A summer of woe lies ahead for the Celtics
Trades are coming: no one is safe
Trade talk is swirling in Boston after the Celtics bowed out in just the second round of the NBA Playoffs, falling to the New York Knicks in six games. In the closing minutes of game 4, superstar Jayson Tatum ruptured his Achilles tendon, a tremendous setback that all but crushed the Celtics’ hopes of coming back from a 1-3 game deficit. After the loss, all eyes turned to next season and whether or not Tatum would be healthy in time for another run at the Larry O’Brien trophy. The timeline for Tatum’s return ranges from nine months to over a year, meaning the Celtics are likely to play the majority of the 2025-2026 season without him.
The Celtics won their 18th NBA championship a little less than a year ago. In March, the team was sold for $6.1 billion, the highest price tag ever for any franchise in North American sports history. Looming large, however, are the payroll and luxury tax payments due next season, which will cost the Celtics over $500 million as Tatum’s supermax contract extension takes hold. The amount also includes the supermax contract for Jaylen Brown, who, in 2023, signed a five-year contract worth up to $304 million. According to SporTrac, a database of player contracts, Tatum and Brown are the two highest paid players in the NBA.
Age, injury, and cost are all factors that will be crucial in the coming decisions that the Celtics front office will make as they approach 2025-2026, likely without their franchise superstar. Two-time champion and defensive anchor Jrue Holiday is perhaps the most mentioned player to be moved amidst trade rumors. He will be 35 by the start of the next season and currently commands a hefty $34.8 million salary. Starting center Kristaps Porzingis is another player to look out for; his tenure in Boston has been marked by injuries and sickness. Center Al Horford turned 39 last week and will become a free agent. Coach Joe Mazulla was spotted in Turkey, scouting out a potential budget-friendly front-court option in Nigel Hayes-Davis from EuroLeague team Fenerbahce.
There are many suitors. One team that stands out is the Dallas Mavericks, who seem particularly eager to “win now” after trading superstar Luka Doncic midway through the season earlier this year. With the number one pick in the upcoming NBA Draft, which is almost certainly going to be used on Duke Forward Cooper Flagg, the Mavs appear to be interested in strengthening their frontcourt by pairing Holiday with Anthony Davis. Brown himself was named in a potential blockbuster swap for Flagg, although the prospects for such a trade have diminished in recent weeks. The Los Angeles Clippers and San Antonio Spurs have also been implicated as potential trade destinations.
Utah Jazz CEO and former Celtics player Danny Ainge might get involved in a three-way trade, should an opportunity arise. When he was President of Basketball Operations for the Celtics, Ainge pulled off a heist for the history books, trading Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce to the Brooklyn Nets for the picks that materialized in Brown and Tatum in 2016 and 2017, respectively.
No one on the team is immune to the rumors. Are the Celtics beginning a rebuild too soon?