The Boston Celtics made a major trade late Monday night by sending guard Jrue Holiday to the Portland Trail Blazers in exchange for guard Anfernee Simons and two second-round draft picks.
The deal saves the Celtics just under $5 million, and they remain about $18 million over the second apron. So, what's the next domino to fall for the Celtics?
One player the Celtics could look to trade is Kristaps Porzingis. The star center is entering the final year of his contract, which carries a salary of around $30 million.
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SIGN UP HERE The Athletic's Jay King reported Tuesday morning that the Celtics are looking to trade Porzingis.
ESPN's Brian Windhorst also discussed a potential Porzingis trade on Tuesday morning's edition of Get Up!
"Porzingis I definitely think that they are in discussions with," Windhorst said. "And again, you can't just trade him off, they would be trading him for a player, probably who makes less money. That's what this was, Anfernee Simons kind of fits with Boston as a three-point specialist. They would need someone to sort of be a big man, a starting-level big man for Porzingis if they made this deal. But look for a Porzingis thing.
Windhorst later added: "They probably are going to have to make multiple more moves to save this money that they need to save."
Jake Fischer of The Stein Line reported Tuesday that the San Antonio Spurs "have held some exploratory talks about trading for the 7-foot-2 center."
The Celtics would be wise to get under the second apron this offseason to save as much luxury tax money as possible. The 2025 NBA Draft is scheduled for Wednesday (first round) and Thursday (second round), and free agency begins the following week, so it's possible we could see some more moves over the few weeks.
ESPN's Shams Charania also reported Tuesday that the Celtics "remain engaged in trade talks surrounding multiple key players on the roster."
