Jrue Holiday, 35, inked a four-year, $135 million extension with the Celtics in April 2024 and will make $32.4 million next season.
Jrue Holiday, 35, inked a four-year, $135 million extension with the Celtics in April 2024 and will make $32.4 million next season.Danielle Parhizkaran/Globe Staff
The Celtics’ summer following last season’s championship was unusually calm. Jayson Tatum, Derrick White, and Jrue Holiday went to Paris to help the United States win an Olympic gold medal, and back in Boston, president of basketball operations Brad Stevens mostly just kept the roster intact.
This summer figures to be much busier, however. The Celtics ended this season facing a combined salary and luxury-tax bill of about $500 million next season, which would have shattered the NBA record. Also, they sit above the second apron line that puts several roster-building restrictions in place. Tatum’s Achilles’ injury that could keep him out next season will likely factor into Stevens’s approach, too.
The Celtics made their first significant move Monday night, agreeing to trade Holiday to the Portland Trail Blazers in exchange for 26-year-old shooting guard Anfernee Simons and a pair of future second-round picks, according to league sources.
Simons will make $27.7 million next season in the final year of a four-year, $100 million contract. Holiday, 35, inked a four-year, $135 million extension with the Celtics in April 2024 and will make $32.4 million next season.
In the short term, the Celtics inched about $4.7 million closer to dipping below the second apron — they remain about $18 million above — and they are projected to save about $40 million in luxury-tax payments next year.
But they also freed up long-term money, with Simons on an expiring deal and Holiday under contract for three more seasons.
A league source stressed late Monday night that the Celtics acquired Simons because they believe he can bolster the roster, but the source added that the team will “remain engaged on all fronts” in the coming days and weeks. So, there is certainly a chance the Celtics will soon flip Simons in another cost-cutting move.
Simons, who is eligible to sign an extension, is a dangerous scorer. He is a career 38.1 percent 3-point shooter on high volume and averaged a career-high 22.6 points for Portland in 2023-24. But he is a below-average defender, and he is replacing one of the most capable defensive menaces the NBA has seen in the last 25 years.
Pairing the 6-foot-3-inch, 180-pound Simons in the backcourt with, say, Payton Pritchard could leave the Celtics vulnerable. But Simons is nine years younger than Holiday and would help refresh what was becoming a rapidly aging core.
Regardless of whether Simons is in Boston’s long-term plans, other notable moves figure to follow in the coming days.
Center Kristaps Porzingis, who will make $30.7 million on an expiring contract next season, is a trade candidate. He was an essential piece of the Celtics’ title team, but his inability to stay healthy was glaring over the past two seasons, most recently when the effects of a March respiratory illness limited him severely over this season’s final three months.
On Tuesday, Porzingis shared a brief health update on Instagram. He thanked supporters and added, “I’ve been feeling excellent all offseason and looking forward to a healthy and strong European championship tournament with [the Latvian national team].”
Porzingis’s expiring contract and his ability to help a team looking to make a title push should make him an attractive option to potential suitors.
Although league-wide free agency talks will open next Monday night, teams are currently able to negotiate with their free agents. The Celtics will have discussions with veteran big men Al Horford and Luke Kornet, who are both unrestricted.
Horford, 39, has yet to announce whether he intends to play next season, and a league source said Tuesday there is no news to report on that front. But if Horford does continue playing, it’ll be worth monitoring whether Tatum’s injury factors into a potential return.
Like Holiday, Horford’s numbers dipped this past season, but he remained a valuable contributor and will likely command at least the $5.7 million taxpayer mid-level exception on the open market.
Kornet, 29, just finished the best season of his career and his sparkling advanced stats have piqued the interest of teams looking for frontcourt upgrades. The Celtics own Kornet’s “Bird Rights,” which would allow them to re-sign Kornet without restriction, but their financial realities will have to be factored in, too.
The Celtics also have the 28th and 32nd picks in this week’s draft, which begins with Wednesday’s first round. A league source said more than 50 prospects have visited the Auerbach Center for workouts in recent weeks. When the team drafted Baylor Scheierman in the first round last year, it was obvious that he was unlikely to crack the regular rotation. But as Stevens reconstructs the roster this summer, this year’s picks could find openings.
Adam Himmelsbach can be reached at adam.himmelsbach@globe.com. Follow him @adamhimmelsbach.