Celtics Notes: Holiday, Luxury Tax, Draft, White, Trades
With the Celtics looking to find ways to shave their luxury tax bill, the Clippers are expected to be among the teams to show interest in veteran point guard Jrue Holiday, Brian Robb of MassLive.com reports.
Holiday will likely have multiple suitors, but the Clippers’ front office has previously pursued Holiday, Robb notes — L.A. was outbid by Boston on the 2023 trade market. The Celtics shipped Malcolm Brogdon, Robert Williams and two future first- round picks to Portland for Holiday.
Holiday has three years and $104MM remaining on his contract. Robb notes that Bogdan Bogdanovic ($16MM) could be a crucial matching salary piece if the two sides pursue a deal.
Here’s more on the Celtics:
- Taking their cue from the Pacers and Thunder, the Celtics need to get younger and cheaper talent, Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe opines. In order for the Celtics to stay under the second apron, they need to have players on rookie contracts and — when the time comes — give them less-than-max rookie extensions. They need to hit on their two draft picks at No. 28 and 32 to help achieve that goal, Washburn notes.
- Regarding their trade assets, Robb details how many future picks the Celtics hold. Boston has one first-rounder and two second-rounders next year but doesn’t have a second-rounder in 2027. Robb also notes the Celtics currently have no picks in 2029.
- Yossi Gozlan of ThirdApron.com (Substack link) doesn’t see the club trading Jaylen Brown but believes the next 12 months could be the optimal window to move Derrick White, who is set to begin a four-year, $128MM extension. If White is retained, the club should be able to achieve its financial goals by trading Holiday, Kristaps Porzingis and Sam Hauser, Gozlan writes.
Jaylen Brown Still Contemplating Surgery For Meniscus Injury
Celtics star Jaylen Brown hasn’t made a final decision on whether to have surgery for the partial meniscus tear that has been bothering him since March, writes Noa Dalzell of Celtics Blog.
Brown discussed the injury during an appearance Saturday in Boston to promote his latest sneaker line. Dalzell notes that it was his first public appearance since the Celtics were upset by the Knicks in their second-round playoff series.
“l got a lot of doctors I gotta get evaluated with — see the potential for surgery versus no surgery, wait to speak to the [Celtics] organization,” Brown said. “For now, it’s just rest and recovery. I’m taking a step back from a long season. Mentally, it was a lot of stuff going on.”
Brown had another outstanding individual season, averaging 22.2 points, 5.8 rebounds and 4.5 assists in 63 games and earning an All-Star berth for the fourth time in the past five years. However, the team missed an opportunity to defend its NBA title, and Brown admitted that he was “expecting to be playing right now” instead of doing the shoe launch.
Brown’s sneaker line is unique because he established his own brand, called 741 Performance, in September rather than signing with an established company. It offers a wide apparel line in addition to the shoes, and Brown hopes it will inspire other athletes to pursue similar ventures.
“Just to really get it out there is an accomplishment in itself,” he said. “Just to take the route of independence and starting your own brand … for a high-profile athlete, you don’t really see that too often, especially at this stage in my career. It’s a lot of risk in that, but I wanted the next generation to know it’s possible.”
The Celtics are entering a summer of uncertainty, with numerous reports suggesting that a few high-salaried players will be traded to ease the team’s luxury tax bill. There’s been some speculation that Brown might be among them because of his super-max contract, but he’s hoping to stay put and lead the team back to title contention once Jayson Tatum returns from his Achilles surgery.
Brown talked with fans on Saturday about the team’s prospects for next season and said he’s motivated by their support for his company. Dalzell states that Brown plans to spend most of the summer in Boston for the first time in his career.
“I’m in the community a lot, but I’m leaning toward being even more in the community,” Brown said. “I’m just really trying to touch this community and be around, be available for the city of Boston.”
Celtics Notes: Tatum, Stevens, Porzingis, Holiday
Celtics assistant coach Sam Cassell is optimistic that Jayson Tatum will reclaim his place as one of the NBA’s best players whenever he fully recovers from Achilles surgery, per Souichi Terada of MassLive. Appearing on Patrick Beverley‘s podcast, Cassell said he plans to help Tatum learn how to view the game from a coach’s perspective while he’s rehabbing the injury.
“It’s good, man,” Cassell said. “When he comes back, he can be even better. He can observe the game of basketball and work on everything he needs to work on. I’m looking forward to the journey with him. Top-five first-team All-(NBA) this year. When he comes back, he’ll be first-team All-(NBA) again. He’s that good.”
Tatum was one of four players to be unanimously selected for first-team All-NBA honors this week, earning the designation for the fourth straight season. No timetable has been set for him to resume playing, but Terada states that the Celtics are confident about his prognosis because he had surgery the morning after tearing his Achilles in Game 4 of their second-round series and he was fortunate to be in New York, which offered greater access to world-class surgeons.
Tatum’s injury derailed any hopes that Boston had of rallying to win the series and it may cause the team to take a step back from contending next season. However, Cassell is confident in the long-term future.
“When you got a great group of guys who understood the situation we were in,” he said, “It’s like, ‘Guys, we’re down 3-1, OK. We’re going to get another lead, so let’s just take advantage of the lead.’ Because we had leads every game. Basketball gods are just not happy sometimes. We’ll grow from this. As a staff, we’ll grow from this as a team. We’re the Boston Celtics, baby.”
There’s more from Boston:
- The press conference held Monday by president of basketball operations Brad Stevens showed that he has a plan to remake the roster and trim salary this summer, according to Gary Washburn of The Boston Globe. Stevens indicated that he’s willing to use the team’s draft picks at No. 28 and 32 to help get rid of at least the roughly $20MM that will be necessary to get the Celtics below the second apron. Washburn doesn’t expect Stevens to part with Jaylen Brown or Derrick White, but he states that Kristaps Porzingis and Jrue Holiday will likely be made available, while Sam Hauser, Jordan Walsh and JD Davison may also be deemed expendable.
- In a mailbag column, Brian Robb of MassLive questions how easy it will be to find teams willing to take on Porzingis and Holiday. Robb points out that Holiday is already 35 and will making $37.2MM in 2027/28, while Porzingis’ recent health issues will likely limit his market.
- Adam Himmelsbach of The Boston Globe continues his offseason series rating the team’s various units, this time focusing on the starting lineup. He notes that injuries to Tatum and Brown, along with Porzingis’ illness and Holiday’s signs of aging leave the group in much worse shape than it appeared to be when the season began.
Celtics Notes: Craig, Luxury Tax, Brown, Pritchard
Although he had a limited role after signing with the Celtics, Torrey Craig is interested in staying with the team next season, according to Souichi Terada of MassLive. The veteran forward started the season in Chicago, but was sidelined for weeks by an ankle injury and only got into nine games. The Bulls waived him on February 3, and Boston signed him five days later to fill an opening on its 15-man roster.
“I guess we’ll cross that path when we get there,” Craig said after the team was eliminated last week in New York. “I have to sit down with my representatives, my agents and talk things through and see the options. But I wouldn’t mind re-signing here.”
Craig, 34, appeared in 17 games with the Celtics, making three starts and averaging 2.7 points and 2.8 rebounds in 11.8 minutes per night. He may have a larger role if he re-signs with the team because Jayson Tatum will miss most or all of the season with a torn Achilles and several rotation players might be traded to save money.
Craig said he enjoyed being in Boston despite the limited playing time.
“Just the togetherness,” he said. “Everybody in the locker room is for one another, all the way down to the front office, the coaching staff. Family-oriented. Yeah, it’s just a wholesome place to be around.”
There’s more from Boston:
- Brian Robb of MassLive suggests the Celtics should set a goal of getting under the luxury tax instead of just ducking below the second apron. The team is facing the repeater tax in 2025/26 with its current roster, and Robb points out that there are long-term benefits that go with resetting the repeater clock. Unloading both Kristaps Porzingis and Jrue Holiday wouldn’t be enough to push the Celtics below the projected $187MM tax line, but Robb notes that they don’t have to get there until the end of the season. That provides time to monitor Tatum’s recovery before making a final decision on the strategy.
- Watching Jaylen Brown in the unquestioned alpha role is one of the reasons for optimism next season, per Chris Forsberg of NBC Sports Boston. Forsberg states that Brown has steadily improved as a play-maker and tends to have his best performances when Tatum isn’t active, such as Game 2 against Orlando and Game 5 against New York in this year’s playoffs. Forsberg is also looking forward to seeing Payton Pritchard as a possible starter and finding out which of the team’s younger players can excel in an expanded role.
- There were warning signs of a potential Celtics collapse long before it happened, according to Steve Bulpett of Heavy. Bulpett looks back at a 7-7 stretch in December and January when the team developed bad habits and began letting big leads slip away.
Stevens: More Time Required To Determine Offseason Plans
Celtics president of basketball operations Brad Stevens didn’t provide any clarity during his postseason press conference on his approach to a challenging offseason. Stevens said that the organization remains driven to compete for championships but there are other factors that must be considered.
“I know there will be a lot of questions about what’s next,” Stevens said, per Brian Robb of MassLive.com. “I’ll talk probably more about that at the draft time when we have a better idea after meeting with all the key stakeholders and everybody else about what next steps might be. At the end of the day, I think that will all be driven by the same thing that’s always driven us and that is how do we get ourselves in the mix to compete for championships best.”
Numerous players were signed to extensions last offseason after the Celtics won the championship. The cost of carrying those players will rise exponentially — their payroll for next season is projected to be around $225MM, with repeater tax penalties totaling approximately $280MM.
This comes at a time when majority ownership is due to change hands. The new ownership group, led by William Chisholm, is expected to be approved by the NBA’s Board of Governors next month, according to Robb. It’s unknown whether the new owners are willing to take on that kind of penalty.
“The CBA has been well-known for years,” Stevens said. “So there are penalties associated with being at certain levels, and we know that. You just weigh that. You weigh where we are. You weigh everything else then you make those decisions. You have to have the clarity of a full season and a full playoffs and, like I said, a couple good night’s sleep. Then everybody gets in a room and put your heads together and figure out what’s next.”
Another major factor in the Celtics’ offseason approach will be the likely season-long absence of star forward Jayson Tatum, who tore his Achilles during their second-round series. It was later revealed that Jaylen Brown played with partially torn meniscus in his right knee, while Kristaps Porzingis continued to battle a lingering illness. Stevens wouldn’t blame the series loss to the Knicks on those setbacks.
“The reality is we blew the first two games and that’s why we put ourselves in a tough spot. … That’s not on any one person,” Stevens said, per The Associated Press. “It’s not out of maliciousness. It’s not out of a bad decision. It’s not bad luck. It’s we had an opportunity to win those first two home games and we put ourselves behind the eight ball.”
Brown’s knee issues cropped up in March, Stevens said. However, the knee injury wasn’t severe enough to keep him off the court, as Robb relays.
“Jaylen wants to play, Jaylen’s a warrior, Jaylen takes great pride in being out there,” Stevens said. “And at the same time, he saw obviously our team docs and a couple of other people and as he even said a couple weeks ago, the knee’s in a good place structurally. And so I think he felt comfortable getting out there and going after it. And hopefully he’ll feel better after being off it for a couple weeks here. The unfortunate part is we’re done in the middle of May, but some of these guys who have some nicks, bruises and other things that it’ll be good to get some rest.”
Porzingis’ illness was described to Stevens as “post-viral syndrome,” The Athletic’s Jay King tweets. Stevens believes Porzingis’ health issues will be “well cleared up” by the time he plays for Latvia in EuroBasket this summer.
Celtics Notes: Kornet, Holiday, Brown, White
With the Celtics looking for ways to cut costs this offseason, it’s possible that re-signing Luke Kornet will be a luxury they can’t afford. The 29-year-old backup center wasn’t ready to address his future at Saturday’s exit interviews, according to Souichi Terada of MassLive.
“Regarding going forward it’s like, I’ll figure out stuff when it kind of comes to it,” Kornet said. “At this point, you’re just kind of trying to unwind and spend some time with family and you don’t even know what everything is gonna look like because you just got done playing. That’s kind of what it is for now.”
Kornet, who has been with the team since being acquired at the 2022 trade deadline, turned out to be a bargain on the one-year, minimum-salary contract he signed last summer. He brought stability to Boston’s frontline, appearing in 73 games and averaging 6.0 points and 5.3 rebounds in 18.6 minutes per night. He helped the Celtics extend their second-round series with a near triple-double in Game 5 and was in the starting lineup for Game 6.
Keeping Kornet could become more important than ever with Al Horford uncertain about returning for another season. Boston owns Kornet’s Bird rights, but second apron restrictions and a huge projected tax bill will likely limit what the team is willing to offer.
“The year, obviously it didn’t ultimately end in what we wanted to do and accomplish,” Kornet added. “It’s like a good deal to look back on well. I mean obviously the day after, that’s a little tough. But I think that it was a little more time to be able to kind of appreciate things for what they were. Obviously we had some good stretches and we ultimately came short, so it’s just kind of the taste in the mouth for the time being.”
There’s more from Boston:
- Jrue Holiday has been mentioned as a potential trade candidate because of his hefty salary, but he believes the Celtics can remain title contenders if the core of the team stays together, Terada states in a separate story. Holiday has three seasons left on his four-year, $134.4MM extension, including a $37.2MM player option in 2027/28. “We still have a really, really great opportunity and a great window to be successful and win a championship again,” he said. “I think the talent that we have on this team, not only on the court, but the coaching staff all the way up to (president of basketball operations Brad Stevens) has been amazing. So, the opportunity to win is now, and I still want to be a part of that.”
- Jaylen Brown, who has been diagnosed with a partially torn meniscus, offered a message of hope to Celtics fans after being eliminated, Terada adds in another piece. Brown expects the team to bounce back quickly, even though Jayson Tatum is sidelined indefinitely after having surgery to repair a torn Achilles. “This journey is not the end; it’s not the end for me,” Brown said. “I’m looking forward to coming back stronger, so you just take this with your chin up. I know Boston, it looks gloomy right now, obviously with JT being out and us kind of ending the year. But it’s a lot to look forward to. I want the city to feel excited about that. This is not the end, so I’m looking forward to what’s next.”
- Derrick White appears likely to stay in Boston because he’s delivering good value on his contract, observes Brian Robb of MassLive. White acknowledged that changes are likely coming to the team, adding that his priority will be improving during the summer. “I just gotta focus on what I need to focus on, which is obviously I have a lot of room for improvement,” White said. “So I gotta get better. People are going to do their jobs and my job right now is to get better.”
Jaylen Brown May Need Surgery For Partially Torn Meniscus
Surgery may be the next step for Jaylen Brown now that the Celtics have been eliminated from the playoffs, writes Ramona Shelburne of ESPN. Sources tell Shelburne that the nagging knee pain Brown has been experiencing over the past few weeks is caused by a partially torn right meniscus.
Brown will be evaluated this week to see if surgery or rest is the best course of action, according to Shelburne’s sources, who say he has been receiving pain management injections in the knee since March.
Along with the injections, Brown has been adjusting his style of play to avoid putting undue strain on the knee. He admitted that he doesn’t have his usual explosiveness around the rim, but he still found a way to be effective, averaging 22.3 points, 7.2 rebounds and 3.7 assists in 10 playoff games, which were similar to his numbers from last year’s postseason when he was named MVP of the Eastern Conference Finals and NBA Finals.
Brown was asked about the condition of his knee after Boston’s Game 6 loss Friday night in New York.
“I don’t make excuses,” he told reporters. “Obviously, it’s tough the way we went out like tonight, but the way we finished the year, personally, the way I finished the year, persevering through some physical stuff that I was battling through, I’m proud of our group.”
Brown’s future will be one of many intriguing Celtics storylines to watch this summer. The team is expected to cut payroll with Jayson Tatum set to miss most or all of next season with a torn Achilles, and Brown’s super-max contract makes him a potential trade candidate. He’s owed $53.1MM next season and $236.2MM over the next four years.
Celtics Rumors: Holiday, Porzingis, Tatum, Brown, More
Even before Jayson Tatum suffered a torn Achilles tendon, the Celtics were contemplating “significant offseason changes” due to a payroll (including luxury tax) that is projected to surpass $500MM in 2025/26, confirms Jay King of The Athletic. But with Tatum likely to miss most — if not all — of next season, a more “drastic shakeup” could be in the works.
Although Jrue Holiday battled injuries and saw his offensive numbers decline in ’24/25, he’s still expected to draw interest from contending teams if the Celtics make him available on the trade market, league sources tell King. Holiday turns 35 years old next month and is owed $104.4MM through ’27/28, but he’s highly regarded around the league due to his championship pedigree and reputation as a strong defensive player, King writes.
Kristaps Porzingis is another clear trade candidate due to his expiring contract. But don’t expect the Celtics to simply shed his salary in a straightforward salary dump, King adds.
Here are a few more rumors and notes on the 2024 champions:
- According to King, Tatum’s heavy workload was an “occasional topic of contention” within the organization prior to the injury. Including the playoffs, Tatum has played more minutes than any player in the league since Boston selected him No. 3 overall in 2017, King notes, and he also won a pair of gold medals with Team USA in 2021 and 2024, so he hasn’t many rest opportunities in recent years. Tatum admitted in March that “a lot of headbutting” occurred prior to games when the team wanted to him rest but he wanted to play.
- Prior to the Game 6 elimination, Chris Mannix and Rachel Nichols of Sports Illustrated speculated about what moves the Celtics might make this summer (YouTube link). “The question is what do you do here? Because I think there’s a pretty decent chance that this team gets dismantled in a major way,” Mannix said. Nichols followed up by asking if Jaylen Brown could be on the move. Mannix doesn’t think so, but said, “I think two or more rotation players in the top seven could be gone next year, and they could use next year as a gap year.” Holiday and Porzingis were two more players brought up in the discussion.
- It’s clear the Celtics won’t be running things back for a second straight summer, according to Chris Forsberg of NBC Sports, who is “pretty confident” that next year’s roster will feature Tatum, Derrick White, Payton Pritchard, Baylor Scheierman, and Jordan Walsh. However, Forsberg is less certain about the rest of the roster, including Brown, who is entering the second season of his five-year, super-max contract. Sharpshooter Sam Hauser is another trade candidate if the team is unable to cut costs elsewhere, Forsberg writes.
- In his Celtics offseason preview for ESPN.com, Bobby Marks lays out some of the options Boston could consider this summer, noting that the punitive restrictions of the second tax apron will likely be the main reason the team decides to make changes. Marks also released a video version of his offseason guide via YouTube.
Celtics’ Jaylen Brown On Loss To Knicks: ‘Feels Like Death’
The defending champion Celtics were eliminated from the playoffs on Friday, having been blown out by the Knicks in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference semifinals, writes Brian Windhorst of ESPN.
“Finishing in May feels weird, it’s definitely not something we were prepared for,” said Celtics star Jaylen Brown, who fouled out before the end of the third quarter after scoring 20 points but with seven turnovers. “Things didn’t go our way this year, and it’s unfortunate.
“But we hold our head up regardless. Losing to the Knicks feels like death. But I was always taught that there’s life after death, so we’ll get ready for whatever’s next in the journey.”
Boston had an unexpectedly poor start to the second-round series, losing the first two games at home after holding 20-point second-half leads in each contest. Things went from bad to worse in Game 4, when the Celtics blew another double-digit second-half lead and perennial All-NBA forward Jayson Tatum sustained a torn Achilles tendon.
While the Celtics had their chances, especially early on in the series, they were thoroughly outplayed in Game 6. Head coach Joe Mazzulla made sure to credit the Knicks for their dominant performance, Windhorst notes.
“We ran into a great team. You have to tip your hat off to the Knicks,” Mazzulla said. “They outplayed us. They played better.”
As Adam Himmelsbach of The Boston Globe writes, the Celtics now face a summer of uncertainty due to Tatum’s injury, their extremely expensive roster, and the restrictions of the NBA’s tax aprons.
Center Kristaps Porzingis, who battled “extreme fatigue” — one of the lingering effects of a mysterious February illness that was never identified — throughout the playoffs, could be on the trading block this offseason, according to Himmselbach. Veteran guard Jrue Holiday could be in the same boat.
Himmelsbach also suggests that big man Al Horford could opt to retire. Windhorst recently reported the impending free agent hopes to re-sign with the Celtics, but that was before Tatum’s injury. Horford will turn 39 years old in early June.
But the team wasn’t thinking about the future in the immediate aftermath of the loss.
“It sucks,” guard Derrick White said. “You’ll never get this season back. You’re never going to have the exact same team again.”
New York, which entered the playoffs as the No. 3 seed in the East, will now face No. 4 Indiana in the team’s first conference final appearance in 25 years.
Latest On Jayson Tatum
Jayson Tatum‘s injury will have a ripple effect on the rest of the league and it will send a seismic wave down the Celtics organization, Jared Weiss of The Athletic writes. While Achilles injuries aren’t entirely uncommon in the NBA, it’s not typical that a player of Tatum’s caliber suffers an injury this catastrophic at this point in the league’s calendar year.
Unless the Celtics complete the 3-1 comeback against the Knicks, the NBA is looking at its seventh different champion in as many years. Reports were already circulating that Boston was looking to make some changes this offseason as the team continued to get more expensive. Now their superstar is out until likely, at earliest, late into next regular season.
There is somewhat of a precedent to follow in that Kevin Durant tore his Achilles in the 2019 Finals, but the Warriors were still able to build around Stephen Curry in his wake.
In a similar article, Kevin Pelton of ESPN explores what paths Boston could explore with Tatum likely sidelined all of next year. Making trades to trim salary and add depth seems likely, but it’s unclear who could be on the block. Jrue Holiday is still a valuable piece for a contender, so he could be an option if Boston opts for that route. While Jaylen Brown would be an appealing trade target for almost every team in the league, the Celtics will need to rely on him to stay competitive next year, Pelton writes.
We have more on Tatum’s injury and the shock wave it sent through the NBA:
- Outside of Holiday, the Celtics could also look to move one or both of Derrick White or Kristaps Porzingis, Jay King of The Athletic suggests. Al Horford will also be an unrestricted free agent, as will Luke Kornet, and bringing both back could be challenging given the Celtics’ financial position.
- Celtics owner Wyc Grousbeck addressed Tatum’s injury this week, per Adam Himmelsbach of The Boston Globe (Twitter link). “Jayson has a warrior mentality like the rest of his teammates,” Grousbeck said. “He will work very hard to get back, and in the meantime the Celtics will fight hard for every game.“
- Brown and Horford spoke to Celtics players in a meeting prior to Game 5’s big win over the Knicks, according to ESPN’s Brian Windhorst on a SportsCenter appearance (YouTube link). On Wednesday, the team got a message from Tatum while he was recovering from his surgery. According to Windhorst, Tatum told the team that he would be back and encouraged them to play hard in the wake of his injury.