The Boston Celtics have made some moves, trading Georges Niang to the Utah Jazz and signing former Toronto Raptors backup big man Chris Boucher. Deep into the 2025 NBA offseason, the moves took fans of the storied ball club a bit by surprise. But the trade and signing both do some important work for the Celtics’ front office, helping further shrink the cap hit on Boston’s roster, and the Celtics now have a more reliable big man at their disposal.

Regarding the cap hit, the Niang trade now has Boston about $1.7 million above the first apron and $9.4 million above the luxury tax, including the veteran minimum deal for Boucher. The latter signing gives the Celtics a big who can shoot the ball and play the 4 or 5 reliably in a season Boston only had Neemias Queta, Luka Garza, Xavier Tillman Sr., and Amari Williams on the roster ahead of training camp.

The host of the CLNS Media “You Got Boston” podcast, Noa Dalzell, took some time on a recent episode of her show to talk over the surprise moves from the Celtics. Check it out below!

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