One Player the Celtics Could Still Trade Before Opening Night

The Boston Celtics could still offload at least one key player before their October 22 season opener against the Philadelphia 76ers.

As things currently stand, Boston is still $4,036,489 over the league's first luxury tax apron. Team president Brad Stevens' top objective this season has clearly been saving money.

Guard Anfernee Simons' expiring $27.7 million salary may have been a preferred trade figure for the Celtics, but as of now he remains rostered. Maybe Stevens will look elsewhere to dip below the first apron. One of the club's most tradeable contracts — not belonging to stars Jaylen Brown or Derrick White, of course — is another championship contributor, reserve sharpshooter Sam Hauser.

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Hauser seems like the most probable odd man out here if Simons can’t be dealt. White and Payton Pritchard are both significantly better than Hauser, and thus feel likely to be traded by Boston. Jaylen Brown is an All-Star, and could net a princely sum in a trade, but is Stevens that desperate?

The 6-foot-7 swingman, 27, averaged 8.5 points on .451/.416/1.000 shooting splits, 3.2 rebounds, 0.9 assists and 0.6 steals a night in 71 healthy bouts (19 starts) last season.

Hauser's Robust Market

Hauser is primed to kick off the first season of a four-year, $45 million extension he inked with Boston last summer. It's a very movable deal for one of the league's best off-ball shooters.

Let's backtrack and take a look at how we got here.

At the start of the summer, Stevens promptly traded away starting center Kristaps Porzingis and starting guard Jrue Holiday, in separate deals, for stretch four Georges Niang and a second-round draft pick and scoring guard Simons, respectively.

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Stevens then quickly flipped Niang and two second-rounders to the Utah Jazz for two-way rookie RJ Luis Jr. Boston also let reserve center Luke Kornet ink a three-year, $41 million free agent deal with the San Antonio Spurs. Al Horford is potentially next in line to sign a deal with a Western Conference franchise.

Boston has thus far managed to avoid the league's second luxury tax apron, yes. But the team clearly is looking to save even more money during a year when nobody is expecting their current roster to contend for squat.

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