The Boston Celtics have achieved historic success over the past two seasons, winning 125 regular-season games and boasting top offensive and net ratings. This is largely due to their exceptional depth, featuring five All-Star caliber players rather than just one or two superstars.
Unlike teams built around a few elite players, Boston relies on five top-40 caliber talents: Jayson Tatum (No. 7), Jaylen Brown (No. 15), Jrue Holiday (No. 32), Derrick White (No. 36), and Kristaps Porziņģis (No. 40). While other teams struggle to keep even three top-40 players on market-value deals, the Celtics have five, all earning significant salaries projected to reach $28 million or more next season.
The combined salaries of these five players alone exceed $198.5 million for next season, surpassing the total payroll of all but two NBA teams this year. When factoring in other players and hefty luxury taxes, projections indicate a payroll nearing $500 million, potentially exceeding half a billion dollars if Al Horford is retained.
This enormous financial commitment is reportedly unsustainable. According to ESPN`s Shams Charania, teams anticipate the Celtics exploring trade options this offseason primarily for financial reasons, driven by restrictions imposed by the new collective bargaining agreement regarding trades and draft picks.
Adding complexity is the team`s ownership transition from Wyc Grousbeck to Bill Chisholm, with Grousbeck reportedly retaining decision-making power until 2027-28. The practical implications of this arrangement and how financial losses would be handled remain unclear.
While Jayson Tatum is considered untouchable – representing a rare, young, elite talent window the franchise must prioritize – the Celtics must implement cost-saving measures soon. The challenge is how to reduce spending while maintaining a championship-contending roster around Tatum. Let`s examine potential strategies to trim the budget.
Option A: Trade a Core Player This Offseason
The most direct path is trading one of their valuable, expensive players. While teams may not offer full market value knowing Boston`s financial motivations, there will be suitors. Tatum is definitively not available.
Derrick White is the least likely trade candidate because he offers exceptional value relative to his salary. His high-level shooting and defense, plus improved playmaking, make his contract incredibly team-friendly, especially compared to other guards earning similar money. Trading him would be fiscally irresponsible.
Jaylen Brown, despite being a better player than White, is much more expensive on a supermax contract and is having a statistically less impactful season. His versatility as a wing makes him attractive to other teams desperate for talent at that position, offering Boston an opportunity to gain financial relief, perhaps by receiving a slightly lesser player on a cheaper contract.
Jrue Holiday appears to be the preferred trade candidate. He is older and recently signed a long-term extension that will pay him over $37 million in his age-37 season. Moving him now could prevent significant future financial strain. His elite defense remains highly valued by contending teams, ensuring a market exists despite his age. Beyond his on-court value, his reputation as an exceptional teammate (multiple Twyman-Stokes awards) adds to his appeal.
Kristaps Porziņģis presents a challenge due to his injury history, having missed extensive time in most recent seasons. However, his unique skill set as a shooting big man is highly sought after by teams looking to replicate Boston`s spread offense. A potential trade could involve a center swap for a cheaper option or a cap dump to a team with space.
Trading a reserve like Sam Hauser could save around $10 million next season, offering significant luxury tax relief, especially for a repeat offender like Boston. However, this provides only short-term savings and doesn`t address the core issue of the unsustainable salary structure built around the five main players. Long-term sustainability likely requires moving one of the higher-paid core pieces.
Option B: Let Porziņģis Walk in 2026
Porziņģis`s contract expires after the 2025-26 season, unlike Brown, Holiday, and White, who have several years remaining. A simpler approach is to absorb the massive payroll and tax bill next season, aim for another championship, and then allow Porziņģis to leave as a free agent in 2026. This would drastically reduce the team`s payroll and tax liability for the 2026-27 season, potentially saving hundreds of millions.
While Boston has shown it can win regular-season games without Porziņģis, they would need a replacement center, especially with Al Horford likely retiring soon. Finding an affordable, capable center would necessitate a trade.
This scenario could involve trading Holiday in the summer of 2026 (after Porziņģis leaves) for a center replacement, inserting a cheaper player like Pritchard or Hauser into Holiday`s spot. While Holiday would be a year older, Boston possesses most of its future first-round picks and could include them to facilitate a trade for a new big man. This represents a planned salary reset and roster retooling for 2026.
Option C: Consolidate Talent with a Blockbuster Trade
A key issue is that while superstar salaries are capped, the combined salaries of multiple very good players can be higher than a single superstar earning the max, even though the superstar provides more value. Boston pays a fair price for several good players, but could they pay an “unfair” price (the max) for a great one whose surplus value offsets costs?
Consider a hypothetical scenario: trading multiple expensive players like Jaylen Brown and Derrick White (combined salary over $81M) for an elite player like Giannis Antetokounmpo (salary around $54M), adding draft picks. While salary matching is complex and would require receiving contracts back or involving other teams, the concept is trading two long-term deals for one immensely valuable player, hoping his impact justifies the consolidation.
The biggest obstacle is the second apron hard cap. Boston is already projected significantly above it. Aggregating salaries in a blockbuster trade would push them further over, requiring them to shed substantial salary *before* or *during* the trade to get below the second apron. This is extremely difficult and would likely cost additional assets.
This “consolidation” approach is the least realistic due to the apron restrictions and complexity. However, given Boston`s creative front office, it`s not entirely impossible if they view it as the best basketball strategy, even if it requires multi-team deals. More likely cost-cutting moves involve trading Holiday or Porziņģis. Still, in the modern NBA, exploring even daring hypotheticals is necessary.
Jasper Hawthorne