Changes were coming to Boston long before Jayson Tatum tore his Achilles during the playoffs, long before the team was sold to Bill Chisholm. The Celtics had lived over the second apron of the NBA’s luxury tax for two seasons and the price of keeping that roster together was going to be too steep, even for an ownership group willing to spend — the Celtics were facing the largest luxury tax bill in league history.
Celtics president of basketball operations Brad Stevens said that he was up front with everyone in the organization — players, coaches, anyone who asked — about what was coming, [he told Jay King of The Athletic](https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6732861/2025/10/21/celtics-gm-brad-stevens-jayson-tatum-nba-season-challenges/).
_“First and foremost, what we were staring at was a bill like no one has ever stared at, right? So that was not the driver as much as the second apron, but that’s still a significant, significant thing. And our owners — past and present — have always been committed to spending, but it made sense for us, even in that perspective to retool, in my opinion. And then when you’re sitting over those aprons, you just have a lot of restrictions. You know, right now our 2032 (first-round) pick is frozen. That will be unfrozen if we’re under \[the second apron\] for three of four years.”_
After trading away Kristaps Porzingis (Atlanta) and Jrue Holiday (Portland), plus letting Al Horford and Luke Kornet walk in free agency, the Celtics are still about $4 million over the first tax apron and $12 million into the luxury tax, leading to speculation they might make one more salary dump trade to get below the tax line before the season ends (stopping the repeater tax).
Boston still has plenty of talent on the roster heading into this season, with Jaylen Brown now the guy at the top of opponent scouting reports. Then there is Derrick White, Payton Pritchard and newcomer Anfernee Simons giving the team plenty of guys who can score in the backcourt and on the wings. The question will be along the front line, where Neemias Queta, Luka Garza, Chris Boucher and Sam Hauser will be asked to step up and give the Celtics the kind of solid frontcourt play that has been a foundation for them through this most recent era.
How the Celtics perform the first half of the season — and Tatum’s timeline for a return — could influence what kind of moves the Celtics make at the February trade deadline. Do they sell off, make this a true “gap year” and get below the tax line, or do they look at this East and think they have a shot? If Boston wants to make a push this season, Stevens has some flexibility with the team below the second apron (it can aggregate salaries in a trade, for example).
_“If you’re going to have to reset and retool, what you’re trying to do is you’re just trying to give yourself a chance to be opportunistic if that presents itself. We lived it. We knew it was coming. And, you know, it wasn’t the most fun summer for a GM or a front office person but we knew that that was part of the pain of: A) going all-in in the last couple of years and then; B) making sure we give ourselves a chance to continue to be opportunistic around our young core — and our core is still young and still very, very good.”_
It is very, very good, which means whatever happens this season, expect Stevens and Boston to be aggressive next summer. With Tatum and Brown, the Celtics should be in the mix again at the top of the East. They just need the right players around them, and building out that roster will be a lot more fun for Stevens and the front office. And for Celtics fans.