Proposed 3-Team Trade Saves Celtics $135 Million in Luxury Taxes

As currently constructed, the Boston Celtics roster will cost almost half a billion dollars in payroll and luxury taxes next season. Therefore, Brad Stevens is expected to make some changes in the coming months.

A recent three-team trade proposal from ESPN’s Kevin Pelton would see the Celtics shave off between $135  and $140 million in luxury taxes. The trade idea looks like this:

Boston Celtics Get: Brandon Clarke and Jay Huff

Chicago Bulls Get: Kristaps Porzingis and Xavier Tillman 

Memphis Grizzlies Get: Nikola Vucevic, Talen Horton-Tucker (sign-and-trade) and a 2030 second-round draft pick from Chicago.

“This proposal shuffles big men, taking advantage of the ability for both Chicago and Memphis to add salary without going into the luxury tax to allow Boston to effectively stepladder down from Porzingis’ $30.7 million salary to Clarke, who makes $12.5 million,” Pelton wrote. “Huff could help Boston as a stretch big, having hit 40.5% of his 200 3-point attempts last season before falling out of the Grizzlies’ rotation late in the regular season.”

Losing Porzingis would hurt. He’s become a genuine fan favorite since arriving in Boston. However, his inability to stay healthy when it matters most has made him a logical trade candidate.

Furthermore, he is entering the final year of his current contract next season. It makes sense to trade Porzingis now, rather than risk losing him for nothing next year.

Celtics Jrue Holiday “Most Likely” to be Traded

According to Bleacher Report’s Dan Favale, Jrue Holiday is the most likely member of the Celtics roster to be traded this summer.

“Having just turned 35, the backcourt defensive ace isn’t going to be part of the next great Celtics team,” Favale wrote. “Next year is kaput while Tatum recovers from his Achilles injury, and Boston may need a feeling-out season in 2026-27 when he returns. Holiday will be entering his age-37 campaign by the time this team is anywhere close to whole again.”

Favale continued.

“Moving him should be even easier knowing the Celtics won’t be trying to extract value. Just breaking him up into multiple smaller contracts that are easier to reroute can go a long way, and at least one suitor should be enticed by the idea of exchanging filler for an All-Defense punch.”

Holiday is a core part of Joe Mazzulla’s rotation. The issue is, his four-year $134 million contract is seen as an overpay for an aging guard. Trading away his $33.6 million in average annual salary would create significant savings for the Celtics. Still, there’s no denying that losing Holiday would make Boston a worse team.

Celtics Could Also Lose Luke Kornet

Outside of needing to make some salary-saving trades, the Celtics also have some tough decisions to make regarding impending free agents. Both Luke Kornet and Al Horford hit the unrestricted free agent market this summer.

According to Michael Scotto of HoopsHype, Kornet is expected to have a “robust” free agency market.

“Kornet ranks as one of the best players analytically entering free agency,” Scotto reported on June 16. “…After thoroughly outplaying his current contract, Kornet is expected to earn a substantial pay raise and have a robust market this summer among various teams who have the non-taxpayer mid-level exception to spend.”

Kornet has proven to be one of the best backup big men in the NBA. The Celtics should do everything in their power to keep him around long-term. However, they could be priced out of the market, given their cap issues. Furthermore, Stevens may be forced to choose between Kornet and Horford. Keeping both big men may not be viable.

The 2025 offseason will see the Celtics make multiple moves. It’s unclear how different the roster will look by next season. Unfortunately for Boston, this is the nature of the new second apron. They won’t be the only team affected by those restrictions, either.