Coming off a disappointing season in which they failed to repeat as champions, the Boston Celtics get to business right away with a flurry of moves that will shake up their roster build. This time, however, it seems that the 2024 champions are gearing up for some changes that would help them long-term.

It was no secret that the previous moves by Boston to acquire Jrue Holiday and Kristaps Porzingis not long ago were to build a squad with a win-now goal. However, that success was short-lived and proved to be futile when the two key pieces could not convert for them, and now they have shipped the two players to different teams with the hopes of recovering from salary cap issues, as well as acquiring essential assets.

With Jayson Tatum injured, and Jaylen Brown coming off what has been a disappointing campaign of sorts, it does seem that the Celtics are in dire need of changes in its direction and roster heading into the coming months where drastic changes could spell success or utter disappointment for the team once more.

Moving Away from the Second Apron

While player trades are the main focus, most NBA casuals don’t know what the business end of the NBA impacts for a lot of teams. For starters, the NBA’s second apron stands at a hard salary cap of $207,825,000.

For Boston – which has inked a lot of high-earning players a while ago – this is a tough break that prevents them from coming up with key acquisitions in the offseason.

Had they not made any moves, Boston was on pace to spend at least $500 million in payroll for next season. So in just two days, they shipped off two-time All-Star and two-time champion Jrue Holiday – who was integral in the 2024 championship team. That netted them Anfernee Simons and two second-round picks from the Portland Trail Blazers.

The next day, Porzingis was moved to the Atlanta Hawks, bringing Massachusetts native Georges Niang into the roster along with Terrance Mann – and another flurry of second-round picks was swapped as well.

Was the Trade a Win?

First of all, Simons is entering the final year of the four-year, $100 million deal that he signed with the Blazers in 2022, which means he is still owed $27.7 million next season – $4.7 million less than the $32.4 million Holiday is owed for the 2025-26 campaign. It does save Boston at least $35 million in luxury taxes overall, all while being off the hook for the $72 million Holiday is owed in 2026-27 and 2027-28.

On the other hand, Niang is entering the final stretch of his three-year, $25 million deal. He is just slated to earn $8.2 million in the next campaign, which is a huge win considering that it is $22.5 million less than the $30.7 million expiring deal for Porzingis next season. If you are not convinced, that saves $150 million in additional luxury taxes.

So yes, the trade was a complete win for Boston. Not just because they gained fresh assets on expiring deals, but also because they will save $27.2 million in salary and roughly $180 million in luxury taxes – or more than $200 million. If any, this opens up for a promising stretch on the offseason where Boston may have a chance at signing yet another star to compliment their roster.