After Bill Chisholm took over control of the Celtics from former majority owner Wyc Grousbeck, he made his intentions clear to the world, “I want to raise banners. I want to raise them now and I want to raise them in the future as well.” He also commended Wyc for building a championship roster, and claimed to not make any tweaks in the system. However, Jayson Tatum’s unfortunate injury and the Boston team’s major financial crisis have forced Chisholm to rethink everything!
Yes, Celtics have initiated their massive revamp. First, they sent two-time champ Jrue Holiday to the Blazers in exchange for young star Anfernee Simons and two future second round picks. Then, while the hoop community was still processing this blow, Brad Stevens made another blockbuster three-team trade with Hawks and Nets. The move saw Celtics parting ways with Kristaps Porzingis and a future second round pick to receive Atlanta’s Georges Niang and a future second round pick. Meanwhile, Nets received Terance Mann and the number 22 pick in tomorrow’s draft. While the exchange might seem lopsided on paper, because Niang is nowhere close to the level of KP, the move served a bigger purpose.
Thanks to the Porzingis and Holiday trade, the Boston franchise has finally dipped below the dreaded second apron of $207.8 million. Per veteran insider Shams Charania, “We are seeing a championship team in 2024 now starting to dismantle to an extent because they were so deep in the luxury tax. This now gets them $180 million of savings in these moves.” Their combined payroll and tax bill for next season, which was initially projected to cross $500 million, has seen a significant decline because of these trades.
Per Keith Smith, the Cs are now out of the second apron by $4.5 million. Although they are still $7.4 million over the first apron and $15.4 million over the luxury tax, avoiding the second apron allows them to aggregate salaries in trades. That opens several new doors for further roster shakeup. Well, Porzingis was owed $30.7 million in salary for next season. But they shed that by taking on Niang’s $8.2 million salary in exchange. Apart from facilitating salary shedding, Niang could also be a solid bench piece for Boston. He averaged 12.1 points and three rebounds for the Hawks this season. Another major reason behind letting Porzingis go could be Tatum’s injury.
Celtics’ revamp not over as Jayson Tatum’s Achilles injury has changed Bill Chisholm’s plan!
Of course, letting go of proven veteran stars like Porzingis and Holiday must not have been an easy call for the Celtics. During his two-year tenure, KP averaged 19.8 points and seven rebounds, and was also a key part of last year’s title run. But trading him might have been the best decision for them. That’s because Celtics are unlikely to contend for a title next season, especially with Jayson Tatum expected to miss majority of the year recovering from his Achilles injury.
Jan 18, 2025; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Boston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum (0) prayss before a game against the Atlanta Hawks at the TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: Brian Fluharty-Imagn Images
Veteran analyst Chris Mannix even said this about Tatum’s return, “He’s done. I will be shocked if he came back next year. If you get past the All-Star break and you are kind of in that playoff play-in race, the last thing you wanna do is stick a guy back in that’s gonna need some training wheels for a while. You cannot put in Jayson Tatum back into the middle of a playoff race coming off an Achilles injury.” Many believe next season is going to be a “rest year” for Boston. So, it made no sense for them to re-sign Porzingis and Holiday, and continue paying hefty second apron penalties.
Moreover, Brad Stevens might not be done. Per former Celtics star Kendrick Perkins, “I don’t think this is the end of it. I think he’s just getting started.” While they are already under second apron, many believe the front office might shed more salary to get rid of the luxury tax altogether. One of the players to note is Sam Hauser, who is owed over $10 million next season and could be the next piece to get moved out of Boston.
Well, the dominos have started falling and the Porzingis trade could be just one piece of the puzzle in Bill Chisholm’s plan for the Celtics’ future. What do you think he will do next?
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