The Boston Celtics have begun to tear apart their 2024 NBA Finals team this offseason, thanks in large part to the NBA’s new collective bargaining agreement. One guy who is not a fan of what is happening to the Celtics is one of their biggest rivals, Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green.
With Boston looking to avoid the daunting second apron of the new salary cap, they have traded away Jrue Holiday and Kristaps Porzingis early on this offseason. They also have listened to trade offers for Jaylen Brown and Derrick White, but nothing serious has come of that to this point.
While the Celtics came up short in their quest to repeat as champions last season, it’s fair to wonder whether they would have traded either Holiday or Porzingis away if it weren’t for financial reasons.
Of course, a wrench was thrown in whatever plans Boston had when Jayson Tatum ruptured his Achilles in the team’s Game 4 loss to the New York Knicks in their second-round series. Trading guys like Holiday and Porzingis were decisions the front office was plotting for quite some time, though, as they were well aware about the looming second apron penalties.
While the implementation of the second apron gives the NBA its much-desired parity, it makes it more difficult for players to maximize their earnings since pretty much every team is battling against the cap now. Green bashed the new CBA, saying the NBA Players Association did a disservice by signing off on this deal.
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“When I said this, before the deal was even signed, that this is ridiculous, it is gonna hurt players in the end, no one wanted to listen and everyone wanted to act like the PA was making a great deal,” Green said on “The Draymond Green Show with Baron Davis.”
“The PA made a s*** deal, as the PA has done for years now. Every year, the pot gets bigger and the business gets better, and the players get screwed more. That’s just how this business works.”
In a perfect world, the Celtics wouldn’t have had to trade Holiday and Porzingis away this offseason, but that’s the way the game is being played nowadays, and every team in the league has to deal with the same salary cap Boston is dealing with.
The only thing Boston can do is move forward and work on building their next championship squad within the constraints of the new salary cap. It’s going to be difficult, but if there’s one guy who can do it, it may just be Brad Stevens.
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