Celtics
Hauser has recently been speculated as a possible trade candidate for the Celtics this offseason.
Sam Hauser has emerged as one of the league's best 3-point shooters over the last couple of seasons. (Danielle Parhizkaran/Globe Staff)
Even after the trades of Jrue Holiday and Kristaps Porzingis, the Celtics appear to be in cost-saving mode. However, one of their key role players appears to be safe from being a cap casualty.
The Celtics are expected to keep Sam Hauser this offseason as they continue to make moves to create cap flexibility, according to The Stein Line‘s Jake Fischer and The Athletic‘s Jay King.
“I know there’s been reporting and commentary about him having a market. I haven’t gotten word of that. I would be expecting Sam Hauser stays around as well,” Fischer said in a video for Bleacher Report.
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“The Celtics are said to be more focused on avenues that would allow them to hold onto Hauser, who has proven himself as a valuable rotation piece and one of the NBA’s best shooters,” King added.
Some insiders recently speculated that Hauser could be a part of the Celtics’ salary dump this offseason. Sports Illustrated’s Chris Mannix said that the 27-year-old wing has a “robust” trade market during a recent appearance on the “Bill Simmons Podcast,” but didn’t say what offers Boston might have on the table for Hauser.
While Hauser might not be the player that Jaylen Brown or Derrick White is, he could still be an appealing asset to teams around the league. He’s arguably turned into one of the best 3-point shooters in the NBA, making 42 percent of his attempts from deep over his four-year career.
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This past season was another strong year for Hauser. After dealing with back issues for the first month of the season, Hauser made 43.8 percent of his 3-pointers from the start of December through the end of the regular season. He also had the 21st-best net rating in the league (min. 50 games played), continuing to improve his all-around game.
Hauser is entering the first year of a four-year, $45 million extension. He has a $10.04 million cap hit for next year, a relatively reasonable salary compared to some of the other best 3-point shooters in the league.
Celtics president of basketball operations Brad Stevens didn’t really quell the noise about a possible Hauser trade when he spoke about the team’s core following the first round of the 2025 NBA Draft on Wednesday.
“We’ll do our best to put the right group together,” Stevens told reporters. “We’ve got the foundation, obviously, with Jaylen and Jayson [Tatum] and D-White (Derrick White) and Payton [Pritchard] and all those guys that a lot of teams would love to have.”
But, Hauser is reportedly closer to being a part of that group than not. This would mean the Celtics will have to find other ways to shed salary.
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Anfernee Simons, whom the Celtics acquired from the Trail Blazers for Holiday on Monday, is reportedly a potential trade candidate to help Boston shed salary. He has a $27.7 million salary in the final year of his contract in 2025-26.
Georges Niang, whom the Celtics acquired from the Hawks as part of the Porzingis deal, could also be a candidate to move in order to help clear some salary for Boston. He’s also entering the final year of his contract and has an $8.2 million salary for next season.
The Celtics’ possible decision to make more salary-clearing moves would likely be aimed at helping the team re-sign centers Al Horford and Luke Kornet. Stevens even said that keeping Horford and Kornet was their top priority on Wednesday.
But Boston still has some money to clear if it wants to avoid going back into the second luxury tax apron. They stand at roughly $203 million in committed salary for next season when you account for 2025 first-round pick Hugo Gonzalez’s rookie contract, which is $4 million shy of the second apron. Boston is also roughly $16 million north of the luxury tax ($187.9 million) and $8 million north of the first luxury tax apron ($195.9 million).
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