The Celtics originally looked like they might be a seller, moving off Anfernee Simons or Sam Hauser to get all the way under the luxury tax and avoid some of the worst depredations of the repeater tax a year from now.
Now it seems that staying below the second apron might be enough, and otherwise, they can go for it. Boston still has draft capital and a huge expiring contract in Simons’ $27.6 million deal and is $7.6 million below the second apron. The cap sheet going forward is now relatively clear as well, with the Celtics $29 million from next year’s projected first apron (an extension for Simons would cut into that).
But Boston’s case is different from most of the league’s other contenders (and even quasi-contenders), who, to at least some extent, are all-in on maximizing their teams right now. The Celtics didn’t really expect to be in this same spot until a year from now, but here they are.
Is it worth going all-in for this year when next year’s team — adding Jayson Tatum and perhaps others, and with no significant free agents likely to leave aside from Simons — is likely to be even better? Is there a move that can accomplish both and still keep a top-heavy salary structure (Jaylen Brown and Tatum will combine to make $131 million in 2027-28) from pushing past the second apron and triggering draft pick penalties?
I don’t have a crystal ball that says what the Celtics will do, and they haven’t come up much when people in the league discuss trade suitors. Maybe they feel better playing it out and seeing what they have with their current group. But fortune favors the bold, and the Celtics have shown the willingness to pounce when an unexpected opportunity comes their way.