recovers, has reported several costs reduction measures.
Among the salary and luxury taxes, the Celtics were in step to spend almost $ 500 million in salaries for the next season. This is unsustainable, especially for a team that no longer looks like a legitimate contender. Boston’s new owner, Bill Chisholm, does not want to lose money in the team he has just bought for $ 6 billion.
So, on Monday evening, the Celtics have exchanged all-stars twice and twice champion Jrue Holiday-a priceless member of their team of the 2024-for Anaene Simons and two choices of the second round.
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Simons is entering the last season of the four -year contract of $ 100 million which has signed in the summer of 2022, which will pay him $ 27.7 million next season. While this is only $ 4.7 million in less than the $ 32.4 million that the holidays are due for the 2025-26 campaign, will save about 35 million dollars in luxury taxes in Boston. The Celtics are also outside the Holiday Holidays of $ 72 million are due in 2026-27 and 2027-28.
Now you start understanding why Celtics are cutting costs. Each dollar cut is an exponential savings.
Boston remains about $ 18 million above the second apron after Monday trade. So wait more moved.
Kristaps Porziņģis, who will play with a salary expiring of $ 30.7 million next season, and Sam Hauser, who signed an extension of the four -year contract of 45 million dollars last summer, seem to move the most likely candidates. In the end, neither of them had an impact on the playoffs on the defense of the title of Boston last season.
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It seems easy enough to lose those salaries, but, unless the Celtics exchange them in the space of the wage limit of another team, they have to take the salary, as we have seen in the holiday trade. It’s all very complicated.
Only only: Monday’s trade was the first of many for the Celtics this summer. They will continue to reduce the payroll, even if this means upside down Simons in another team. Nobody except Tatum is really safe.
Which asks the question: would the Celtics really exchange Jaylen Brown or Derrick White, who, together with Tatum, constitute the foundation of a serious contender for the championship for the 2026-27 season? After all, the combination of Tatum and Brown translated into a handful of appearances on the Eastern Conference finals.
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It would take a monumental offer – even one who Better Place the Celtics to be contended in 2027 – to convince the Celtics to separate from brown or white, and that return package is not easy to achieve.
More likely, as we have seen with the acquisition of Simons, Boston will detach himself auxiliary parts while trying to maintain a competitive list. Simons scored an average of 20 points (with shooting divisions 44/38/90), 4.5 assists and 2.8 rebounds in the last four seasons, although it is not the defensive Stalwart on that holiday.
But it is difficult to talk about what exactly the trade in the basketball holiday for the Celtics will mean, since not even Simons is guaranteed that it remained. I know that Monday’s move was the first move of many this summer for the Celtics, who will spend the whole out of season reconfiguring a more convenient payroll.