Sam Hauser Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Celtics Notes: Mazzulla, Pritchard, Queta, Luis

August 16th, 2025 at 7:17pm CST by Arthur Hill

Joe Mazzulla has the security of a new contract extension, but he’ll be facing the toughest coaching job of his career when the upcoming season tips off, writes Christopher L. Gasper of The Boston Globe.

Since taking over as head coach shortly before the start of the 2022/23 season, Mazzulla has been able to rely on one of the most talented rosters in the league. That’s changed due to an Achilles injury that might sideline Jayson Tatum for the entire season, along with cost-cutting trades that sent out Jrue Holiday and Kristaps Porzingis and the loss of Luke Kornet and probably Al Horford in free agency.

The current version of the Celtics isn’t nearly as well equipped for Mazzulla’s preferred approach to the game, which includes a heavy reliance on three-point shots. Gasper states that Mazzulla will have to be flexible and show a willingness to adapt the offense to get the most out of his players.

Former Celtics player and longtime radio analyst Cedric Maxwell tells Gary Washburn of The Boston Globe that Mazzulla’s natural competitiveness will be an asset for the depleted roster.

“Here’s the beauty about all that,” Maxwell said. “Joe Mazzulla’s not going to let them take a step back. Joe Mazzulla is going to use that as fuel to have these guys compete on a nightly basis. We’ve seen teams in the NBA, perhaps not as talented as other teams but at the end, because they played hard every single night, you get your opportunities to win.”

There’s more from Boston:

Jaylen Brown and Derrick White are the only certain starters heading into training camp, but Brian Robb of MassLive believes Payton Pritchard should be in that category as well. Robb states in a mailbag column that Pritchard is most likely to join White as a backcourt starter because Anfernee Simons doesn’t appear to be in the team’s long-term plans. The front court may be more flexible, Robb suggests, with Sam Hauser and Neemias Queta starting most of the time, but Chris Boucher being used when Mazzulla wants a double-big starting lineup.
Queta suffered a minor injury to his right hip area during an exhibition game this week in preparation for EuroBasket, relays Souichi Terada of MassLive. Queta is reportedly fine and will be ready to represent Portugal when the tournament begins.
RJ Luis got two-way offers from the Celtics and Jazz in June before deciding to sign with Utah, Jake Fischer of The Stein Line said in a recent Bleacher Report livestream (YouTube link, hat tip to Robb). Boston landed Luis as part of a trade involving Georges Niang and draft picks earlier this month. Luis wasn’t able to play for Utah’s Summer League team due to a leg injury.

Celtics Notes: Tatum, Hauser, Simons, Mazzulla, WNBA

August 9th, 2025 at 8:22pm CST by Arthur Hill

There’s no official injury update on Jayson Tatum, but it was encouraging to see the Celtics star moving around freely during two public appearances this week, writes Matty Wasserman of The Boston Globe. Tatum made a visit to Patriots training camp on Wednesday and followed that by joining coach Joe Mazzulla at the groundbreaking for a new early education center a day later.

Tatum, who underwent surgery after tearing his Achilles in a May 12 playoff game, didn’t take any questions or address his condition, but team president Rich Gotham seemed delighted with his progress.

“He’s gone from walking around in a boot and just kind of wiggling his toes to, as you see him today, he’s walking around a little more freely,” Gotham told reporters. “That’s obviously very encouraging to all of us at the Celtics … These are all little milestones in what has been a pretty grueling process for him. But it’s great to see him out at something like this.”

Gotham refused to speculate on whether Tatum would return to action if he receives medical clearance before the end of the upcoming season. However, he added, “What I know about JT is that he’s going to do everything he can to put us in the position to make a decision.”

There’s more from Boston:

The Celtics trimmed nearly $50MM off their luxury tax bill by trading Georges Niang to Utah, and they appear determined to get below the tax line altogether, cap expert Yossi Gozlan states in his Third Apron column (subscriber link). They’ll be about $12.1MM above the threshold once Chris Boucher officially signs, and Gozlan identifies two potential cost-cutting strategies. One is to trade Sam Hauser‘s $10MM salary and duck below the tax at the deadline by moving minimum-salaried players and replacing them with prorated signings. Another is to send Anfernee Simons ($27.7MM) to a team below the first apron, which would only have to part with $19.2MM in salary in return. That would also put Boston in position to escape the tax with small moves at the deadline.
The multiyear extension for Mazzulla gives the Celtics some stability amid significant roster turnover, observes Souichi Terada of MassLive. Terada adds that Mazzulla is liked and respected by his players, particularly Tatum and Jaylen Brown.
Gary Washburn of The Boston Globe examines the obstacles that Celtics minority owner Steve Pagliuca is facing in his attempt to buy the WNBA’s Connecticut Sun and move the team to Boston. Washburn states that Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey is on board with the effort, adding that Boston doesn’t want to wait for the next round of expansion, which might not happen until 2033.

Celtics Notes: Lillard, Starting Lineup, Davison, Gonzalez

July 26th, 2025 at 6:12pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Celtics were reported as a potential landing spot for Damian Lillard after he was waived and stretched by Milwaukee, but Lillard never gave serious thought to joining anyone but the Trail Blazers, writes Brian Robb of MassLive. At an introductory press conference this week in Portland, Lillard expressed his excitement over returning to his former team and mentioned a recruiting effort by Jrue Holiday.

“As soon as I was waived and obviously [Jrue] knows that I live here and built my home here and stuff,” Lillard said. “He sent me the eyeball emoji. I kind of knew already like — I already knew where I was pivoting to when he sent it but I didn’t want to say nothing too soon, so here we are.”

Although Lillard isn’t expected to play this season while recovering from a torn Achilles, he could have been an intriguing long-term investment for Boston once Jayson Tatum returns from his own Achilles injury. However, Robb points out that the Celtics couldn’t have come close to matching the three-year, $42MM deal Lillard got from the Blazers. They are currently limited to the $5.685MM taxpayer mid-level exception, and using that exception would have required other moves to get far enough below the second apron.

There’s more from Boston:

In a mailbag column, Robb projects Neemias Queta to be the Celtics’ starting center on opening night if the current roster remains in place. Jaylen Brown and Derrick White are the only certain members of the starting five, and Robb expects the other two positions to come down to decisions between Payton Pritchard and Anfernee Simons, and between Sam Hauser and Georges Niang with Josh Minott as a possible wild card.
This week’s release of JD Davison was a result of him not showing sufficient NBA potential during his three years with the organization, Robb adds in the same piece. He puts the chances of Ben Simmons being signed to fill the open roster spot at “10-20%,” stating that the former No. 1 overall pick will likely get better financial offers elsewhere.
Spanish basketball legend Rudy Fernandez offers a ringing endorsement of Celtics’ first-round pick Hugo Gonzalez, per Zack Cox of The Boston Herald. Fernandez watched the 19-year-old shooting guard develop from a young prospect into a regular contributor with Real Madrid. “I always tried to instill in him the idea of committing to improving the team whenever he’s on the floor, and he’s done that perfectly,” Fernandez said. “He’s got the physical tools, good hands, a strong understanding of the game on both ends, and he’s a solid standstill shooter. Maybe he could improve his movement shooting, especially coming off screens, but he’s the type of player who gets better every day.”

Celtics Explore Flipping Anfernee Simons, Georges Niang

June 27th, 2025 at 7:31pm CST by Luke Adams

Neither Anfernee Simons nor Georges Niang is technically a member of the Celtics yet, as the deals sending them to Boston won’t become official until July. However, the Celtics have explored the idea of flipping Simons to a new team, according to Jay King of The Athletic, who reports that Niang is also a candidate to be moved before the 2025/26 season.

Brian Robb of MassLive.com has published a similar report, citing sources who say Boston is expected to remain active in the trade market and will explore its options with players like Simons and Niang.

As both King and Robb explain, a desire to retain free agent centers Al Horford and Luke Kornet is one reason why the Celtics are motivated to continue making moves to create more cap flexibility.

After agreeing to send out Jrue Holiday to Portland in a deal for Simons and Kristaps Porzingis to Atlanta in a trade for Niang, Boston projects to operate a little below the second tax apron, but would almost certainly have to go back above that threshold in order to re-sign Horford and Kornet.

The Celtics also appear hopeful about the possibility of moving below the luxury tax line entirely, writes King, since that would be a first step toward taking the team out of repeater taxpayer territory for future seasons (two years out of the tax are required to reset the repeater clock).

Getting below the tax line would require shedding at least $15MM-ish in additional salary, and more than that in order to re-sign Horford and Kornet.

As King observes, it likely wouldn’t be difficult to move off Sam Hauser, whose $10MM salary for 2025/26 would neatly fit into a team’s non-taxpayer mid-level exception. However, the Celtics have been more focused on scenarios that would allow them to hang onto the sharpshooting wing.

A trade involving Jaylen Brown or Derrick White could provide an avenue to significant cap savings, but multiple reports have suggested the Celtics would need to be blown away to consider moving either player. VP of basketball operations Mike Zarren told reporters on Thursday “there hasn’t been anything close to serious about trading” Brown or White, adding that “those guys are key parts of our team, and we’re lucky to have them here.”

Charania’s Latest: Durant, Celtics, Giannis

June 26th, 2025 at 4:45pm CST by Luke Adams

Kevin Durant will become eligible to sign an extension in July and there’s an expectation that he and the Rockets are going to explore that possibility once the trade sending him from Phoenix to Houston is official, ESPN’s Shams Charania said on Thursday’s episode of First Take (YouTube link).

“The goal right now for Kevin Durant and the Rockets is for him to retire in Houston,” Charania said. “They’re going to eventually, this offseason, discuss a contract extension and figure out where that lands.”

Durant, who will turn 37 in September, will make roughly $54.7MM during the final year of his current contract in 2025/26. Once he’s traded to Houston, he’ll be immediately eligible to sign a two-year extension worth up to about $122MM.

If he were to wait six months, he could get up to nearly $124MM on that two-year deal — the first-year max salary would be the same, but he could get an 8% raise for year two instead of 5%.

Given the minimal difference between those two hypothetical extensions, I’d expect the Rockets and Durant to try to get something done before the regular season begins rather than waiting until January.

Here are a couple more items of interest from Charania:

Although they reportedly spoke to teams with lottery picks ahead of Wednesday’s first round, the Celtics were “not close” to trading Jaylen Brown, Charania said on ESPN’s First Take (YouTube link). Charania reiterated that Boston isn’t looking to move Brown or Derrick White and would only consider it if it an offer “blows them out of the water.” While Sam Hauser and Anfernee Simons are still trade candidates to monitor, Charania suggests that the brunt of the Celtics’ cost-cutting moves are already done, with Jrue Holiday headed to Portland and Kristaps Porzingis going to Atlanta.
After reporting in mid-May that Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo is “open-minded” about considering possible options for his future outside of Milwaukee, Charania said on ESPN’s Get Up on Thursday (YouTube link) that that’s still the case, even though the two-time MVP hasn’t requested a trade to this point. “He’s going to remain open-minded,” Charania said (hat tip to RealGM). “I don’t think his future is necessarily tied to this week, to free agency week. It’s going to be a process where you see how this team looks into July – well into July, potentially – and then ultimately he will see how the Bucks look and how the chess pieces look across the league and ultimately have some form of a resolution.”

Trade Rumors: Lakers, Wiggins, Knicks, Celtics, Cavs, Bulls

June 26th, 2025 at 7:58am CST by Luke Adams

After previously reporting that the Lakers checked in with the Heat to inquire on Andrew Wiggins‘ price, Anthony Irwin of ClutchPoints says the two teams have continued to explore the possibility of a Wiggins trade, though nothing is imminent.

As Irwin details, Rui Hachimura and his expiring contract would likely be the centerpiece of any deal, with another expiring contract (either Maxi Kleber‘s or Gabe Vincent‘s) necessary for salary-matching purposes. According to Irwin, league sources believe the Heat would also try to push for the inclusion of 2024 first-round pick Dalton Knecht.

A source tells Anthony Chiang and Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald that the Heat are “very open” to moving Wiggins, who was part of last season’s Jimmy Butler trade with Golden State. Trading him for expiring salaries would create additional cap flexibility for Miami in the summer of 2026.

The Lakers are also scouring the trade market for help at the center position, Irwin continues, but he has heard from league sources that the front office believes the asking price for big men so far has been too high. As a result, it’s possible Los Angeles will look to use the $5.7MM taxpayer mid-level exception to address the center position while trying to upgrade other areas of the roster on the trade market, Irwin explains.

Here are a few more trade-related rumors from around the NBA:

Mikal Bridges‘ and Mitchell Robinson‘s names have surfaced in Knicks trade talks this offseason, according to Frank Isola of YES Network (Twitter link). Bridges and Robinson will also both be eligible to sign contract extensions beginning in July, so I’d expect New York to explore both scenarios before determining how best to move forward.
Prior to Wednesday’s first round, the Celtics touched base with teams in the lottery, including the Spurs at No. 14, but didn’t end up finding a deal they liked, tweets Ian Begley of SNY.tv. While Jaylen Brown and Derrick White rumors have circulated this week, Sam Hauser is considered Boston’s top current trade candidate — Chris Mannix of SI.com said during an appearance on The Bill Simmons Podcast that there has been a “robust” market for Hauser (Twitter video link).
The Cavaliers explored the possibility of trading into the first round on Wednesday, with a few picks considered to be available, but didn’t find any opportunities they deemed worthwhile, reports Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com. The team holds the 49th and 58th overall picks on Thurday.
During a press conference on Wednesday night, Bulls general manager Marc Eversley said Chicago spoke to a few teams about moving up before deciding to stand pat at No. 12 and select Noa Essengue. Everseley added that the Bulls may end up trading tonight’s No. 45 pick or using it on a draft-and-stash prospect (Twitter links via Joe Cowley of The Chicago Sun-Times).

Trade Rumors: Brown, White, Holiday, Hawks, NAW, Collins

June 25th, 2025 at 8:06am CST by Luke Adams

After having agreed to trades that send out Jrue Holiday and Kristaps Porzingis, the Celtics have moved below the second tax apron. However, they may not be done dealing yet. Appearing on ESPN’s SportsCenter on Tuesday night (YouTube link), Shams Charania reported that Boston is fielding calls from teams with interest in Jaylen Brown and/or Derrick White.

According to Charania, the Celtics’ preference is still to hang onto Brown and White, and they’ve set “high price thresholds” for both players. But they’re also not entirely shutting down inquiries on those guys, so it remains possible that there will be a team willing to meet Boston’s high asking price.

“At minimum,” Charania says, the Celtics are still a strong candidate to make additional deals involving role players who are a little less valuable than Brown and White. Charania specifically identifies Sam Hauser and Anfernee Simons as players who might fit that bill.

Simons technically isn’t even a Celtic yet, so the agreed-upon deal involving him and Jrue Holiday could be expanded to include more pieces and send Simons to a third team before it’s officially finalized. Even if that trade is completed as currently constructed, Simons could be flipped to another team immediately — his salary simply couldn’t be aggregated with another player’s salary for two months after he’s traded.

Here are a few more trade rumors from around the NBA:

According to Aaron Fentress of The Oregonian (Twitter link), he has heard from two sources who refuted the report claiming that Holiday is unhappy about being traded to the Trail Blazers. We passed along that rumor on Tuesday, but suggested taking it with a grain of salt.
As the Hawks continue to mull various scenarios for how they could use the $25MM+ traded player exception they generated in last summer’s Dejounte Murray deal, one possible target to watch is Nickeil Alexander-Walker, according to Marc Stein and Jake Fischer of The Stein Line (Substack link). The Hawks are expected to show interest in Alexander-Walker, who will be a free agent this summer, and could potentially use that TPE to acquire him via sign-and-trade. The Timberwolves have expressed a desire to retain the three-and-D guard, but will also have Julius Randle‘s and Naz Reid‘s contract situations to resolve.
Although John Collins is considered a potential offseason trade candidate, his market is still taking shape, so a deal seems more likely to happen after the draft than before or during it, per Stein and Fischer. Collins also must exercise his $26.6MM player option before he officially becomes trade-eligible. His decision is due on Thursday.
Heat forward Andrew Wiggins, Raptors forward RJ Barrett and guard Immanuel Quickley, Jazz guards Collin Sexton and Jordan Clarkson, Wizards guard Marcus Smart, and Bucks wing Pat Connaughton are among the other players viewed as candidates to be on the move this summer, according to Stein and Fischer.

Trade Rumors: Celtics, Durant, Knicks, Pelicans, Spurs, Magic

June 12th, 2025 at 11:00am CST by Luke Adams

The Celtics won’t be actively looking to move Jaylen Brown or Derrick White this offseason, but they also don’t necessarily view either player as untouchable, ESPN’s Shams Charania said on Wednesday during an appearance on The Pat McAfee Show (YouTube link).

“The primary focus, from my understanding, with the Celtics’ offseason has been Jrue Holiday, Kristaps Porzingis, (and) Sam Hauser, their trade markets,” Charania said. “Now, are teams making big offers and calling about Jaylen Brown and Derrick White? 100 percent. The Celtics prefer not to trade them, from my understanding. But if they get a big offer, they have to look at everything.”

Asked by McAfee if it’s accurate to say that everyone except Jayson Tatum, who will spent most or all of the 2025/26 season recovering from an Achilles tear, is theoretically in play, Charania replied, “Essentially.”

As has been reported repeatedly since Boston was eliminated from the playoffs last month, the club will be looking to reduce its luxury tax bill and get below the second tax apron in 2025/26, since Tatum’s injury figures to significantly reduce the odds of the Celtics seriously contending for another title next season.

Here are a few more trade-related rumors from around the NBA:

Brian Windhorst said during a Thursday appearance on ESPN’s Get Up (YouTube link) that he thinks Kevin Durant “definitely” has interest in the Knicks as a potential landing spot. However, after Stefan Bondy of The New York Post reported on Wednesday that the Knicks aren’t expected to pursue Durant, Steve Popper of Newsday has echoed that report, citing a league source who says New York isn’t interested in making a deal for the star forward.
Within his latest mock draft, Kevin O’Connor of Yahoo Sports says league sources continue to mention the Pelicans as a team with interest in moving up in the draft. According to O’Connor, multiple front office executives believe New Orleans, which controls the No. 7 overall pick, has interest in Rutgers’ Ace Bailey, who could be picked as early as No. 3, so Yahoo’s latest mock include a hypothetical trade between the Pelicans and Sixers.
The latest mock draft from Sam Vecenie of The Athletic also includes some sourced information related to potential trade scenarios. According to Vecenie, league sources believe the Spurs could move their No. 14 overall pick if a preferred target isn’t on the board and think the Magic will explore using at least one of their two first-rounders in a trade for offensive help.

Celtics Notes: Sale, Porzingis, Holiday, Hauser, White, Tatum

June 7th, 2025 at 7:44pm CST by Arthur Hill

With the NBA’s Board of Governors set to vote on the Celtics sale later this month, there don’t appear to be any reasons that it would be rejected, writes Brian Robb of MassLive. New majority owner William Chisholm finalized the funding for the $6.1 billion purchase in May, with Robert Hale, Bruce A. Beal Jr. and Sixth Street among the other notable investors.

The group will take over a 51% stake of the team this summer, with the remainder of the purchase to be completed in 2028. Some concerns were raised about a two-stage deal after a similar arrangement in Minnesota had to be worked out in court, but commissioner Adam Silver didn’t raise any objections when asked about the purchase during his press conference Thursday before the start of the NBA Finals.

“I’d just say that the Boston Celtics deal I don’t think of as a staged deal,” Silver said. “They’re still in the process of completing it. It’s really more about a phase-out of current ownership. I think there Bill Chisholm, who is the incoming owner, he’s got to sort of straighten out some affairs in his life and his business. He’s currently located on the West Coast. I think he’s a huge admirer of (current majority owner) Wyc Grousbeck and the way he’s been running that team. Obviously their results speak for themselves.”

There’s more from Boston:

Kristaps Porzingis, Jrue Holiday and Sam Hauser are all likely to be traded this summer if management is determined to get below the tax threshold, Robb states in a mailbag column. With a $10MM salary next season, Hauser should be easy to move without taking back another player in return, Robb adds. That won’t be true for Porzingis ($30.7MM) or Holiday ($32.4MM), but Robb suggests that Boston can reduce the salaries it takes on by getting other teams involved.
As the Celtics consider how to cut payroll this summer, Derrick White should be kept off the table in any trade talks, contends Chad Finn of The Boston Globe. Finn points out that White holds the franchise record for the most made three-pointers in a season, and he’s an elite shot blocker for a guard. He’s only 30 with a relatively affordable contract, and he can be part of the foundation to rebuild around when Jayson Tatum returns from his Achilles injury.
Tatum offered an update today on his recovery from surgery, tweeting, “Day 25… days starting to get a little easier.”

Atlantic Notes: Durant, Hauser, Nets, Sixers

June 6th, 2025 at 7:00pm CST by Eli Cohen

The Raptors are considered by “numerous NBA figures” to be a potential suitor for Suns star Kevin Durant, Jake Fischer reports for The Stein Line (Substack link), especially if their well-documented interest in Giannis Antetokounmpo doesn’t come to fruition.

Fischer writes that the pieces the Raptors have assembled would make for a more realistic trade package for Durant, who is not necessarily expected to receive an extension from the team that trades for him, than for Antetokounmpo. If the Bucks star reaches the market, the trade packages teams will put together could put the Raptors out of the running, but with Phoenix likely looking to stay competitive around Devin Booker, the Raptors’ collection of young veterans could prove enticing.

Fischer points to Raptors’ president Masai Ujiri‘s aggressiveness in trading for Kawhi Leonard in 2018, which led to a championship, though this version of the Raptors roster is much less ready to win now than that one was. That said, the team did pursue Durant in 2022, Fischer writes, and there’s a belief that the Raptors have some internal pressure to take real steps forward this coming season. That could lead to the team shopping RJ Barrett, Jakob Poeltl, and others.

We have more from the Atlantic Division:

The Celtics are facing an offseason that will require some serious introspection to figure out which players should be retained until Jayson Tatum eventually returns from his torn Achilles, SI’s Chris Mannix said during an NBC Sports Boston appearance. The most likely player to be moved, according to Mannix, is backup wing Sam Hauser. Hauser, an excellent shooter and decent defender, is entering the first season of a four-year, $45MM contract extension, a deal that would cost the team significantly more in luxury tax penalties if he remains on the roster. Mannix adds that rookie Baylor Scheierman could be tapped to fill in Hauser’s role if coach Joe Mazzulla thinks Scheierman ready for it.
After a down year, Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer doesn’t rule out the Sixers attempting to move one of Joel Embiid or Paul George if the team’s struggles continue. However, those contracts are likely to be difficult to trade, given their size and length. Within the same mailbag, Pompey fields a question about the idea of drafting Khaman Maluach with the No. 3 pick, noting that going that route would be an indication that the 76ers have more concern about Embiid’s future than they’ve indicated to this point. Pompey doesn’t view it as a likely scenario.
The Nets have conducted pre-draft workouts for Johni Broome (Auburn), Taelon Peter (Liberty University), and Wade Taylo r IV (Texas A&M), according to Nets Daily (via Twitter). While the latter two players are viewed as undrafted free agent targets, Broome is considered a likely late-first or second-round pick. The 6’10” SEC Player of the Year and All-American averaged 18.6 points, 10.8 rebounds, 2.9 assists, and 2.1 blocks per game for Auburn during his senior year.