It’s been a tough summer for the Boston Celtics. An impending $500 million payroll forced Brad Stevens’ hand, leading the franchise to enter a retooling phase. As such, multiple members of the Celtics’ 2024 championship-winning roster have now moved on. Luke Kornet is with the San Antonio Spurs, Kristaps Porzingis the Atlanta Hawks, Jrue Holiday will suit up for the Portland Trail Blazers and Al Horford is expected to land with the Golden State Warriors.

In making those moves, Stevens has saved the Celtics millions upon millions of dollars is luxury tax penalties. However, the downside is that the team itself isn’t expected to compete near the top of the Eastern Conference next season. Of course, part of that is due to Jayson Tatum’s absence with an Achilles Tendon injury.

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During a recent episode of the “Good Word With Goodwill” podcast, Vincent Goodwill and Jared Greenberg discuss the impact the NBA’s second luxury tax apron had on the Celtics, debating whether the franchise was being punished for drafting well and making smart decisions in the free agent and trade markets.

You can watch the full episode by clicking on the embedded video above.

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This article originally appeared on Celtics Wire: Did the Celtics pay the price for smart front office decision-making?