The Boston Celtics are preparing for a major roster shakeup this offseason as the harsh reality of CBA penalties await the 2024 champions.
ESPN’s senior NBA insider Shams Charania recently reported that the Celtics will “definitely have a different roster” next season but the question is just how different it will be.
Boston crashed out of the playoffs at the hands of the New York Knicks in the Eastern Conference semifinals, bringing a disappointing and abrupt end to their title defense.
Team leader and franchise cornerstone Jayson Tatum suffered a torn achilles in Game 4 at Madison Square Garden, meaning he could miss the entirety of the 2025-26 season.
His absence could mean Celtics GM Brad Stevens decides to blow it up completely and opts for a multi-year retool before Tatum’s likely return in autumn 2026.
The desperate need for roster alterations comes at a good time for the Celtics who may use next season as a chance to regroup and develop younger talent ahead of more title pushes in the years to come.
Why do the Boston Celtics need to make trades this offseason?
As of right now, the Celtics roster is stacked.
Headed by perennial MVP candidate Tatum, Boston also employ four-time All-Star Jaylen Brown, two-time All-Star Jrue Holiday, former All-Stars in Kristaps Porzingis and Al Horford, as well as the All-Star caliber Derrick White and reigning Sixth Man of the Year Payton Pritchard.
The combined salaries of Tatum, Brown, Porzingis and Holiday alone accounts for over $170 million – more than the league’s entire salary cap.
Having such an abundance of talent on one teams comes at a heavy price. The NBA operates on a soft salary cap, which means you can exceed the cap if you wish but you will be penalised financially for doing so.
When you go over the cap, you pay what are called luxury taxes – generally an extra $1.50 to $5 for every dollar that exceeds it. Most teams in the league exceed the cap but the Celtics are so deep that they are facing second apron penalties if they continue to operate in this fashion.
The salary cap line is expected to rise to $156.4 million next year with the luxury tax line at $189.7 million, first apron line at $195.9 million and second apron line at $207.8 million.
As per Spotrac, the Celtics payroll is projected to be around $227.8 million in 2025-26 – and that doesn’t even include Horford who is now a free agent as well as others out of contract like Luke Kornet.
If the Celtics brought back the exact same roster, it would cost around $238 million in luxury taxes – meaning the ownership group would have to pay upwards of $465 million a season in salaries.
That number simply isn’t sustainable so it’s no secret Stevens has some work on his hands to figure out how to keep the best group of players possible on a lesser budget.
There are also penalties for being above the first apron line such as:
No sign-and-trades if the player acquired keeps the team above the apron
Can’t sign players that make more than the $12.2 million mid-level exception if they were cut during the regular season
Salary matching in trades has to be within 110% rather than the usual 125%
All of those penalties apply to teams who stay above the second apron line for years at a time with the addition of:
Future first-round picks frozen (ineligible to be traded) and moved to the back of the first round
Can’t use the mid-level exception
Can’t use cash in trades
How much salary do the Celtics need to shed to get below the second apron?
With the Celtics payroll projected for $227.8 million in 2025-26, they need to shed around $20 million in salary to get below the second apron line.
If they want to get below the first apron line, that would take an additional $12 million beyond the initial $20 million to escape the second.
Boston has five players projected to make more than $28 million each next season:
Jayson Tatum ($54.1 million)
Jaylen Brown ($53.1 million)
Jrue Holiday ($32.4 million)
Kristaps Porzingis ($30.7 million)
Derrick White ($28.1 million)
The Celtics could trade any one of these five for draft capital without taking on any additional salary to get below the second apron – but you can guarantee it won’t be Tatum.
The others, though, seem up for grabs and Boston is prepared to move any of the other four. Stevens could trade one for a package involving a less expensive player or players to balance the books.
Who could the Boston Celtics trade this offseason?
As mentioned above, the four on the table are likely Brown, Holiday, Porzingis and White – let’s explore the likelihood of each one being moved.
Two of these four are probable to be moved on, meaning bench guys such as Pritchard and Sam Hauser should keep their places.
Jaylen Brown ($53.1 million)
Brown was an integral piece to the Celtics’ triumph in 2024, winning the Eastern Conference Finals and Finals MVP awards as Boston became a championship city for the first time since 2008.
The 28-year-old is a four-time All-Star who averaged 22.2 points, 5.8 rebounds and 4.5 assists in 63 regular season games and frankly, it’s hard to see the Celtics separating such a lethal duo in Tatum and Brown who have contributed to so much playoff success over the years.
Brown played through a partial meniscus tear in the postseason and is currently in the process of consulting with doctors to decide whether or not his knee requires surgery this offseason.
That could be a sticking point in any potential trade. Freeing up his salary would be huge for the flexibility of the roster but it’s a safe bet to assume he’ll remain in Boston for the foreseeable future.
He’s entering the prime of his career and is certainly someone the Celtics want to keep on side.
Jaylen Brown
Jrue Holiday ($32.4 million)
Holiday seems one of the much likelier candidates to move on from the Celtics this offseason. Last April he signed a four-year, $135 million extension with the team and is set to earn $32.4 million in 2025-26.
He will turn 35 in a few weeks and has dealt with his fair share of injury problems this season. He isn’t on the decline as such, continuing to prove himself as one of the league’s most effective players in his role but he is a depreciating asset.
The Dallas Mavericks are reportedly interested in trading for Holiday and all the noise suggests he’ll be one of the first shipped out of Boston. His commitment to winning makes him without doubt one of the most valuable pieces to a contending team.
The Celtics can probably live without him though and that is a huge contract for someone who is approaching the tail end of their career in the league. Boston traded for him with the intention of winning a championship and that goal was achieved.
The former All-Star point guard is an attractive trade prospect for teams, being one of the best defenders on the planet who can shoot the ball effectively and distribute at an elite level.
Jrue Holiday
Kristaps Porzingis ($30.7 million)
Another player who is extremely likely to be moved out of Boston is big man Kristaps Porzingis, projected to make $30.7 million in 2025-26.
The Latvian center simply hasn’t been a reliable option for the team since arriving in Massachusetts at the start of the 2023-24 campaign despite raising the Celtics offense to new heights when at his best.
Porzingis missed 40 of the Celtics 82 regular season games this season and began to struggle with a mystery viral illness in March, forcing him to feature in just small snippets throughout the playoffs with little to no production.
The 29-year-old missed the majority of the 2024 playoff run too, suffering a calf injury in the first round series against the Miami Heat which kept him out for five weeks before going down with a left ankle issue in Game 2 of the NBA Finals.
He earns a lot of money for someone who really hasn’t proved his worth to the team and considering the upside he brings – a 7ft 2 in threat who can stretch the floor with elite shooting from beyond the arc while protecting the basket and dominating the post – there will be suitors willing to take a chance on his health.
Kristaps Porzingis
Derrick White ($28.1 million)
Without question, Derrick White is a significantly greater asset than the likes of Holiday and Porzingis – and he earns even less than those two, so White will almost certainly remain at TD Garden going forward.
The 30-year-old is a two-time All-Defensive Second Team guard who can count himself very unfortunate not to have earned an All-Star honor by this stage of his career considering the production he offers the Celtics on both ends.
There will be plenty of teams calling Stevens’ phone to enquire about White, but don’t expect those conversations to go very far. He has established himself as one of the best shooters and defenders in the NBA since joining the Celtics in early 2022.
White averaged a career-high 16.4 points per game this past season and his ability to make winning plays makes him invaluable to a contending team. For a third straight season, the former Colordao Buffaloe shot 38% or better from downtown.
He’s also one of Boston’s very best in the clutch, ranking third in scoring in that department (behind Tatum and Brown), second in field goal percentage (behind Porzingis) and first in three-point percentage (56%).
The sharpshooter likely won’t be going anywhere this offseason and it’s for good reason. It has been reported the Golden State Warriors are interested in White’s services, though.
Derrick White
