After their 2024 NBA title, many believed that the Boston Celtics could have been a perennial contender for at least five or six years. Less than a year later, the Celtics were forced to dismantle the core of their team due to the second apron. This is the new reality of the NBA luxury tax.
When the Boston Celtics celebrated their 2024 title win over the Dallas Mavericks in the finals, there was a thought in the back of their minds that this group of players might not stay together for much longer.
That version of the Boston Celtics would not have won the NBA title without the contributions of players such as Jrue Holiday and Kristaps Porzingis.
This past season, the idea was to go all-in to try to defend the title, but the Celtics succumbed to the New York Knicks in the conference semifinals and lost Jayson Tatum, who will likely miss the entire next season due to an Achilles tendon injury.
With Tatum almost certainly out for the entire season and an extremely high payroll, the Celtics needed to regain some salary flexibility ahead of next season and get out of the second apron zone.
The new restrictions imposed by the CBA are extremely restrictive for all teams looking to compete in the long term while maintaining a certain degree of flexibility.
The Celtics are the first NBA champion team to really face the reality of the second apron. But how did we get to this point, and what does it really mean to be in the second apron? Let's find out more together.
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What exactly is the second apron?
In the collective agreement signed in 2011, the NBA had provided for a single tax apron, i.e., a limit on how much NBA teams could spend above the salary cap and luxury tax without incurring further restrictions and penalties.
The second apron, on the other hand, is a second limit that the NBA implemented in the latest collective agreement, which came into force in 2023.
For the 2025-2026 season, the first apron is expected to be around $196 million, while the second apron comes into play at nearly $208 million.
Staying within the second apron area brings many limitations in terms of roster construction, which is why many franchises do not want to remain there for long, as their flexibility is greatly reduced.
According to the new collective agreement, teams that exceed the first apron amount are limited in the trade phase to receiving only contracts that have the same value as those that have been traded.
Teams above the first apron cannot, therefore, trade a player and receive one in return who earns a higher amount, something that teams below the second apron can do.
Not only that, but teams at the second apron cannot combine the salaries of two players to receive a player who makes the same amount of money as the two who are leaving.
Furthermore, teams at the second apron cannot use cash considerations to facilitate trades or use trade exceptions that were unused in the previous season.
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Teams at the second apron level are not only limited in the present but also in the future, because they have total control over future choices to be included in trades.
According to the CBA, a team that was at the second apron level at the end of the 2024-2025 season would have its first-round pick seven years later, i.e., in 2032, "confiscated" by the league, without the possibility of using it in any trades.
On paper, this does not seem to be such a heavy restriction.
However, for a contender, which may have already sacrificed many of its assets to build a title-winning team, future picks are often one of the few tools available to continue strengthening.
If the team in the second apron remains at that level for two of the next four seasons, its first-round pick seven years later is not only "confiscated" by the league but is automatically moved to the end of the first round.
All these reasons make it clear why few, if any, teams want to stay at the second apron for too long. Their flexibility of movement is essentially eliminated.
The reasons why the Celtics decided to shed salary
With Jayson Tatum out due to an Achilles tendon injury, the Celtics will most likely not be able to contend for the title in the upcoming season.
The Massachusetts franchise was approaching the new season with a payroll of nearly $238 million, well above the second apron level, set at $207.8 million for this season.
With little chance of contending for the title, the Celtics' priority has become to get out of the second apron zone and prepare for a sort of "gap year," aware that in 2026 their chances could be better than this season.
Hence, the need to trade Jrue Holiday and Kristaps Porzingis for little or nothing in return.
In the trade for Jrue Holiday with the Portland Trail Blazers, the Celtics only got Anfernee Simons' expiring contract, which could be traded in the coming weeks to save even more money.
Kristaps Porzingis, on the other hand, was traded to the Atlanta Hawks in exchange for Georges Niang and a future second-round pick, again a fairly minimal return for a player of Porzingis' caliber.
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But with limited flexibility and the need to free up salary space, the Celtics couldn't be too selective in these cases.
The Celtics also lost Luke Kornet in free agency and will likely lose Al Horford as well, making their center rotation significantly shorter.
Other trades could also be made to fall below the luxury tax threshold and thus save more money, making it even more apparent that the upcoming season will be one of waiting for the Celtics.
Without these painful trades, the Celtics would have found themselves paying close to $500 million in salaries and luxury tax, a figure that even the new ownership felt was not a good investment, especially without Jayson Tatum and the real possibility of competing for the title.
Until about a year ago, there were quite a few journalists and executives who believed that the Celtics could compete for the title for the next 5-6 years.
Now, the feeling is that Boston will be pretty lucky if it manages to compete for the title at least once more in the next 5-6 years.
This is the new reality of the second apron.
The group that, until a year ago, seemed to be one of the most serious contenders in the entire NBA has already been dismantled, and putting something similar back together to have a legitimate chance of winning the title again will be extremely difficult.
Orazio Cauchi
Orazio Cauchi started his career in basketball at 21, having worked for several years at Sportando as the lead writer of the website. He also covered several live events, including the Euroleague Final Four, Italian Cups, Serie A league finals, and EuroBasket. He also contributed to American media, such as LibertyBallers and Def Pen Hoops. Cauchi joined BasketNews in 2021 as a Staff Writer. Holds a degree in Politics & International Relations.
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