Jan 31, 2025; New Orleans, Louisiana, USA; Boston Celtics guard Derrick White (9) and forward Sam Hauser (30) cheer as they defeat the New Orleans Pelicans at Smoothie King Center. Mandatory Credit: Stephen Lew-Imagn Images Stephen Lew-Imagn Images

Celtics Have ‘A Lot More Options’ for Trades This Offseason, Says Insider

Originally posted on Boston Celtics on SI
By Alex Kirschenbaum | Last updated Aug 4, 2025 4:36 PM ET

The Boston Celtics' summer of roster-shattering trades could continue apace, thanks to Boston team president and general manager Brad Stevens having accessed an imperative team-building mechanism.

More news: LeBron James Appears to Respond to Recent Jayson Tatum Diss

Brian Robb of MassLive writes that Stevens' ability to ditch point guard JD Davison has helped the team dip below the NBA's punitive second luxury tax apron.

The 6-foot-1 pro, who had been on three years' worth of two-way contracts with Boston since the team first drafted him out of the University of Alabama in 2022, saw his deal agreed to a standard agreement at the end of the 2024-25 regular season. He had a non-guaranteed $2.3 million contract for 2025-26, but Boston ultimately waived him this summer.

We have waived JD Davison.
— Boston Celtics (@celtics) July 24, 2025

Davison wasn't without an NBA opportunity for long, however, as he agreed to a two-way contract with the Houston Rockets soon after being cut.

More news: Celtics’ Expected Plan for Last Roster Spot Revealed

Although the Celtics are still above the league's first luxury tax apron and thus remain somewhat limited in all the tools they have access to, Boston is able to combine player contracts in trades now, as Robb details.

"The Celtics are below the second apron now after [cutting] JD Davison so the team has a lot more options now in a trade," Robb writes. "They still can’t take back more money than they send out but they can trade multiple players in the same deal now which will allow for some different types of structures than we’ve seen for the last couple of years."

Teams above the league's second apron are unable to aggregate contracts in trades.

The downside to all these deals, of course, is that the Celtics are without two of their championship starters — center Kristaps Porzingis and guard Jrue Holiday, who were traded to the Atlanta Hawks and Portland Trail Blazers in separate moves. Free agent third-string center Luke Kornet also left for the San Antonio Spurs, while free agent big man Al Horford doesn't appear to be far behind him out the door.

With All-Star forward Jayson Tatum likely out for the entire 2025-26 season, Stevens is prioritizing savings and future team-building flexibility over win-now acquisitions.

More news: Celtics’ $100 Million Guard Emerging as Major Trade Market ‘Wildcard’: Report

For more news and notes on the Boston Celtics, visit Boston Celtics on SI.

This article first appeared on Boston Celtics on SI and was syndicated with permission.

More must-reads: