Celtics expect to make another move

It's been a busy summer for the Boston Celtics. Brad Stevens entered the offseason aware that he needed to trim the payroll, as the Celtics faced a substantial $500 million cap sheet, including luxury taxes.

Unfortunately, cutting costs meant parting ways with Jrue Holiday and Kristaps Porzingis via trade. It also meant waving goodbye to Luke Kornet in free agency, and potentially Al Horford, too.

Yet, despite those cost-cutting measures, Boston's addition of Josh Minott has kept them marginally over the second luxury tax apron.

When speaking with Keith Smith of Spotrac, an anonymous member of the Celtics front office hinted that more moves could be on the way, as Stevens continues to reshape Joe Mazzulla's rotation.

“Still figuring it all out. As you’ve noted, we’re still above the second apron," the executive said. "We won’t finish there. It sucked to trade Jrue (Holiday) and KP (Kristaps Porzingis), because we loved those guys and they loved Boston. But it was being brutally honest that we aren’t the same level of team without Jayson (Tatum). We’ll be good. We’ll be a playoff team, but…you know. It’ll come for every team that lands where we did. You can’t be over the second apron and not a title contender. It’s just poor management for both the short- and long-term. The frozen pick and pick dropping stuff is real.”

Sam Hauser, Anfernee Simons and Georges Niang are the most likely players to be traded next. Stevens will likely assess each player's market and what a potential return could look like for the Celtics. At which point, one or more of that trio could be heading for the exit door.

The harsh reality for the Celtics is that with each trade, they're moving further away from championship contention. Considering Tatum will be back ahead of the 2026-27 season, Stevens is on the clock to get his retooling in place.

Boston is projected to be one of the busiest franchises over the next 12-18 months. The core trio of Derrick White, Jaylen Brown and Tatum is already in place. Multiple young players will have the opportunity to prove they can be part of the next championship roster. And then, from there, Stevens must find the right blend of veteran talent.

Whether the Celtics can pull off this turnaround in such a short time remains to be seen.