There's been a plethora of speculation surrounding the Boston Celtics and what's in store for the 18-time NBA Champions this offseason. The Cs are very clearly at a crossroads where they almost have to offload players in salary-shedding trades before the 2026 NBA Trade Deadline to dive beneath the league's second-apron line.
Boston will need a net savings of roughly $20 million to avoid being a second-apron team for the third consecutive season and the harsh repeater penalties that come along with that feat.
This objective is obviously not a secret. In theory, the Celtics' financial bind could cost them some real leverage in trade discussions, but it doesn't sound like they're operating in that reality, according to The Stein Line's Jake Fischer.
Fischer explained that teams have inquired about players like Kristaps Porzingis and Jrue Holiday with hopes of Boston throwing a "sweetener" into any hypothetical deal.
Celtics President of Basketball Operations Brad Stevens apparently hasn't blinked.
"Boston is certainly looking to cut salary to reduce its luxury tax bill and duck under the second apron, but the Celtics are said to be conducting their mid-June business with confidence that they can make deals that bring positive value back to Boston, league sources say," Fischer explained in his Thursday newsletter.
The Celtics are playing hardball with their non-trade-block players
Porzingis and Holiday seem to be the key, hard-to-get pieces in this cost-cutting operation. Fischer's report also highlighted that other key rotation players like Derrick White and Payton Pritchard would be "extremely hard-to-get," while Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown are seemingly off the table.
Boston sees both Pritchard and White as key pieces to the roster next year and beyond.
"The Celtics would likely have to listen to any ultra-aggressive offer for this season's Sixth Man of the Year, but Pritchard is currently projected to shoulder a significant role in Boston's offense for the 2025-26 season, with the Celtics hopeful of remaining competitive in the Eastern Conference even while [Jayson] Tatum is on the mend from his devastating Achilles tear," he wrote.
It's going to take a Godfather offer for the C's to even consider trading either of the star guards.
"White, meanwhile, has been so essential to Boston on both sides of the floor that it sounds as though the Celtics would need their version of the offer that blew away Brooklyn and forced the Nets to part with Mikal Bridges to entertain surrendering him."
Trading White or Pritchard for anything less than a jackpot-type package would be silly
Even if you're low on either of these guys, it just wouldn't make sense to trade them now unless the offer is too good to pass on.
Tatum's absence is going to open the door for both Pritchard and White to take on larger offensive roles. This is something they'd do on occasion last season in games where he or Brown were sidelined, but it wasn't a regular thing.
For what it's worth, both guys were largely ready when their numbers were called. The best example of this came in an early March win over the Portland Trail Blazers when they combined for 84 points and became the first duo in Celtics history to have a 40-40 game.
There's no guarantee that they'd blossom into elite scorers, but the added opportunity could boost their trade value if Boston decides to take that route somewhere down the line.
In the present, Pritchard and White are far more valuable than the figure on their paycheck would indicate. From a team-building point-of-view, these types of deals are ironically priceless.