After the trades of Kristaps Porzingis, Jrue Holiday and Georges Niang, the main goal of the Celtics offseason was accomplished: getting under the second apron.
Flexibility was one of the big words at Bill Chisholm’s introductory press conference on Thursday. Brad Stevens was asked if there is any mandate to get under the luxury tax. “The summer demanded a reset under the second apron,” Stevens said. “You have to give yourself the flexibility and opportunity to jump at the right deals. You don’t always
know when those are going to present themselves. So, the second apron was the key. After that, we are looking at it from the standpoint of ‘let’s see what this team looks like, let’s put our very best foot forward’… We’ll evaluate the roster like we always will as the year goes on but there’s no tax goal.”
Chisholm followed up by saying, “let’s do whatever we can to win championships and raiser banners… The flexibility that Brad talks about, I think that paramount to doing that. Ultimately, we are going to do everything we can to win. That is job one, and not just win games, but win championships.”
Next summer, the Celtics are slated to be $20 million under the tax and $29 million under the first apron. They have created the room for themselves to strike and get themselves back in contention.
Anfernee Simons deadline deal
The Celtics currently have a $22.5 million traded player exception that expires on July 7th, 2026. They can use that to take in a player who makes under that amount of money without sending any additional salary out. You can also be creative when using TPE’s. For example, if Boston trades Simons at the deadline, they can use the TPE they have now to acquire another player and create a bigger exception with Simons making $27.6 million this season.
Nikola Vucevic in Chicago is one player that stands out for Boston to acquire. He is on an expiring contract of $22.5 million that the Celtics can use for the TPE. The Bulls seemingly want to trade him. Maybe Chicago doesn’t want Simons since they have a bunch of guards already so the two sides would need to find a third team, but Vuc would be perfect for the Celtics to execute this plan.
Kristaps Porzingis
Most of the players on this list will be centers because, well, the Celtics need a center. Why not start off with a familiar face?
Yes, the Celtics just traded Porzingis and no, Porzingis hasn’t even played for the Hawks. However, if KP reaches free agency this summer, you don’t think Boston would be interested?
We all have our worries about Porzingis ‘health and availability, but that doesn’t mean Boston wouldn’t welcome him back with open arms. His tenure in Boston ended with a really bad playoffs and he missed most all of the 2024 playoffs, so some fans have soured on him. He was making $30 million and couldn’t be on the floor. However, the mid-level exception is around $14 million. If Boston could sign him for under that number, I think they would be willing to do that.
Kristaps also loved his time as a Celtic. Maybe he is upset about the trade so he wouldn’t want to come back but he was so happy while he was here, I don’t think that would be the case.
Porzingis is likely going to be a free agent. Keep an eye on a return to Boston if he is.
Walker Kessler
It was reported this week that the Utah Jazz and Walker Kessler would not be agreeing to a contract extension before the rookie extension deadline next month. As a result, Kessler will become a restricted free agent.
Kessler is really good and still young. The C’s would need to do a sign-and-trade, he is going to demand more than the mid-level exception (hence the reason to trade Simons before the deadline), or they could just acquire him at the deadline. Either way, Kessler would be a perfect fit with the Celtics.
Kessler is an elite rim protecting center, on shots under 6 feet or less, teams just 53.7% with Kessler as the nearest defender. According to Cleaning the Glass, Kessler had a block percentage of 3.8%, ranking in the 95th percentile, a foul rate of 2.6%, ranking in the 87th percentile, and a defensive rebounding rate of 23.1%, ranking in the 84th percentile. He is an awesome defensive player with an expanding offensive game.
Ayo Dosunmu
Dosunmo is a two-way guard who has had a very productive NBA career to this point. Over the past two seasons, Dosunmo has averaged 12.2 points, 3.7 assists and 3.1 rebounds per game. He is a good player whose defensive intensity would be a welcomed addition for the Celtics.
He doesn’t create a lot of turnovers and his defensive rating doesn’t necessarily show a great defensive player, but he tries hard all the time on that end and is a solid screen navigator.
The three point shot has its ups and downs; he shot just 33% last season after being at 40% during the 2023-24 campaign. Yet, for what would likely be a bargain deal, I would really like it if Boston added him next season.
Deandre Ayton
You hate it, I hate it, we all hate it.
Deandre Ayton is a player who has his flaws, his effort chief among them. However, if Ayton buys into what the Celtics are building, there is a good player here.
Ayton does two things really well defensively: he doesn’t foul and he rebounds. That matters, as we will likely learn this year. He isn’t a great shot blocker, middle of the league in block rate a season ago, but he is tall and can affect shots at the rim, even if he isn’t blocking a ton of shots.
He is also a very skilled offensive player. This season is going to be a test for Ayton. Playing with Luka Doncic and LeBron James means Ayton will be setting more screens this year than he did in his time as a Trail Blazer. How will he buy into that? If he doesn’t buy into it with those two guys, he likely won’t buy into it anywhere.
Deandre Ayton would not be my first choice by any means — that would be Isaiah Hartenstein (I didn’t think he was realistic enough to put on this list) but Ayton is still an option. We will learn a lot about Deandre Ayton this season. He is playing on a good team and for a contract.
The Celtics will need to address center in the next year or so and Ayton is a name to consider whether we like it or not.
There were a lot of names I left off of this list. Bradley Beal, Keon Ellis, Robert Williams III, Nick Richards and Haywood Highsmith are some honorable mentions that I considered and would all be good additions for Boston.
The Celtics talked a lot about flexibility on Thursday, they need to act on it by adding at least two impact players next summer in the free agency, through trade or even the draft.
