It took under 24 hours for Boston Celtics president of basketball operations Brad Stevens to get his team under the second apron of the luxury tax.
After trading Jrue Holiday to the Portland Trail Blazers on Monday night, Stevens stayed active on Tuesday by sending big man Kristaps Porzingis to the Atlanta Hawks in a three-team deal. Boston received Anfernee Simons, Georges Niang, and three second-round draft picks as a result of the two trades, but more importantly, Stevens swiftly relieved the organization of its financial burden.
The Celtics offloaded the $30.7 million Porzingis was owed in the final year of his contract. They're now $4.5 million under the second apron, and they likely aren't done yet.
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NBC Sports Boston's Celtics insider Chris Forsberg shared his knee-jerk reaction to the Porzingis trade on Early Edition.
"My first instinct was to start looking at the money," Forsberg said. "You've got a situation where Kristaps Porzingis was making nearly $30 million. Georges Niang is at $8.5 million. You're going to save $22 million there. That gets you below the second apron. You are now able to unlock some of the restrictions. You maybe have the opportunity to entertain some of the big men that you want to bring back, either Al Horford or Luke Kornet.
"But again, I'm not sure this is the last domino. I've been told before this all started that once the dominoes start going, they're all going. So, I wonder if there's even another move.
"If you move off of Sam Hauser's money, would that open up another slot to potentially bring back some of the free agents that you need to do? You've got to fill out this frontcourt somehow now that Porzingis is gone.
"But ultimately, as we've said all along, it's always about the money. And unlike last night's deal, this one today clears some room."
MORE CELTICS
Hauser is set to make $10 million in 2025-26, the first season of the four-year, $45 million extension he signed with the C's last summer. As Forsberg notes, moving the sharpshooter would help Boston shore up its frontcourt by re-signing pending free agents Al Horford or Luke Kornet. As of Tuesday, Neemias Queta is the only true big man on the Celtics' roster.
If another domino falls, it'll likely be before or during the 2025 NBA Draft. The Celtics currently own the 28th and 32nd overall picks in the draft, which begins Wednesday at 8 p.m. ET.